ZYX Ultimate with carbon fiber cantilevers -- listener reviews?

Wow at these prices my soundsmith strain Guage is a bargain, since the stylus pops out for easy and cheap replacement (or to hear a different profile one) . Funny thing is that even after 2000 hours or so I sent the stylus back to be examined for possible replacement and Peter indicated it looked totally fine. I have probably double that time or more on it. Had anyone else experienced so many hours without need for a new stylus?

emailists, That is indeed remarkable longevity for a stylus.  Is there anything special about a strain gauge design that would reduce wear on the stylus? I can't think of a reason related to the technology per se.

Hi Lew,
This is from the Sound-smith website re: strain gauge -- "All other cartridges are all magnetic generating systems, which require a mass to be constantly moved to generate a voltage. The Strain Gauge does not; the effective moving mass has been reduced by over 80%....allowing the stylus to stay in intimate contact with the groove walls.....and allowing the stylus to stop jittering - or "bouncing" in the groove as it now is not trying to move a "large" mass back and forth...."
This may explain the reduced "wear and tear" on stylus and cantilever.
Harvey

I've posted some brief initial comments concerning the Zyx Ultimate 100H on the HifiWigwam site. The post is based on just a few hrs of playing time with the new cartridge, so will no doubt need updating, but "out of the box" the Ultimate 100H compares well to my older Zyx Airy 2 SB/X cartridge.

Thank you for sharing your first impressions.