ZYX Universe - Unipivot or Dual Gimbal arm

.
Rgurney,
.
I have extensively heard the UNIverse on the Tri-Planar, Graham 2.2 and Schroder Reference all in my own system. The best by far that it sounded was on the Schroder.
.
I currently own the Graham 2.2 and I am planning on getting a Schroder Reference to pair up with the UNIverse.
.
I had also heard the UNIverse, Airy3 and Airy2 in my system for a whole weekend using the Graham 2.2. The UNIverse sounded great on the Graham 2.2 but I did not like how the Airy3 sounded. It was dynamic and detailed, but too hot sounding.
.
I have a couple of friends that have a Tri-Planar that were with me for the weekend when we compared the 3 different ZYX Cartridges on the Graham 2.2. They have heard the Airy3 in their system (they have a UNIverse as well) and the Airy3 had none of the brightness on their Tri-Planar that we experienced in my system on the Graham.
.
I hope that helps a bit.
.
Rgds,
Larry
.

Thanks, Larry. Am I to understand then that the Airy 3 is more sensitive to which arm is being used, whether uni-pivot or gimbaled arm, and that the Universe is less dependent on the arm?

.
Rgurney,
.
My assumption is that by the basic design, the Unipivot is less damped and is not able to control the vibrations that occur when the Airy3 gets excited. I do not know why the UNIverse functions better on the Graham 2.2 than the Airy3 does.
.
The UNIverse is head and shoulders better than the Airy3 and the UNIverse sounds phenomenally better on the Schroder Reference than on the Graham. With all of that said the UNIverse still sounds great on the Graham.
.
I hope that helps.
.
Rgds,
Larry
.

Hi Larry,

Was this a session where Frank set everything up?

The reason I ask is that you can exercise in enormous amount of control in how much energy you release into the tonearm based on how tight the cartridge screws are. This can have a dramatic effect on both dynamics as well as a perception of brightness, and tighter isn't always better. You need to experiment with each arm/cartridge combination.

We're talking about minute changes - 1/32 of a turn of the cartridge screw. If you were unaware of this cartridge bolt torque parameter, you'd never guess that your setup was suboptimal. It was at the feet of Herr Schröder that I learned this only last year. Please take this comment in the spirit in which it is offered.

Now, if one were to lay out a hierarchy of brightness (an orientation toward the upper frequencies), then the Graham 2.2 would be the brightest of the three tonearms. I don't think anyone on this list would disagree with this statement.

Certainly, the Universe is a more refined cartridge than the Airy-3, exactly in the areas you report. Any of these weaknesses would then be exacerbated in the Graham - especially if it were suboptmially mounted.

I don't think that this is a gimbal vs. unipivot issue, but rather an expression of three different designers' aesthetics.

As I've written before, I have an immense respect for Bob Graham, even though I've been beaten up on this forum in the manner in which I expressed it. Bob knows what he's after and achieves it. His gimbaled bearing Robin sounds very much like his 2.2 - achieving 90% of its performance (when you swap out the arm cable) at 1/6 the price. I've heard that he's made great leaps with the Phantom and am certainly interested in hearing if first hand - of course, in a world-class turntable like a Galibier .

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

.
Tom,
.
It was great meeting you in Denver at the RMAF.
.
The comparisons of the UNIverse, Airy 3, and Airy2 were done last December in my system without Frank in attendance and at that point, I had no information with regards to the tightness of the head screw. That would leave our results in some question since I have no clue as to how tight the cartridge screws were when trying each arm.
.
Thanks for the great point and information.
.
Rgds,
Larry
.