ZYX Ultimate with carbon fiber cantilevers -- listener reviews?

ZYX has lost customers over the last several years.

The UNIverse Premium, the latest masterpiece of ZYX’s chief designer Hisayoshi Nakatsuka, is a statement product culminating from 50 years of experience in cartridge design, representing his best cartridge ever. Nakatsuka, is a rather private individual, avoiding the spotlight as much as possible. As far as we know, TONEAudio is the only North American publication to which he has ever granted an interview (issue 63). He remains as tight lipped as ever with his latest creation, divulging very little information other than telling me to “go with the sound, and you will see. Forget everything else.” I felt like I was talking to Yoda.

The UNIverse Premium is a model exclusive to SORAsound and is uniquely different from all other ZYX models. The design of the UNIverse Premium follows Nakatsuka’s lifelong philosophy of strongly emphasizing accurate signal retrieval with no added sonic subjectivity. The specification of the UNIverse Premium follows that of the UNIverse II, with the same choice of the use of copper or silver coils, at 0.24mV or 0.48mV output, with an internal impedance of 4 and 8 ohms respectively. These are efficient electrical generators with very few windings within the internal coils. 

The UNIverse II has changed from transparent acrylic to a pearl white colored material, about which Nakatsuka also remains coy. All three Universe cartridges carry almost identical specifications, meaning sonic differences must stem from something other than pure technical data. The biggest difference is the price: MSRP has gone from $8,500 to a steep $15,000, which makes the UNIverse Premium to be the only cartridge, together with the Clearaudio Goldfinger ($15,000), the LYRA Olympos ($10,000), LYRA Atlas ($ 11,995), and the newly released Air-Tight Opus-1 ($15,000) to cross the $10,000 mark.

Getting down to business Our review sample is the low-output copper-coiled version. As with all ZYX cartridges, setup is a breeze as the cantilever is clearly visible and unobstructed by the body. Torque on the mount - ing screws is set at 0.65 in./ lbs., and tracking force is optimized at 1.932g. The tracking force number should never be taken as gospel, as all cartridges are handmade and each will require a slight variation, but should you pur - chase one for your analog front end, this is an excellent starting point.

Fear not, there is a dramatic difference between the Universe II and the Premium, and within a few LP sides, it is clear that the new model reveals much more music. The difference is not so much a change in tonality, but a further improvement of the qualities making the Universe line of cartridges unique. Where the original UNIverse II lacks a bit of body and weight in the mid to low frequencies, the UNIverse Premium retains the near limitless top end extension and airiness of the Universe II, further adding definition, richness and body to the mid to low frequencies in a manner similar to the difference between the UNIverse I and II, but by a far greater degree of contrast. Also improved is the ability to retrieve minute details and definition down to the lowest level, delivering them with a lighting fast transient response in a polite, silky, and elegant fashion. The Premium may very well be the most tonally balanced cartridge I have experienced.

 The superiority of the UNIverse Premium is well demonstrated on Saint-Saens’ “Dance Macabre” in RCA Living Stereo’s infamous Witches’ Brew album (LSC-2225). Mastered by the legendary recording engineer Kenneth Wilkinson, the performance is nothing short of a dynamic orchestral tour de force. On the first listen, the high frequencies appear relatively less extended versus the Universe II. But upon heightened scrutiny, the top end extension and sonic ambience are actually all there, offering the same well-defined spatial extension and instrument separation as the Universe II. The added richness to the mid to low frequencies renders the upper notes less prominent – not missing, but better balanced in their rightful place, resulting in tonality with near-perfect balance.

LF definition is better when rendered by the UNIverse Premium: from the plucking of double bass strings, to the decay on powerful bass drums, the UNIverse Premium simply delivers an incredibly balanced combination of extension combined with an astonishing level of texture and definition. This becomes even clearer listening to Wong Ka Wai’s movie soundtrack The Grandmaster: its mix of piano, chamber music, and electronic instruments in the thunderous opening track fully demonstrates the super wide dynamic range and contrast this model is capable of portraying. It is at a level simply unattainable by all previous models of ZYX cartridges.

Equally remarkable is the holographic image projected in acoustical space – the sound-stage is deep, wide, and well-layered with proper instrument separation and sharpness, all of which is presented with just the right amount of sharpness and contrast.

Some quick comparisons To fully appreciate the UNIverse Premium, two other big guns were brought to the table: the Goldfinger Statement and the Lyra Olympos. Favorites that I am well familiar with, all three were mounted on the same turn - table with the same phonostage to keep the playing field level. Spinning “Dog Days Are Over” from Florence and the Machine’s LUNGS album, the UNIverse Premium renders the most minute details on the plucking of harp strings in the beginning of the track with ease. The ambience gives the impression that Florence is performing in a church setting reminiscent of the Cowboy Junkies’ Trinity Sessions. Switching to the Gold - finger Statement, the venue be - comes more like a jazz lounge, with less hall ambience and airiness, but at the same time the strings are plucked with a more commanding sense of weight and control. The Lyra Olympos offers the least amount of ambience and top-end extension, but it is rendered with a greater sense of realism, as if a thin veil has been lifted from the picture. Florence Welch’s voice is the most polite, carrying a more feminine tone on the UNIverse Premium, while the other two cartridges project more assertiveness to her voice, with the whole presentation via the ZYX darker and weightier. Volume also appears to be higher on the other two cartridges versus the Universe Premium despite the fact that it has been care - fully matched with a decibel meter. Soundstage is the most forward with the Goldfinger and the furthest back with the Universe Premium, but all are equally deep, wide, and well-layered. Tough choices!

