ZYX Airy2-X-SB on Graham 2.2

I’ve been thinking about this damping issue. I using the high viscosity blue fluid. I forgot to mention that this stuff is also sensitive to changes in temperature. Maybe that’s not a big deal to some of you guys, but here in the Midwest living in an old house with no insulation in the walls, it is.

I was wondering if any of you guys have tried going back to the lighter weight clear fluid that came with pre 2.2 versions of the arm. I’m conjecturing here, but seems that while it would require more of that fluid to obtain optimum damping , it would also be less sensitive to changes in level. Any thoughts?

Dear Doug: For all what some people ( including you ) in this forum speak about the UNIverse, I'm sure that this cartridge is really in other level. I can't say nothing about till I can heard it.

Now, the evaluation of top cartridges is really a heavy task where you have to have precise rules and take in count to many issues for doing that job ( an individual job ).

One of those issues is the resolution of the audio system, but in this issue is extremly important not only the resolution but if that system have a full frecuency response. The appreciation of the cartridge sound reproduction differs by a wide margin in a full response system against one that is not. The full resolution at the frecuency extremes do the differences between a good cartridge an an excellent one.

Maybe, here is where belongs the differences between your appreciation and mine.

My answer to Larry is still true, not only for a ZYX but for any one that think that a particular cartridge is the best in the world. Any cartridge that " wants " to have that " title " has to beat, at least, each and all those cartridges that I mentioned to Larry, nothing less.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Sbrown,the older fluid is inferior.Adding fluid beyond a certain point,whether blue(SUPERIOR)or clear justs dumbs down,overdamps,the sound.Try VERY small changes in your current fluid level.Pinheads at a time!It took me almost a year to realize that really small amounts affect sound greatly.You must ,slightly, change vta and down force for each change in fluid!

Dear Doug: A few minutes ago I read your ZYX review. Very well made and very informative. I would like if you can give us all the LPs that you use on that review.

BTW, I can see clearly why we have some differents points of view on the performance or gradation of these cartridges.

The " name " is: very different RESOLUTION on our audio systems ( yes, I know that there are other issues on the subject. ). Maybe I post something about on the review site.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Hi Raul,

Thank you for the kind words. We did our best to describe everything we learned or heard, as you can tell from the ridiculous length of that review! ;-)

I couldn't easily name all the LPs we listened to from September until Xmas, at least not from memory. Obviously there were hundreds, but I'm afraid I didn't keep a playlist. I should have included more musical examples. That would have made the review less technical.

I guess I could flip through the whole pile of LP's (about 2,000). Anything played with either of the Airys (or now the UNIverse) has a yellow sticky note on the jacket with VTA setting(s). If I'm audited I can always show which cartridges have played any particular record since we got the TriPlanar!

Our collection is 95% classical. I have a very few decent jazz LP's and a handful of rock, pop, folk, etc. If you visit my house and want real party music, you should probably bring some of your own! Mine would be exhausted in an hour or two.

On the classical side, we played nearly every sub-genre I know of: ancient vocal and instrumental music, solo instruments, vocalists with accompaniment, chamber works, small and large orchestras both modern and "authentic", organ, opera, choral, avante garde 20th C. You name it.

If there's any particular recording or genre you want to know about please ask. If I have the record I'd be happy to describe what we hear, or don't hear. This might be one way to compare our systems at a distance, more or less.

Obviously our analog front end is "better than" our electronics. We know that. We're actually about to upgrade the electronics, though we won't be done for many months. You might not enjoy our choice of equalizers, but we demoed them in our system and we do! :-)

We'd love for you to post reviews or start a thread describing any parts of your system. I have a hunch we'd all learn or learn about a great deal.

Regards,
Doug