Zyx Universe Break In

congratulations being in the zyx universe family. what I have come up with is to mark time for breakin by using the line method. 40 minutes per line for approximnt lp play time. I now have over 300 hrs on my 2nd universe. I use a wally tracker unv. for setup. get this right and you are on you're way. as mentioned the stylus is very small and as I found out the hard way it will easily brake off please use care with setup and lp playing. getting to light with vtf will cause a loss of dynamics. at this time I don't need to track below 1.96. using triplaner that .96 has a fair amount of adjustment with vtf fine tuning. small movements and time listening are needed as you can miss the right spot by making to large a move. you can go to extremes to squeeze out performance cause universe has extreme sound. the only way though is to spend the time needed. after a lot of time playing with universe I now set vta by lp thickness only. I have setting for each with good results. you can spend the time but when you're in that mode you can't relax and listen to your favorite music its up and down. take some time out for musical satisfaction while you're seeking that magical spot for vtf/vta. enjoy

Interesting. I find the universe cartridge performs best at or near 1.70g vtf. The soundstage is so deep and resolution between the tracks or instruments so clear at this level. It sounds good at 1.9 but the sweet spot on mine was achieved by slow reduction until mistracking then backing up a bit from that. VTA was optimized before and after the vtf move but the cartridge and arm are near level at my optimum vta. It was a little troubling to hear the stylus mistracking but backing off about .05g settled that down. again, once optimized, it is the best cartridge i have ever used by a long shot. My other cartridge is an airy3s which i have used only twice since mounting the uni.

Has anyone broken in a cartridge playing in the lead out groove? An experienced turntable manufacturer suggested breaking a cartridge in this way. I played mine in the lead out groove for a couple of days and that got me off to a great start with break in.

Bkonig:

Using the lead out groove for break in sounds interesting very plausible. Break in time of 75 or 100 hours is plenty of albums. Far more arduous than putting 100 hours on a preamp or cd player. I'm interested to know if anyone else has any comments on using the leadout groove for the intended purpose? All the advice is fantastic. As I said in my first post, this cartridge has more potential than anything else I've listened to with the notable exception of the sizzling highs. I'm going to work at it for a while. I'm now tracking at 2 grams with parallel VTA. We'll adjust the VTA after 50 hours or so of play time. The ultimate is getting those smooth, rich highs happening. I'm sure due diligence will pay off.

The Cardas Sweep record has locked grooves for breakin. I have used them from time to time, but in the past year, prefer to go through the process & just enjoy listening.