Zyx vs. Van Den Hul

Yeah, good luck on that no wind thing...

Not entirely clear what the rec from Mehran is here. Can you clarify. So he suggests Fuji with SB, but you are thinking Fuji with no SB?

No worries Roscoe. I asked Mehran about Yatra w/ SB. He said it's not a good move. Reason being, for the same money, he would suggest Fuji without SB. In a nutshell, he says the Fuji and above would be recommended if one wants to do SB.
So based on Doug's suggestion to do SB, that lead to Mehran suggesting the Fuji. Somehow when everything does work out in this hobby, it seems to cost more!

i can not comment about the particular cartridges you are discussing, but i own the VDH frog, ZYX airy3 and UNIverse. In addition, i own a Sumiko pearl and have owned many Shure MM cartridges early in my audio life. Comparing VDH Frog vs Airy3 (similar price ranges), i prefer the ZYX airy3. Both are very good cartridges. The sound stage and separation of the instruments is so much cleaner with the airy3. Bass response is a little better with the frog. Both are very fast and true to the music. playing classical or complex jazz albums really show the difference particularly when horns, strings and percussion are all present.