Further listening One must be grateful to Analogphonic of Germany for re-releasing the next recording, because the original Deutsch Grammaphone album is fetching over a thousand dollars on eBay. With Enrico Mainardi’s Violoncello album featuring Schumann, Gluck, Schubert and Chopin (DGG LPEM 19054), the UNIverse Premium displays the lightest touch on the bow as the strings glide across Mainardi’s cello. The accompanying piano feels lighter, but with more finesse and agility. The Goldfinger and the Olympos feel slightly weightier with a bit higher contrast, making the piano stand out more, where the reverse is true with the ZYX, as the cello stands out more than the piano. It also renders the highest amount of low level information embedded in the tracks, allowing the listener to decipher every minute detail down to the nuances of background noise or imperfections of the track. These same qualities are displayed in Arthur Grmiaux’s To My Friends, BestLoved Encores album, with the Goldfinger and Olympos projecting more weight on the violin bow, and heavier strokes on the piano. The Universe Premium offers a lighter presentation, more clarity and faster transient response on the violin strings, as well as the fragmentation of the tone emanating from tone with each strike of the velvet hammer on the wires of the piano. When each of these cartridges is played individually, one would be hard pressed to find fault with any of them. They differ only in sonic characters, and not in strength or weakness over one another. Although the UNIverse Premium may be the most reserved and polite sounding of the three, it is only polite on a relative basis. Do not for a second mistake the UNIverse Premium to be bland sounding or lacking in dynamic contrast.

This is best demonstrated on the newly released Mad Max: Fury Road soundtrack (which if you haven’t already owned, buy it quickly on Amazon before the limited run is gone). Think Metallica’s Master of Puppets, add onto it Hans Zimmer’s Superman soundtrack, and perhaps a bit of Dvorak’s From The New World mixed all together, and the result will resemble Junkie XL’s intense and gripping show of force. This is one of only a handful of albums which I’m reluctant to play with a lesser cartridge, which will render it into a two-hour ordeal of trashy, chest-pounding aggressive noise. Not so with the UNIverse Premium, the composition becomes a carefully orchestrated show of elegant dynamism. Even with the volume blasting in excess of 100 decibels, every instrument which would otherwise be jammed together can be identified and discernible in the complex acoustic space. The Universe Premium does what few cartridges can: it maintains control in the most complex of passages without the slightest hint of congestion, losing focus or distorting the acoustic image. No matter how loud and ferocious the performance becomes, the sound coming out of the UNIverse Premium is never aggressive, hard, or abrasive, making it my favorite cartridge for this dynamically charged and yet difficult recording.

As with ZYX’s predecessors, the Universe line of cartridges easily retains the title of one of the most detailed cartridges, with the best top end extension going. The added dynamic contrast, low-level detail and low-end extension of the UNIverse Premium, vaults the ZYX name into a space previously occupied only by the world’s handful of the very best cartridges. The ZYX UNIverse Premium has achieved tonal perfection, with no identifiable weakness whatsoever. At the very top level of the premium cartridge podium, there resides few competitors. If budget is not an issue, then the buying decision can be a relatively easy one because there are simply very few alternatives. If you want to own the very best, perhaps it is time to add the ZYX UNIverse Premium to your arsenal. 

ZYX UNIverse Premium Cartridge
MSRP $15,000
MANUFACTURER ZYX Co., Ltd.
CONTACT www.SORAsound.com

$15,000 for a cartridge.

No matter what anyone says about the quality, that is absurd!

I also never believe cartridge reviews as accurate, due to the fact very few know how to "fine tune" cartridge/arm setups. Too much sonic variability!

While undoubtedly proprietary, curious what adhesive or binding compound is used to produce a ZYX cantilever composed of 1000 pieces of CF composite.

Mehran @sorasound is really is a great guy to do business with. No regrets.

If people have 15K as loose change in their pocket and are getting a finer product I don't see why there is any problem. If you have the money there is none.

I worked for a luxury Italian house years ago and women were paying $1,600 for a handbag instead of one for $30 at Penney's and like they say about watches they did the same thing. And if you wanted a truly magnificent handbag that was a work of art you'd pay 26k.

Not to mention the men's Ferrari red alligator driving shoes(literally only for driving or they would wear out in no time) that 10 years ago cost 4k. They truly were astonishing to behold.

I have found that the Lyra Atlas and the Universe Premium when I've heard them are truly works of art.

If you can't afford a painting by Rembrandt you simply don't buy it. And in the world of audio these things are at that kind of level. You might consider the price absurd but then so is the cost of a Rembrandt.

I said 'astonishing' and they were! They were very beautiful to look at. They belonged in a museum. Kind of like when the Met costume exhibit features a major designer like Versace or Dior.

Is great sound a guilty pleasure? Then I think everyone on this site is at least in search of such a pleasure. Maybe my Rembrandt analogy is wrong. More like a fabulous meal in a 3 star Michelin restaurant that costs a fortune but is only for 3 hours. But how long does it really last? The length of a happy memory. Like a great live performance or great sound. 3-4 years isn't bad if you can afford it.