ZYX "House" Sound

Dear @kevemaher  :  Per sé no one could say if your TT/tonearm is good enough and the tonearm can match really good with any cartridge not only high end ones but you when you listen your new cartridge.

One thing is way critical and has a " heavy weigth " in the quality level performance of any cartridge and that's is the tonearm. Cartridge and tonearm is one unit and any cartridge/tonearm combination have its own signature/color, you change the tonearm with the same cartridge and will sounds a little different with different " colorations ".

What I can't explain my self is that you are using that vintage tube phono/SUT and you have too the Nova unit. Those RCA input/output connectors on the tube unit are not good enough but not god those additional input/output connectors, cabls and solder joint for that SUT and all those only degrades the cartridge signal quality level.

The cartridge overall quality perfomance directly depends in a critical way to the quality level of the phono stage and tonearm including the tonearm internal wiring and always will be better a phono stage active high gain that an external SUT no matter wahat ( everything the same. ).

Do you want something neutral? then you have to put at minimum everykind of system link distortions/colorations in your room/system chain. My take is that maybe when you have the new cartridge need to think a little in what I'm saying here in favor of you and your room/system whole quality performance levels.

R.

R.

@kevemaher  : Btw and due that maybe you made some up-date/up-grade changes in your Paragon  and made measurements on your system: do you know or measure which the RIAA inverse eq. deviation in that unit?

The main reason exist phono stages is because that RIAA and very low noise gain the units need it.

Today a normal RIAA eq. deviation is around: +,- 0.1 db . Which yours?

Down there starts neutrality.

R.

I have a ZYX Ultimate Omega and love it. I think it is more dynamic and a touch less bright than my Koetsu Vermillion. I am also using a step up transformer.

My main cart for the last few years has been a Dynavector XV-1s.  I ran it through an EMIA CU 20:1 SUT but now use the Jensen AT347 SUT built into my phono pre.   I also own and use a ZYX Airy3x.  Both are less warm than your existing carts but I would not consider them to be analytical as that's not the sound I like.  For me, the ZYX is extremely distortion free and background noise level is very low while the Dyna has a bit more air at the top.  I could easily live with the ZYX full time as it's resolving yet non-fatiguing to listen to in long sessions.  If I got another cart, the ZYX Ultimate 4d with the carbon cantilever would be at the top of the list. 

Dear @kevemaher : " What arm and table did the people who purchased a Koetsu in the 80s use? "

You choosed part of the Golden years of TT/tonearms and even cartridges ..

In those years MS was really good with its BD TT’s and great tonearms as the MAX-237/282 that with the J shape arm wand maybe culd be the best ever tonearm. Your DD 40 was an entry level TT/tonearm where Pioneer, JVC, Sony, Yamaha, Denon and many others had way superior entry level models. In those times almost no one cared about the DD40 because it was in an inferior league and that was the reality in those Golden years.

That you are satisfied with does not means could be the best for the today top cartridges can shows at its best and this is the issue that you will have to decide when you listen to your new cartridge along the phono stage/SUT.

Of course only an opinion.

Btw, in the next link you can look to any of those manufacturers I mentioned including MS where you just can’t see the DD40 but several other models:

The Vintage Knob - Online vintage audio museum.

Pioneer vaults or JVC could tell you where you are " seated " as the other manufacturers.

Btw, do you measure or know the frequency response range on your SUT?

R.