Yes, Don. Why do you say that? ZYX is extremely popular outside of the US, particularly in Asia, especially in Japan. If I would fault them it would be to say that they have far too many models with too many variations on the same theme, such that choosing among ZYX cartridges becomes a bit bewildering. Could be a turn-off for some buyers. It's particularly weird that the Universe line can only be purchased in the US, or at least it cannot be purchased in Tokyo. (I know this; I tried. A reputable high end dealer in Akihibara, who once sold me my Koetsu Urushi, did not even know there was a "Universe" line. This was last October, in the presence of my son to act as interpreter.) Whereas every other ZYX variant is also available in Tokyo, including I think the Ultimate series with the carbon fiber cantilever.
Which brings us to the CF cantilever. I don't see how it could sound "just like" the boron cantilever. Historically, I have not liked the interaction of CF with audio reproduction. It often to my ears sounds like CF parts overdamp the system; the sound seems a bit muffled, even. Whereas the typical ZYX cartridge is anything but overdamped.
I have a ZYX UNIverse, the original model with 0.24mV output and copper coils; I think it's absolutely a great cartridge, perhaps my favorite. This makes me lust a bit for the UNI II, but I remain a skeptic as regards the models with CF cantilevers. |
Where are the user reviews of the premium series in the USA?
It has been out since 2012.
I do not know about the Asia market. I live in the USA.
The standard (old) ZYX Universe is long in the tooth, although was exclusive in USA. Why that was the case, I do not know.
Just recently Sora Sound was still dumping the old (5 yr+) cartridges.
Why did they have new leftovers, 5 years later, if they sold so well?
I like, and use ZYX also.
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Mehran at Sora sound once explained to me why there were few reviews of the Universe premium. Unfortunately I forget what he said! But point is, it wasn't for lack of sales or interest. And there IS a review of the Zyx Universe premium in Tone Audio by Richard Mak. He liked it, a lot. I can't find a link but it's out there. What gets 'long in the tooth' on Sora's web site btw is the listing of used products available. Best to call. One other thing to consider: as I understand it Zyx is essentially Mr. Nakatsuka, so he may have all the business he needs.
@lewm I couldn't agree more about carbon fiber in audio sounding overdamped. I've had more experience with it in musical instruments, where I find the same thing. |
I found the review, it is a PDF on Sorasound's website. Here is a copy/paste version: 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
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