Audiotomb, I respect your effort both to purchase all those great ZYX cartridges and to report your long term experiences. I am and have been a big fan of the original Universe, and I have no doubt that some of its progeny may be even better. However on or about the second or third generation of universe cartridges, I began to sense a disturbing trend that I think may be motivated by marketing techniques, rather than by technological advances. Which is to say that by changing the name of the cartridge and making a few physical changes to its construction that may or may not be beneficial to sound, ZYX has managed to just about double the price each time it upgrades the universe. I remain skeptical that slight differences are always for the better. If you examine your own writing in your post above, you could see that you are using the same descriptive terms over and over again to describe each new model, only with the inference that the newest one does all those good things even better. Maybe that is so. But I remain skeptical.However, we agree that the universe line of cartridges are unique and excellent in the ways you describe.
ZYX Optimum phono cartridge - a defining statement
ZYX Optimum phono cartridge
Following is a review of the latest ZYX cartridge the Universe Optimum.
Without further ado I would like to thank Mehran of SORAsound who goes so far above and beyond in realizing this audio quest for his ZYX family.
I have owned all the ZYX Universe models since 2006. All have the characteristic ZYX warm, natural and detailed sound. Each was the low output 0.24mV design. The original Universe was solid is resolving difficult passages especially in chamber and jazz music. Moving forward to the Universe II the cartridge took on a lot of low end energy and prat. Rock music was more dynamic, the transients enhanced and it had that extra body in the lower register.
My system started with the Galibier Gavia turntable, triplanar arm and Doshi Aalap full function preamp. During the time I had my Universe II, I upgraded the tonearm to a Durand Talea, Daedalus Ulysses speakers and a KL Audio LP 200 electrostatic cleaner. All significantly enhanced my system.
Fast forward to stepping up to the Universe Premium. This was a very apparent jump in sonic realism. The sound opened up in a tangible and natural way. The instruments just hung there in space. The tonal qualities resolved further and separation was enhanced. Overtones, details, things like really picking out a buried bass drum or percussive elements.
Moving forward to the present - the Universe Optimum is just as much a quantium leap as the Universe II to the Universe Premium was. Everything snapped into place. Micro and macro dynamics fully rendered. Incredible detail and imaging. The presentation just occupies a space completely natural and open.
Instruments are even more defined, the sound converges around the source. The bass is so taunt that even the most subtle bass line is drawn out distinctly but in no way bloated.
Reggie Workman at times plays very subtle and his upright bass is buried in the mix in active portions of John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme. Not so with the ZYX Optimum - the bass line is crystal clear and lower in volume. Toms, snare and bass drums were felt in a three dimension sense - the tautness, size and velocity and tone on the heads, particularly the bass drum are very apparent and accurately rendered. Cymbals, brushes or resonating piano keys have a distinct pulse and luscious decay when approprate. Stringed instruments have a warm bodied resonance. You are in the room for Bill Evans, Paul Motian and Scott Lafaro during Sunday at the Village Vanguard.
I was overwhelmed hearing my standard go by - Steely Dan’s Aja side 1. This album and all it’s nuances is in my DNA. Everything was rendered with such realism. This fully suspended the thought that I was listening to an audio system.I was floored with glee.
Vocals have such body and emotion whether it be Ella and Louis, James Taylor, David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, Rebecca Pigeon, Norah Jones, Sufjan Stevens, Nina Simone, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, etc.. Vocal harmonies from CSN, The Beatles, Yes, Ray Charles, and Gillian Welch/Dave Rawlings are very well defined and engaging.
Acoustic instruments are rendered organically with warm overtones. Electric guitars and synths cut through strongly when intended.
It’s been a true joy replaying familiar records and introducing new ones. It is interesting that lesser songs seem to grab me more and I appreciate what the artist had intended.
Jaqueline Dupre’s Elgar Cello Concerto has the most delicate then dynamic elements. The detail of the ensemble playing in Yes’ Fragile is magical - doubling of parts standing out like never before. Bob Dylan’s More Blood recording is an "in room" experience. The Living Stereo Charles Munch / Boston Symphony recordings - Ravel Daphne and Chloe and Fritz and the Fritz Reiner Chicago Symphony Bartok Symphonie Fantastic are explosive with quick and composed dynamics and subtle in the quieter nuanced sections. The drone of Chris Wood’s saxophone as it builds up in Traffic’s Low Spark of High Heeled Boys gave me goosebumps.
My whole system has been elevated in a major way.
The ZYX Optimum is one of those mind boggling components that dramatically converges on realism. The Optimum brings out the passion in reproduced music in ways I have never fully experienced before. The "you are there" essence is palpatible and so engaging.
Tom
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Lewm thank you for your insightful response I wouldn't have written an indepth review if I wasn't hearing very tangible differences that I wanted to share. I used the same descriptive elements from one model to the next because each showed an audible refinement and convergence in that very critical area. Replicating music. i lived with each previous cartridge over a long time and experienced many albums become further resolved. this isn't a small improvement - my experience with the Optimum was jaw dropping. there has been a strong if disturbing trend in high end cartridges where the price has skyrocketed. For something prone to breakage this is more critical. Speakers and amplifiers started this trend a long time ago. ZYX was a follower in the mega priced cartridge trend. Can this be justified in every case? I just know how much impact the ZYX Optimum has on my system and I would be hard pressed spending that money elsewhere. Remove the Optimum and I would be seriously longing for that magic. |
Audiotomb, I am glad that you are happy with your cartridge but whenever I read these floral descriptions on how great a new piece of equipment is I think first that the person is trying to sell me something, or the reviewer is trying to get his own equipment cheap or even free and finally that the person is a head case. I think you would do yourself a service if you can be more measured in your comments especially when describing stuff that very few of us can afford. |
I am sorry but I need to dwell on language in order to express my thoughts. In linguistic and philosophy of language there is consensus about ''generative capability'' of languages. This capability is ascribed to the possibility to generate ''new meanings'' by endless (?) combination of morphems. So I was very critical about people who argued as ''I lack the words to describe X''. My added argument I borrowed from Frege: ''if a thought is clear then it can be expressed'' in ordinary language. But I changed my mind because of simplicity of our grammar. Hegel, Kant and even Wittgenstein used one single sentence form ''S is P'' (subject is predicate) construction to express their thoughts. Aka attributing some property to whatever object. We are of course interested in the properties of objects but there are also RELATIONS in which we should be interested. But comparisons ''allowed'' by grammar are also very ''poor''. For our cartridges we have no better than '' a is better than b'', or ''Peter is bigger than John''. However we also have scientific vocabulary which is much richer and much more precise than ordinary language provide. Musicology is a science and has an much richer VOCABULARY than ordinary language. On can ''see'' this by our member frogman. He is able to describe his experience much better than the rest because, so to say, his language or, better, his musical vocabulary is much richer. |
the person is trying to sell me something
finally that the person is a head case
more measured in your comments
especially when describing stuff that very few of us can afford.
|
- 46 posts total