@hdm Of course i know about modern Sapphire and Ruby cantilevers and the way the stylus tip mounted on them. Every JICO Neo SAS use the same construction from the same two japanese suppliers. And i have to repeat what my friend Nandric said million times, that re-tippers just use what their supplier provided for them. I have owned highly regarded cartridges with Sapphire cantilevers, they’re looks amazing under microscope like one of my ADC Astrion, but it does not mean they are superior to Boron or even Beryllium, if fact it was inferiour cartridge compared to most of my carts. BTW as far as i know Nakatsuka-San designed ADC TRX-1 and TRX-2 with Sapphire cantilever in the 70’s for ADC (but i have not tried those carts yet). Oldschool hollow pipe Boron (like on those Technics mk4) with laser etched hole for the diamond is not available anymore in any modern design, but Nakatsuka-San’s method looks pretty similar on the picture (but in fact combined two different tubes, most likely Boron is rod, but attached front part of the tube must be hollow pipe with diamont sitting there with no glue or minimum amount of glue, not sure about material of that pipe yet, maybe it’s the top secret of his patent). ZYX now offering a top model with Diamond Cantilever. Anyway, correct me if i'm wrong, but the goal of the hollow pipe boron (the old technology) is extremely low mass of the cantilever/stylus combo and high compliance or very high compliance typical for some of the best vintage MM cartridges of the 70s/80s era.
I have joined in the ZYX Family
Funny how change comes about. I’ve been intending to get a tube preamp for years 10-12 years. Instead, I got a tube amp which sounds great. . Tube amp with SS preamp sounds GREAT. FWIW, the SS Preamp was a Stereophile Class A Conrad Johnson PFR. So, its not like I was shooting in the dark. The PFR is a really good preamp. And the Bob Latino ST-70 seems to be a great fit along with the Silverline Sonatas. So I set out to get my turntable up to its optimum. I have a Teres 340 which has an Origin Live Illustrious 3 with Benz Ebony L cartridge. I put the OL Illustrious on it as a temporary arm. I figured the Teres deserved much better. But Maybe I am wrong. It sounds great. However, being an audiophile, I can’t leave it alone. So I set out to get a new tonearm worthy of the Teres 340. But then someone reminds me that a cartridge will make more difference than a tonearm upgrade, especially since the tonearm is a pretty good one. . So I consider the idea and come across a ZYX 4D for a good price. Thank you Raulirigueus(sp) for the idea. In the process, I saved some $$$ too. I’ve wanted a ZYX for quite some time. NOW, I see what all the fuss is about. This cartridge is fabulous. Next up is to clean the electric. Oneac seems to be a good way to go. But, who knows. My plans often go sideways. But I’ve really made some big steps forward thanks to some good advice and the good Lord above who over rules my ignorance. FWIW I often pity those who miss the beauty of good music. I love it. Thanks for your help along the way.
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Dear chakster, ''my friend Nandric said million times...'' As anybody can see Nandric wrote ''only'' 2801 contributions in this forum(grin). I think that enthusiasm and exaggeration go hand in hand. But with your ''encyclopedic'' knowledge of (carts) names and numbers I am surprised , first, with you confession to have never heard TRX 2 as well that you don't know that the newest TRX 2 got beryllium cantilever. This fact is mentioned as ''improvement'' against the ''old model''. Next to the ''wrong'' (Raul) JVC X1-mk 2 my best MM cart. ''Oldschool (young) Nakatsuka san '' used back than better material for both: the body as well for the cantilevers(grin). What kind of admirer are you? You friend Nandric is ''loaded'' with Ikeda's stuff even the new 9 TT included. And, speaking about admiration. To my big surprise some Chinese party leader stated the following reg. the question why they still honor Mao: ''We learned from Russian experience. Since they abandoned Stalin they are in declain''. Your pesimistic opininon regarding Russian future looks as a kind of affirmation of the Chinese assertion (grin). BTW would it make sense to glue one additional ''boron tube'' (which are not produced at present) on the boron rod (which is in limited supply) in the context of the reduction of the moving mass by the moving parts in an MC cart? Entusiasm may also go hand in hand with cotradictions (grin). |
Don, Thanks for responding to my challenge. The UNI II was of course discontinued a few years ago in favor of the latest version of the UNI ("Premium"? Or something like that). Apparently one sample (the ad notes repeatedly that he has only one sample to sell), fell into the hands of this dealer in LA, by some mechanism. I am betting that he convinced a customer to trade the unused UNI II toward some other very expensive purchase. The information in total suggests that this is "the exception that proves the rule"; only Sorasound sell new UNIs on a routine basis. Now, if the asking price for the UNI II were about half of what it is now, I might jump. Later comments about packaging are of interest. I also noticed the stark contrast between how Ortofon packages their TOTL cartridges (very fancy and elegant) vs how ZYX packages the UNI, which is no different from how they package their cheapest offerings. I have a new AT ART7, which retails for under $1000. It's packaging is far "nicer" than that of my ZYX UNI, which came to me in the original box. I am unmoved by this fact, however. What does perturb me a little is that in the good old days, when no company would dare to ask $8000 for a phono cartridge, every new cartridge came with its own frequency response read-out which also showed channel separation and voltage output. I have an NOS vintage B&O with such a package insert. It would seem that for $8000, or even for $1000, this practice should be revived. Perhaps it would be too revealing. |
@nandric no, you just mixed up different ADC models, your faulty memories, there was trx-1 (titanium cantilever), trx-2 (sapphire cantilever) and trx-3 (beryllium cantilever) designed by Nakatsuka-San. I am sceptical, because only grgaudio call them "the best MM" (in fact they are IM) and people repeat it after him, but grgaudio easily sells one ADC with stylus from another inferior model without even mentioning it in his listings on a'gon. Other people call sapphire cantilever "a diamond cantilever" to ask for a higher price. Welcome to the world of dishonest sellers. p.s. Those Chinese are at least the producers, not the consumers. Closest scenario for my country is North Korea until 2024 at least, so i can not be positive about it. |
Dear chakster, I see you as my ''young Slavic brohter''. Also as a younger forum member. I own, as I stated, this TRX 2 with beryllium cantilever. I also own TRX 2 with saphire cantilever (NOS). In the user manual of the beryllium kind beryllium is described as ''improvement'' of the saphire kind. Who then mixed what up? I am in this hobby for more as 40 years . I put some arguments forward which you usualy avoid to answer. Those who care to read your and my post should judge about our arguments. As you know Slavic brothers like to tease each other. More in particular the younger one. Those are who need to learn and not pretend to know better. You should follow my example not Raul's (grin). |
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