First things first. Why would a Gallant Diva even need a stereo? Couldn't you just sing for us, please? Of course if you're a male diva, and gallant, you should be asking me for a date!
FWIW, I'd rarely agree that upgrading to a high level cartridge should be the first step. A revealing cartridge can easily expose flaws in table, arm or phono stage. OTOH, the very attractive prices of Mehran's remaining inventory do argue for taking a chance, especially if you're prepared to upgrade other components in a reasonable time frame.
BTW, tables, arms and phono stages may be long term investments. Cartridges? Not necessarily. It depends on the longevity of the elastomers and whether you can get it properly retipped when needed. It's unknown whether the elastomers in this generation of ZYX's will hold up for the long haul. Retipping with a ZYX stylus does not seem to be available, and ZYX's stylus is key to its performance. Not trying to discourage, but make sure you understand this may not be a "long term investment".
I hope we didn't imply the Atmos was shy in the highs. It's not. No ZYX is shy in the highs. Due to its stylus, every ZYX above the Bloom has arguably more extended and clearer highs than any other brand. Remember our perspective: UNIverse owners reviewing a lower model. The Atmos did not quite match the UNIverse for HF's. Neither does any other cartridge (in our experience). That wasn't a criticism of the Atmos, just a comparison with a cartridge that's in another league in this parameter.
Whether you'd find an Atmos too bass heavy is hard for anyone else to say I guess. It didn't sound so to us. We enjoyed its heft but we prefer the greater transparency, speed, resolution, immediacy and bottomless sound floor of the UNIverse; and the Atmos does all of those things better than the Airy 3.
Regarding vocals, we agree and enjoy them daily. A little jazz but mostly tons of classical: opera, lieder, cantatas, madrigals, etc. (Most pop vocalists annoy us because they rarely know where the notes are, unless they're named Ella.) Currently we're playing through our 70 LP set of Harnoncourt's Bach cantatas, which typically feature four soloists, chorus and a small chamber orchestra. Harnoncourt's recordings were marvelously intimate, clear, present and lifelike - and they're terribly challenging to reproduce well in a home system. If you want to hear what a system can't do, these LP's will tell you.
The Atmos is superior to the Airy 3 no matter what type or aspect of vocals you enjoy. Again, it doesn't quite match the UNIverse's shocking "OMG, s/he's standing RIGHT THERE, alive in front of me!" experience, but it gets as close as all but a tiny number of cartridges. I've personally heard only one cartridge almost match the UNIverse in this respect, plus another that might have if we'd had time to optimize it. I've never heard any cartridge do it better. The Atmos certainly comes closer than the Airy 3. As we said, it's better in EVERY way...
Any ZYX (with the SB weight) will match your arm fine. If you go for Atmos or UNIverse I wouldn't bother upgrading to a Moerch. That would be a baby step, and those two carts need giant steps to display all they can do. Your table, arm and phono stage would all need major upgrades to come anywhere near their level. Be careful of what you're getting into, like me it won't be cheap!
FWIW, I'd rarely agree that upgrading to a high level cartridge should be the first step. A revealing cartridge can easily expose flaws in table, arm or phono stage. OTOH, the very attractive prices of Mehran's remaining inventory do argue for taking a chance, especially if you're prepared to upgrade other components in a reasonable time frame.
BTW, tables, arms and phono stages may be long term investments. Cartridges? Not necessarily. It depends on the longevity of the elastomers and whether you can get it properly retipped when needed. It's unknown whether the elastomers in this generation of ZYX's will hold up for the long haul. Retipping with a ZYX stylus does not seem to be available, and ZYX's stylus is key to its performance. Not trying to discourage, but make sure you understand this may not be a "long term investment".
... wonder if Atmos would fall short in treble and sound too bass-heavy.Not a chance of the former. The Atmos's HF's are better than the Airy 3's, much better. It's every bit as extended, it adds less overhang to each note, it's faster and it's clearer. Among ZYX's, only the UNIverse does HF's better.
I hope we didn't imply the Atmos was shy in the highs. It's not. No ZYX is shy in the highs. Due to its stylus, every ZYX above the Bloom has arguably more extended and clearer highs than any other brand. Remember our perspective: UNIverse owners reviewing a lower model. The Atmos did not quite match the UNIverse for HF's. Neither does any other cartridge (in our experience). That wasn't a criticism of the Atmos, just a comparison with a cartridge that's in another league in this parameter.
Whether you'd find an Atmos too bass heavy is hard for anyone else to say I guess. It didn't sound so to us. We enjoyed its heft but we prefer the greater transparency, speed, resolution, immediacy and bottomless sound floor of the UNIverse; and the Atmos does all of those things better than the Airy 3.
Regarding vocals, we agree and enjoy them daily. A little jazz but mostly tons of classical: opera, lieder, cantatas, madrigals, etc. (Most pop vocalists annoy us because they rarely know where the notes are, unless they're named Ella.) Currently we're playing through our 70 LP set of Harnoncourt's Bach cantatas, which typically feature four soloists, chorus and a small chamber orchestra. Harnoncourt's recordings were marvelously intimate, clear, present and lifelike - and they're terribly challenging to reproduce well in a home system. If you want to hear what a system can't do, these LP's will tell you.
The Atmos is superior to the Airy 3 no matter what type or aspect of vocals you enjoy. Again, it doesn't quite match the UNIverse's shocking "OMG, s/he's standing RIGHT THERE, alive in front of me!" experience, but it gets as close as all but a tiny number of cartridges. I've personally heard only one cartridge almost match the UNIverse in this respect, plus another that might have if we'd had time to optimize it. I've never heard any cartridge do it better. The Atmos certainly comes closer than the Airy 3. As we said, it's better in EVERY way...
Any ZYX (with the SB weight) will match your arm fine. If you go for Atmos or UNIverse I wouldn't bother upgrading to a Moerch. That would be a baby step, and those two carts need giant steps to display all they can do. Your table, arm and phono stage would all need major upgrades to come anywhere near their level. Be careful of what you're getting into, like me it won't be cheap!
