Zyx Universe. O.24 mv vs .48 mv with low eff spkrs

05-23-14: Swampwalker
My own experience is that you do have to be somewhat concerned about hum and noise when you go to very high eff speakers; the higher eff the more careful you have to be....

Relevant to this point I see that the MA-1's description (under the "order" tab) indicates that the following are available:

Jumper plugs for high efficiency speakers -- Replaces tube in the voltage amplifier section of Atma-Sphere power amplifiers, thus reducing gain for high efficiency speakers. Recommended when efficiency of speaker is over 100.

As I indicated earlier the efficiency of the Ulysses is spec'd at 98 db/1W/1m, and I suspect that you won't have any issues with hum or hiss. But considering the high gain of your preamp I wouldn't completely rule out the possibility that you might find yourself operating the volume control undesirably close to the bottom of its range. In which case these jumper plugs would appear to be a solution.

Enjoy! Regards,
-- Al

Those jumpers are an under-appreciated option on Atma amps. Did wonders in my system when I had an S30.

Audiotomb quite the upgrade new speakers and a new cartridge. I upgraded to ZYX about three weeks ago and cannot imagine it getting any better, hope you enjoy the cartridge as much as I am. Make sure to post up and let us know how it turned out. Best of Luck

Doug - talked to Mehran, always a pleasure
generous exchange policy - I am upgrading to the ii. !!!

Woo-hoo! I figured he'd be generous to a repeat customer, that's always been his way. Mehran's one of the true good guys in audio.

When all the new goodies settle in, please update us on your impressions.

If you feel like taking the time, it would be instructive to hear how the UNI2 behaves with your Salk speakers. My guess (only that) is that it would slightly improve the perceived lack of dynamic headroom.

Al - I'm having the V2 upgrades being done by Lou at the moment (I found a great deal on a used pair)

I will definitely look into the jumpers

I've been so enamored by the original Universe I can't imagine what a ii will do.

I recently did Thom Mackris' Galibier upgrades - armboard and new motor pod. Thom really nailed it with both of those, low level detail, tight focus, dead solid