Zyx Universe. O.24 mv vs .48 mv with low eff spkrs

How much gain does you phono stage have? If you were happy with it before the suspension problem, why not send it to Andy Kim at the Needle Clinic he does excellent work with a fast turnaround. Recently had my cartridge repaired and it only took a couple of weeks for him to complete the repairs and he is very reasonable. Best of Luck

The cartridge will be riding low - too close to the record if indeed the suspension were collapsed. What arm are you using and how did you come to the assumption that it isn't free to move enough? If the cartridge looks ok when playing a record, I would look at your electronics first.

Tom,

Many thoughts and questions...

Can you give a bit more info? Has this need to crank up the gain come on gradually over time? Or is this suddenly out of nowhere?

Are you sure some tubes aren't going? Have you tried swapping in new phono stage or power amp tubes? Much cheaper than buying a new UNIverse.

I don't know anything about your Salk speakers or power amps, but your Doshi pre has oodles of gain, so the problem "shouldn't" be there. I know you had it modded by Nick. You might check with him to see if he has any insights. Gain and impedance matching between amplifier stages is one of his specialties.

If your supposition about faulty/sticky arm bearings wearing out the suspension is correct, then clearly the first thing to do is remedy that (duh).

Once you've got a properly functioning tonearm then presumably there's no risk of wearing out your next cartridge early. In that case, if a new cartridge is needed and the .24mv UNIverse gave you sufficient output before, I can't recommend going with the .48mv. I've heard both, as you know, and there's really no comparison. It's not just detail that's lost with the HO version. Dynamics and speed suffer greatly too. The music sounds (comparatively) dead and dull. Read Arthur Salvatore's original (.48mv) and followup (.24mv) UNIverse reviews for detailed comparisons. I discouraged him from bothering with the .48mv but he wanted to try it first. He wasn't that impressed, finding it only slightly better than his LO Airy 3. When he switched to the .24mv UNIverse... bingo!

If you go for another UNIverse, DO order the UNIverse II. It's head and shoulders better than the original. One of the improvements is increased dynamics and punch, which should help ameliorate any need to crank it up.