How Does the Soundsmith

Dear Pentatonia: I can't agree more with you on those sentences and about MM/MI cartridges:

+++++ " has the most revealing three dimentional and plausible sound I've ever heard from my system. " +++++

+++++ " try to describe with one word the voice I'd say ENERGY. " +++++

" plausible " is a " new " characteristic that IMHO the LOMC cartridges have not and that the MM/MI is one of its sound signature.

ENERGY, that's a " signature " of live music that again the LOMC can't even " imagine ".

+++++ " Have you ever notice the horn loading sound of trombone? " +++++

only through MM/MI cartridges.

+++++ " Don't you believe that is the right time to remove any cryogenicaly treated device/part from our system? " +++++

I can add: " from our brains ".

Live and real music must comes an be again our reference!

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Pentatonia,

Good report. You are one of only a handful of people I've "met" who's actually heard any model ZYX with the gold coils, and I entirely agree with you. I actually think you were a bit too polite (just like that cartridge!).

The gold coil UNIverse and Airy 3 (I've had both in my system) were so laid back they did a passable imitation of being asleep. I couldn't stand either one of them for more than 5 minutes.

The silver coil versions are better, though they're still much too "relaxed" or "smooth" for me.

So is any ZYX of the high output (.48mv) variety: slow, sluggish and unlively (though still tonally accurate, like any ZYX).

Only the copper coil, low output models provide good dynamics and detail. Read Arthur Salvatore's head-to-head review of the silver coil UNIverse (which he found quite ho-hum) vs. the the copper one (which blew him away). The gold coil version is much MORE ho-hum than the silver. They don't even sound like they came from the same workbench. If I were comparing a Voice to a gold Airy 3 I'd expect to hear exactly what you did.

Now, almost everyone is happy: good.

raul.