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

I have a dilema

My Zyx Universe .24mv cartridge appears to be loosing its suspension characteristics. I believe an arm bearing not moving freely put too much wear on it.

I have 84 db speakers and have to crank at pretty high levels to get my volume up far enough to resolve things.

I know a .24 mv is going to have slightly more resolution and speed but woud I be better going with the .48 and having less stress on the amplification and higher output volumes?
audiotomb
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
Audiotomb- Never heard the Daedalus at any length but I know Almarg loves his. Enjoy. And don't miss any live music to listen to the hifi. It's great fun but it's not the real thing, as I am sure you know.
almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
05-23-14: Swampwalker
My own experience is that you do have to be somewhat concerned about hum and noise when you go to very high eff speakers; the higher eff the more careful you have to be....
Relevant to this point I see that the MA-1's description (under the "order" tab) indicates that the following are available:
Jumper plugs for high efficiency speakers -- Replaces tube in the voltage amplifier section of Atma-Sphere power amplifiers, thus reducing gain for high efficiency speakers. Recommended when efficiency of speaker is over 100.
As I indicated earlier the efficiency of the Ulysses is spec'd at 98 db/1W/1m, and I suspect that you won't have any issues with hum or hiss. But considering the high gain of your preamp I wouldn't completely rule out the possibility that you might find yourself operating the volume control undesirably close to the bottom of its range. In which case these jumper plugs would appear to be a solution.

Enjoy! Regards,
-- Al
roscoeiii's avatar
roscoeiii
1,155 posts
 
Those jumpers are an under-appreciated option on Atma amps. Did wonders in my system when I had an S30.
needfreestuff's avatar
needfreestuff
572 posts
 
Audiotomb quite the upgrade new speakers and a new cartridge. I upgraded to ZYX about three weeks ago and cannot imagine it getting any better, hope you enjoy the cartridge as much as I am. Make sure to post up and let us know how it turned out. Best of Luck
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Doug - talked to Mehran, always a pleasure
generous exchange policy - I am upgrading to the ii. !!!
Woo-hoo! I figured he'd be generous to a repeat customer, that's always been his way. Mehran's one of the true good guys in audio.

When all the new goodies settle in, please update us on your impressions.

If you feel like taking the time, it would be instructive to hear how the UNI2 behaves with your Salk speakers. My guess (only that) is that it would slightly improve the perceived lack of dynamic headroom.
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