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I have joined in the ZYX Family

Funny how change comes about. I’ve been intending to get a tube preamp for years 10-12 years. Instead, I got a tube amp which sounds great. . Tube amp with SS preamp sounds GREAT. FWIW, the SS Preamp was a Stereophile Class A Conrad Johnson PFR. So, its not like I was shooting in the dark. The PFR is a really good preamp. And the Bob Latino ST-70 seems to be a great fit along with the Silverline Sonatas. So I set out to get my turntable up to its optimum. I have a Teres 340 which has an Origin Live Illustrious 3 with Benz Ebony L cartridge. I put the OL Illustrious on it as a temporary arm. I figured the Teres deserved much better. But Maybe I am wrong. It sounds great. However, being an audiophile, I can’t leave it alone. So I set out to get a new tonearm worthy of the Teres 340. But then someone reminds me that a cartridge will make more difference than a tonearm upgrade, especially since the tonearm is a pretty good one. . So I consider the idea and come across a ZYX 4D for a good price. Thank you Raulirigueus(sp) for the idea. In the process, I saved some $$$ too. I’ve wanted a ZYX for quite some time. NOW, I see what all the fuss is about. This cartridge is fabulous. Next up is to clean the electric. Oneac seems to be a good way to go. But, who knows. My plans often go sideways. But I’ve really made some big steps forward thanks to some good advice and the good Lord above who over rules my ignorance. FWIW I often pity those who miss the beauty of good music. I love it. Thanks for your help along the way.
128x128artemus_5
nandric's avatar
nandric
3,263 posts
 

Dear chakster, ''my friend Nandric said million times...'' As anybody

can see Nandric wrote ''only''  2801 contributions in this forum(grin).

I think that enthusiasm and exaggeration go hand in hand. But with

your ''encyclopedic'' knowledge of (carts) names and numbers I

am surprised , first, with you confession to have never heard TRX

2 as well that you don't know that the newest TRX 2 got beryllium

 cantilever. This fact  is mentioned as ''improvement'' against the

 ''old model''. Next to the  ''wrong'' (Raul) JVC X1-mk 2 my best MM

cart. ''Oldschool (young) Nakatsuka san '' used back than better

material for both: the body as well for the  cantilevers(grin).

 What kind of admirer are you? You friend Nandric is ''loaded'' with

 Ikeda's stuff even the new 9 TT included. And, speaking about

admiration. To my big surprise some Chinese party leader stated

the following reg. the question why they still honor Mao: ''We learned

 from  Russian experience. Since they abandoned Stalin they are in

declain''. Your pesimistic opininon regarding Russian future looks

as a kind of affirmation of the Chinese assertion (grin).

BTW would it make sense to glue one additional ''boron tube''

(which are not produced at present) on the boron rod (which is in

limited supply) in the context of the reduction of the moving mass

by the moving parts in an MC cart? Entusiasm may also go hand in

hand with cotradictions (grin).


lewm
6,770 posts
 
Don, Thanks for responding to my challenge.  The UNI II was of course discontinued a few years ago in favor of the latest version of the UNI ("Premium"? Or something like that).  Apparently one sample (the ad notes repeatedly that he has only one sample to sell), fell into the hands of this dealer in LA, by some mechanism.  I am betting that he convinced a customer to trade the unused UNI II toward some other very expensive purchase.  The information in total suggests that this is "the exception that proves the rule"; only Sorasound sell new UNIs on a routine basis.  Now, if the asking price for the UNI II were about half of what it is now, I might jump.

Later comments about packaging are of interest.  I also noticed the stark contrast between how Ortofon packages their TOTL cartridges (very fancy and elegant) vs how ZYX packages the UNI, which is no different from how they package their cheapest offerings.  I have a new AT ART7, which retails for under $1000.  It's packaging is far "nicer" than that of my ZYX UNI, which came to me in the original box.  I am unmoved by this fact, however. What does perturb me a little is that in the good old days, when no company would dare to ask $8000 for a phono cartridge, every new cartridge came with its own frequency response read-out which also showed channel separation and voltage output.  I have an NOS vintage B&O with such a package insert.  It would seem that for $8000, or even for $1000, this practice should be revived.  Perhaps it would be too revealing.
chakster's avatar
chakster
2,482 posts
 
@nandric no, you just mixed up different ADC models, your faulty memories, there was trx-1 (titanium cantilever), trx-2 (sapphire cantilever) and trx-3 (beryllium cantilever) designed by Nakatsuka-San. I am sceptical, because only grgaudio call them "the best MM" (in fact they are IM) and people repeat it after him, but grgaudio easily sells one ADC with stylus from another inferior model without even mentioning it in his listings on a'gon. Other people call sapphire cantilever "a diamond cantilever" to ask for a higher price. Welcome to the world of dishonest sellers. 

p.s. Those Chinese are at least the producers, not the consumers. Closest scenario for my country is North Korea until 2024 at least, so i can not be positive about it.   
nandric's avatar
nandric
3,263 posts
 

Dear chakster, I see you as my ''young Slavic brohter''. Also as

a younger forum member. I own, as I stated, this TRX 2 with

beryllium cantilever.  I also own TRX 2 with saphire cantilever

(NOS). In the user manual of the beryllium kind beryllium is

described as ''improvement'' of the saphire kind. Who then mixed

what up? I am in this hobby for more as 40 years . I put some

arguments forward which you usualy avoid to answer. Those who

care to read your and my post should judge about our arguments.

As you know Slavic brothers like to tease each other. More in

particular the younger one. Those are who need to learn and not

pretend to know better. You should follow my example not Raul's

(grin).

chakster's avatar
chakster
2,482 posts
 
Well, each next model pretend to be an improvement (same with ZYX), if your NOS sample of TRX-2 has Saphire cantilever then nothing wrong with it and it’s hard to argue, but you may have a beryllium cantilever/stylus from TRX-3 on your used TRX-2 cartridge? Good for you, because the difference is in the replacement (stylus/cantilever), not in the generator. The price for TRX-2 was 48000Yen (1986-1989), but for the TRX-3 the price was 60000Yen till 1989. It’s nice to have a replacement stylus from the next and more expensive model than from the previous less expensive model (like in case with gregaudio), but i think someone just replaced the needle on your used TRX-2 to RTRX-3 from TRX-3. Do you like the sound quality?
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