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ZYX "House" Sound

I am searching for a different sound in my system. I'm currently using the Shelter 901 MkIII and the Koetsu Rosewood Signature. I consider both to be on the warm side of neutral. I'd like to find a very good quality cartridge that is a bit more neutral. I don't want "clinical". I cannot cope with cymbals that sound like white noise with emphasis on the upper octaves. System is: MS DD-40 (2 tables), SUT using the Cimemag 1254 Tranny, Paragon Model E tube preamp (used as a phono pre) and Musical Surroundings Nova phono pre, Levinson control amp, Bryston 2.5B cubed power amp, Revel bookshelf speakers and HSU sub.

I've been seriously considering ZYX for my next cartridge. There are reviews of the top and bottom of the line ZYX cartridges, but little in between. I've contacted Mehran at Sorasound. Based on my budget, he suggested the Ultimate (Exceed) 4D or the Ultimate (Exceed) Omega.

Not many reviews for these mid-tier cartridges. Is anyone familiar with the sound of these cartridges? Does ZYX have a "house" sound? I'm not concerned by the naming confusion nor any of the other negative comments I've read. They're not constructive. I really want to understand where the ZYX cartridges fit in the cool to warm spectrum. There may be other brands to look at, and I'm doing that. This post is about the ZYX sound.

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dentdog's avatar
dentdog
498 posts
 

Thought I would pick this up as having recently purchased the ZYX Ultimate Exceed Omega and running it in, and believe  me if you doubt break in process is real this will make you a believer, I would say for me, in my system, the Omega is a goldilocks performer

 Lean, warm whatever, the cartridge has presence. Bass is there, voices to die for. Best "they are here" heard in my system to date and I've been chasing this just like most of you. ET2 arm and as to resonances non existence. My previous experience is somewhat limited, Fuuga, Airtight Supreme, Krell 100 ( Miyabi). Will be checking out the Allnic Amber to compare once Brian Walsh makes it by next month to set up a new Kuzma arm. JMO of course.

pindac's avatar
pindac
2,864 posts
 

@dentdog I too am familiar with the impact of the Break In Process on both Phonostages and Cartridges.

I find a 100 Hours is where the magic happens, and for a period following this, there is a final structuring to the sonic being produced.

No matter what is said by those that don't endorse the notion, there is a optimisation for the properties of certain components/materials used for an interface, resulting with a Sweet Spot that reveals itself.

linnlp12
79 posts
 

Ignore the comments on the DD40.  Its a wonderful table/arm and sounds great using a Monster Sigma Genesis 2000 and other cartridges.  Denon 103R too but the cartridge lacks detail no matter what combo i tried it on.  Its a valued player in my table / cartridge collection and can keep up with more expensive tables.  my experience its the setup and matching, including the cable.  YMMV.

kevemaher's avatar
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kevemaher OP
86 posts
 

@linnlp12 Thanks for the good words about the DD-40!

I measured all the tables I had a few months ago using an app that measures and reports RPM and WOW and Flutter. One can quibble about absolute accuracy, but comparisons among tables does indicate which tables have lower W&F.

The DD-40 came out # 3 of 4. The Technics SL-1200G and Denon DL-57L were the best. By a big margin, the worst table was my Acoustic Signature WOW XXL. Its W&F was about 5x worse than the Denon.and Technics (0.1% vs 0.02%) I've since sold this table.

And I really love the MA-505 arm. I have three and one long verrsion.

007nguyen
6 posts
 

Hello,

I have VPI classic 3 and Technics SL-1000R, both with Audio-technica Art-9.

The sound with Technics and with Art-9 is like a CD.

I prefer ZYX 4D last version with the Technics.

 

Hope this helps.

 

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