Probably after what has been written, you might be saying to yourself, "Oh man, maybe I made a mistake buying this Cartridge, if this Cartridge is that particular, and picky about set up"?
While I don't own this particular Cartridge, I'd probably be safe to assume, and say, that like many other top quality world class MC Cartridges out there, time must be given for break in, the better the Toneamm, the better it will be able to showcase such a fine Cartridge.
And of course critical attention paid to proper set up, compatibility down the line of Phono Stage, and it's settings.
But, I don't believe any of these Cartridges from ZYX entry level, to the UNIverse, and beyond, are so tempermental-touchy, that one absolutely has to fiddle with both VTA, and VTF on a per record basis, otherwise the sound will be so totally flawed to be unlistenable.
By saying this, Doug D certainly isn't overdoing it, or has any afflictions of any sort, that he feels that things could be better, etc, by doing this-doing that by tweaking-adjusting. As for 99% of the rest of us, the UNI, can probably be set up, left alone once correct, and things will sing quite nicely, without the need of fussing with it every other day, or multiple times per listening session.
If a Cartidge was that fussy, this is certainly not an advantage, or a good quality, and I think Doug will agree, the UNiverse doesn't realy require such fanatisism, unless you're looking to squeeze the very last bit of performance. When it gets to that level, there are no doubt other issues within the system falling far short, than the UNI not being able to handle the music thrown at it.
Still, there's good advice in periodically checking things.
I know Doug doesn't stop in here as often as he has in the past, but may chime in, offer experiences, and doubtful there's anyone here who can contribute more to what the UNI is, and what it can do.
I'm sure Doug, and the rest would agree, that extension at both ends of the frequency spectrum will become better. Deeper, lower, tighter, cleaner bass response, and the high frequency will become better, smoother, clearer, and that the sibilance issues, rawness will wane-subside with time.
That slightly mechanical sound I noted on my Airy 3X is going away, the sound is becoming more organic, and analog sounding, smoother, and as others have mentioned, the sound becomes better, and better as hours of break in accumilate.
My own Cartridge seems to be Cartridge that doesn't lie, or sweeten-hype less than stellar recordings, it's like a reference studio monitor speaker, yet I notice many records I've owned, and played over the years do seem more listenable with the Airy 3X, and this is no doubt due to the Micro-Line Stylus doing its thing, reaching deeper into the groove, which no Cartridge before, has touched, Mark
