Need MC Step-Up Transformer advice?

Dear Pauly: +++++ " - more speed, more detail, more sparkle. " +++++

I know for sure that that is what you are hearing and you are right in what you are hearing.

Pauly this is a form in what the distortions tell you " I'm here ". That sparkle is not a better quality sound: it is distortion. It is not easy to explain here about because the best way to do it is making some change in our audio system ( where we are sure there will be less distortion ) and hear what happen with that change that is supposed has less distortion.

This is something that I learn many years ago when I change a tonearm interconect cable for something better: what I hear that time?: less sparkle and " less high frecuencies ", even the loudness in the volumen goes down ( at least I percivied like the volumen goes down ). I was very disapointed about and I return to the old cable that give me more " speed, clarity and sparkle ". One week later I return to the better cable and I understand what happen: less distortion. From that day I always know , speaking of distortions, when any change I do was for the better or worse. From that day I don't have to do any meausure to be sure about and if I take the meausure this one confirm what I'm hearing. Of course that's don't mean that if we have a dull sound in our system and after we do some change and with that change the sound is no any more dull but open and shining, that this is because there are more distortions: no, we have to have a lot of experience about to know for sure when what we are hearing are : distortions.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Hi Steve (Sojs). From your description your setup sounds very good and by no means did I infer otherwise. Nor am I inferring (like some other poster continually does) that you are somehow lacking in discerning between 'good' and 'bad' sound. I am sure your ear is good.

My comments pertaining to the tx103s were because your description of its performance (compressed/constrained) is similar to mine but with green step-ups.

Regards
Paul

Dear Doug: Now, I think that you can understand the why's of our ZYX differences in opinions: ... I think Larry too and the transformer coupled phonopreamp of Patrick is the same.

Heh. I may use stepup transformers but none of Larry's three phono preamps has one. Nor does Patrick's. Better check your facts.

Larry, Patrick and I have different phono stages but we all like ZYX cartridges. Allow me to draw a conclusion: they're pretty good. Perhaps you've never heard one properly set up on a well-matched arm.

Unfortunatelly all of you never know for sure which is the real performance of the ZYX cartridges till you have the right phonopreamp.

Your one-man campaign against ZYX makes it likely that you've only heard them with the WRONG phonopreamp. That is the logical explanation for an attitude which no one else seems to share.

FWIW, I've heard ZYX (and other) cartridges with at least twelve different phono stages. Some were all SS. Some were all tube. Some were SS + tube. Some were stepup transformers + tube. How many do I need to hear before I'll "know for sure" what a cartridge sounds like? Will you send me a diploma? ;-)

Dear Doug: I don't have any campaign against ZYX and it is not true that " no one else seems to share " about ( this is only one thread about: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1127562669&read&3&4&) . You were in some other thread were some people talk about the ZYx problems speacially at the low bass: if I can remember one of that threads Larry was extremly angry, in that thread some one gives ( other than me ) an opinion of those problems.

Btw, I never said that the ZYX cartridges are bad cartridges: I said that are good cartridges that have problems at the extreme of the frecuency range ( specially at the bottom end ), that there are not the best out there and that if in their next generation those problems will be fixed then I buy it. That's all. There is no campaign about.
As you know I have a special passion for the music and for the analog sound reproduction of the music. I own what I own on cartridges/tonearms because that passion: do you think that if the ZYX cartridges were up to the task ( my targets/music priorities ) I don't have a single one?. As I told you I'm waiting for a better ZYX performance, till that day I shall give my advise to other people to look other better performer cartridges that do a better job than the ZYX.

I know for sure that what you hear at your system is what you already post about ZYX cartridges. I only differ from your opinion because in your system you can't hear the ZYX bass problems: the SUT put a veil about and the frecuency range on your system can't handle in a clean way that range of frecuency. The problem is not only the phonopreamp, at this´performance cartridge level it is important too the resolution over the frecuency range of the audio system ( yours, mine, or any one ) and only in a similar audio system conditions we really can hear the cartridge performance and talk about in the " same language ". Right now we are talking on a subject with differents audio systems: it is almost imposible to share a specific global agreement.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul

how do you get in touch with K&K? Mike Cassidy.