ZYX R100 Yatra

Good review and summary of the strong points that are common to every ZYX model I've heard (most of them). IME, you can certainly get more of what you're missing from higher model ZYX's.

For much less than $4K, the Airy 3-X-SB provides more "oomph" than a Yatra.

For right around $4K, the 4D-X-SB provides a *LOT* more "oomph", about as much as anyone could ask. If you're in North America you might get a deal from SORAsound, especially if you trade in a nearly-new Yatra.

Going beyond your price point, the UNIverse 2-X-SB provides as much "oomph" as the 4D, plus even more speed, clarity, low level detail, microdynamic subtlety and timing accuracy. It takes all of the points you mentioned to a level you've possibly never imagined.

With regard to your observation #4 (the front of the sound stage):

- the Airy3 should bring it roughly even with your speakers (without losing any soundstage depth)

- The 4D will bring it in front of your speakers (again, with no loss of depth, probably an increase)

- the U2 does something altogether different: it erases the front of the soundstage completely; there is no sense of any barrier between you and the music, it's like you're in the space where the recording was made... when you first hear it it's quite spooky, and jawdropping (as was the UNIverse1 in this regard)

Read the reviews by my signature for my take on these models.

Dougdeacon,

I have the same thread going over on AA. It seems that others are getting some of the same pleasures from ZYX but many argue that I'm not likely to find the extra 'soul, emotion, etc.' by moving up the line.

With regard to my observation #4 (the front of the sound stage):
One of the goals I have had in designing my system/choosing components is that of erasing the front of the soundstage completely. The ZYX has been a nice step forward in this regard.

I remember the first song I played with it in: a few minutes in I noticed that I was feeling a little anxious -- I reflected on that and the reason was because I was unconsciously worried that 'someone' in the soundfield might bump into me. This sounds like a massive exaggeration but it's simply a matter of fact. I haven't felt like that since but on that first song I did have that weird sensation.

Getting back to one of the themes of my post...
that 'someone' that might bump into me is sort of ghost-like. It's not that the images are wispy or airy or less than palpable but its just that I never get a sense that they are actually 'real'.

I came across an old Art Dudely review of an R1000 and where he is pretty much saying the same things I am in terms of both praise and that something is oddly missing. It's odd that I can't (and he can't) nail down exactly what's missing but in my gut, or maybe my heart, I just know that something isn't there that I wish was there.

I was unconsciously worried that 'someone' in the soundfield might bump into me.

LOL! As I noted, that sensation is incomparably stronger with the UNIverse (1 or 2). Its ability to erase the wall of artificiality we normally hear is spooky. We made note of this in our UNIverse1 review years ago, as did Arthur Salvatore. It comes, I believe, from a combination of things; including exquisite timing accuracy and low level detail retrieval. Like anything, you get used to it after a time. Of course moving back to a cartridge that's less immediate is difficult... very difficult. Beware!

Regarding "soul, emotion, etc.", read our review of the Atmos/4D. We address that point directly. In the end, I fear you may be searching for two contradictory characteristics. You may have to choose one path or the other, or have separate cartridges or systems for different sonic purposes.

IME, a superbly revealing system is ideal for ancient and folk music, classical, older jazz, classic blues and any music that's recorded live with minimal miking, mixing and processing. What could be more soulful or emotive than hearing the performers so palpably that they might almost bump into you, as if from a front row seat? Emotion and soul in this type of recording comes from hearing what the musicians actually play. ZYX's excel at this, as you've heard, and the higher up the model line you go the better they are at it - especially the nearly nude models (4D and UNIverse2).

OTOH, most rock, pop and modern jazz recordings (and many new classical ones too) are multi-miked, often with the musicians in different acoustic spaces. The pieces are then assembled, dubbed and added to by the engineers into a finished product that never existed in real life. The more revealing the system, the more we hear the seams, the artificiality. It's harder to believe in the soul or emotion from a vocalist who's obviously singing in a closed, anechoic booth while her backup musicians are playing together in a completely different, more reflective acoustic (for example). Artificial input = artificial output.

The only way to NOT hear this artificiality is to play the recording back using one or more components that smear subtle timing cues, smother low level details and/or infuse the sound with some coloration of their own. The classic Koetsu and Grado sound is based on exactly this sort of distortion. (However artfully done, if it doesn't reproduce the actual sound in the grooves, it's distortion.) The most impressive cartridge I've heard in this respect was a Lyra Olympos. It was *almost* as clear and revealing as my UNIverse1, but brushed each note with the slightest hint of mink (as the owner artfully described it). It was gorgeous, but ultimately still a distortion.

Ultimately we each must choose which path we prefer. My preference obviously is for maximum clarity, fidelity and realistic micro-dynamics. Others prefer to sacrifice some of that for the sake of a sonic character that pleases them. No right or wrong, it's all preference.