ZYX UNIverse X-SB 0.24 sounding "too much"

Radicalsteve and Linnmaster,
I agree the ZYX pre-pre and the Artisan phono are quite good, better than the BentAudio Mu's in our experience. They're also good value. IME, to do notably better you have to spend a lot more money, and even that's no guarantee. I've heard MC phono stages that cost double the Artisan but don't come close.

Stltrains summarized perfectly:

"If you are using Universe and not getting these [superb] results you need to look at your other components there is where the problem will lie."

Hey, if I try (or get) the ZYX pre-preamp, do I need to worry about loading, or is that all sorted for me and matched to that of the UNIverse already? So I can plug that into the M7 phono stage yeah? If that's the case, would the pre-preamp suit the XV1s also?

Regards,
David

"I would say that this Dynavector gets you at least 80% of what a Universe is capable of."
Agreed!

I'd go 85%! ;-) The XV-1S is a very good cartridge. I've never heard one do anything wrong, in Dan's system, ours or elsewhere.

David,

The ZYX pre-pre has a fixed input impedance of 125 ohms, right in the heart of the optimal range for a 4 ohm MC when using an active gain stage. It's perfect for a LO ZYX (naturally) and should be good for an XV-1S too. Remember, getting impedance precisely right is far less critical with an active gain stage than with SUT's. We play at ~200 ohms and anything from 100-200 would be fine. Close counts.

Like an SUT, the pre-pre provides no RIAA equalization. It's intended to plug into the MM inputs of a phono stage.

Your SUT's provide 26 db of gain. The ZYX pre-pre provides only 20. This may or may not be sufficient, depending on the gain structure of the rest of your system. The gain calculator at www.kabusa.com may help you figure that out.

I'm going to try the ZYX pre-pre and give it a shot ... thanks for all your help. I don't think this will be the end of my loading dilema ... back soon :)