zyx universe cartr.- ideal weight -ideal vta ,

Doug: FWIW, the highest-resolution, most neutral cartridge in our lineup is not the Olymos, but the Titan i.

The Olympos has a more artfully stylized sound which undoubtedly makes it sound better on many systems. The Olympos is the one cartridge where we've deliberately allowed ourselves to indulge in poetic liberties (^o^). Probably as a result of this, I've been told by most Olympos owners that they prefer the Olympos, and I've also heard multiple installations where I agreed that the Olympos sounded preferable to the Titan.

But in a really top-flight system and set up immaculately, the Titan i (especially the single-layer coil SL version) shows higher resolution, greater dynamics and neutrality. I've had this confirmed to me by Olympos owners, who found that the performance hierarchy between Olympos and Titan was reversed once they upgraded their systems and also put more effort into the setup. Of course, personal taste also plays a big role, so if someone listens to the Olympos and Titan i in a top-flight setup and still prefers the Olympos, I fully understand.

Remember, when we buy a transducer like a cartridge or speaker (although the same also applies to amplification), we are buying the potential for performance, but not a guarantee of performance. Much of the performnce is up to the component, but the level of performance actually achieved also depends on how much of that performance we can extract, by choice of partnering equipment and setup. And I think that the more neutral and revealing the component in question is, (almost by definition) the deeper you have to dig to get most of the performance out.

I am sure that many of you already know all of this (particularly you, Doug), but it is worth the occasional reminder (^o^).

regards to all, jonathan carr

Doug can you explain to me a bit more about what you mean by cartridge speed. I hear this term and understand it somewhat but wouls appreciate some light shedded on this topic. How does speed effct sound (in general) and why is it a good thing, as it seems to be?

Great thread. Its about the only break I take from listening!

Doug,thankfully warps don't occur with my table(vacuum).Yet my next move,next spring/summer is to definitely get a disc flattener.Gotta have one!!Sometimes you can replay a previously perfect LP,and find a slight warp(sucks,if too big).The Cosmos has most of "those" covered,but occassionally I have a slight problem,which requires my pinching the tubing,to fool the table into thinking it is vacuumed flat.
My Olympos friend(I'm sure Jcar knows him)has the Titan i,and the mono Titan i,plus the Koetsu Coral Stone(I hate him,btw-:).He mirrors Jcarr's thoughts almost exactly,as to performance.BUT what he does(lucky dog)is switch arm wands based on music played.
For all I know,he may have a PC-1,in house as of now.
BTW..he did not win the lottery,but DID get a divorce,awhile back.Maybe,in his case,that was winning the lottery-:)

PS,I am surprised you are loosening up,regarding the "O".What you heard,should still remain valid,unless you heard it again!This statement is "strictly" hobby talk,no agitation intended.
While on the "hobby talk" subject(hey you blocked me,so how else to yenta about stuff),I was shocked that my 2.2 sold in 4 days!!My pal,who I always set up stuff for,did me a favor and sold it for me.
The Phantom is coming much sooner than I thought.Perhaps next week,but my arm board is at Sota.
Truthfully,I am SO worn out from all my playing around and voicing of stuff,that I am NOT looking forward for more scrutinizing set-up work!!
Sorry for my always long winded posts,but some things I can't change.
Best.

Hi Jonathon,

Thanks for getting me more up to date. I haven't heard a Titan i but of course I'll pay close attention if/when I get the chance.

"Artfully stylized" sounds alot like "brushed with a hint mink" to me. ;-) It really was artful, as I said.

Those poetic liberties weren't audible the first time we heard an Olympos, in another system, but they were clearly on display during our recent session. That's a good demonstration of the points you made regarding setup, other components and the neutrality of systems as a whole. The less colored everything else gets, the more noticeable even subtle shades of color become when they're present in any one component.

Of course personal preference always wins out, as you said. This particular Olympos owner brought it around to compare because he wanted to hear it in a system that's more neutral than his own. He prefers a hint (just a hint) of that poetic license. His system has a touch of it and he understands quite well this is why he prefers the Olympos.

BTW, thanks for the nth time for your helpful advice re: the frequency of stylus cleaning (2-3 years ago on VA). We've been religious followers and advocates ever since as you know, to good effect. I've saved any number of "broken" cartridges belonging to others simply by cleaning up the state their neglected styli had fallen into.

Regards,
Doug

I just finally set up my Universe/Triplanar on my Galibier
and have to admit I haven't yet truly dialed in vta

maybe the problem is that I was trying to set it by tonearm parallel to record as opposed to the base of the cartridge being parallel

I just can't hear the significant sound improvement over a small range dialing in on the sound sweat spot when adjusting vta

I've read and done all the triplanar tips (thanks Doug)
haven't set left to right azimuth (it appeared lined up)

I've had some records sound absolutely stellar and some don't quite have the tonal qualities of being there yet
I guess I here it most in the rich overtones (I play around with upright bass)

I must say the triplanar / galibier / universe synergy - dead quiet and no record flutter is astounding when everything lines up - I just want to be able to fine tune and live in this sweet spot

another issue - when I'm heavily dialing vta it seems that my 233.5 offset (as checked on a fiekert protractor) gets quite a bit out of alignment (1/4 inch) and I have to dial it back via the vta knob

also my vtf seems to vary a bit also when I adjust too much vta
(I have it locked down) 1.9 - 2.0
sometimes I can't get the digital gauge to read any force

should I only be going a few revolutions on the vta adjustment?

I'll take Doug's and other's detailed descriptions and try to dial this in more

thanks
tom