dave thomas
pfm Member
Has anyone any experience of these cartridges? Possibly compared Zyx to the likes of dynavector, Benz etc.
I have compared album rips of the identical tracks made using a ZYX Universe, a Lyra Titan and some $8000 Jan Allaerts. Even transcribed to CD the differences were very easy to hear and to rank.
The ZYX was superficially the most impressive, but ultimately the most tiring. It made very thing sound sparking clean but slightly synthetic. If you listened to acoustic jazz only, this may be THE cartridge. The Allaerts did the least fireworks but by far conveyed the most emotion and was chosen blindly in about ten different A/B/C comparisions (the A, B, and C swapped identities, but an identity log was made). But it has an extremely low output and needs tremendous amounts of gain.
I own both a ZYX Airy 3 (silver base) and a Dynavector XX2(II).
I think your choice may depend upon the sort of music you mostly listen to.
The ZYX is far more fussy, won't track well in colder temperatures, the stylus shape reveals more than the ZYX but is prone to fracture. The ZYX is bass- light (a serious criticism unless you listen mostly to chamber music or vocal) and does not have anything like the dynamic range of the Dynavector.
The XX2(II) (note: this is a better cartridge than the XX2) tracks like a cat even in cooler temperatures, has a bomb proof construction and sounds better in all ways- except transparency- than my Airy.
The stylus on the XX2(II) will be good for many more hours than the Airy stylus- despite the claims of ZYX.
One very good feature of the Dynavector is that when it comes time for retipping you get an almost completely rebuilt cartridge at a very reasonable price- not simply a retip and refurbish.
Thanks for the replies - apparently the new Universe is supposed to be very good but expensive. I was considering trying to listen to a 4D.
Thanks for that Graham. I wondered why there seemed to be so many varieties of Zyx cartridges. Do they have different ranges for different parts of the world?
Wyndham Hodgson, of Expert Stylus (who has a world- wide reputation for expertise and knowledge with respect to diamonds and cartridge retipping) told me that the micro ridge stylus is prone to fracture.
If not many ZYX have been returned to GT because of fractures perhaps owners prefer not to incur the cost of ZYX exchanges- and choose aftermarket retipping instead.
No aftermarket retipping service any longer uses micro ridge styli. Few manufacturers still do.
I hear the benefit of the micro ridge with respect to detail retrieval. This is due, I believe, to its very small tip radius. The styli used in Dynavector cartridges e.g.(XX2(II)) are not far behind in this respect and have the advantage of not so readily retaining debris.