ZYX cartridges

Piedpiper,I am aware of the new Air Tight design,and have a friend who may get one.He's hinted about replacing his fabulous Titan i.

The Magic Diamond "newbie" is interesting,in that "they" never seemed to have alot of exposure in the USA.I know Loyd Walker likes these alot,and I've heard the Magic Diamond a few times,using my own Decca Classical LP's.Very nice!!

I "think" that the new Magic Diamond designs could easily be the cartridges "they" have made before,but did not sell here.Like the Virus,and another one.I believe there is also a mono design around.Could be wrong though.

This is totally conjecture on my part!!I'm only a BIG fan of "serious" analog toys.NOT an expert,by any stretch.

You can call me a "Yenta",and that would probably be a better fit -:)

Best

IMHO, the new Orpheus Low is much better than the normal version for not much more money. I've compared the two directly. If I had the chance to do a low loss trade I'd jump on it. And the low output version is still not that low, as I said before. Most any preamp that can handle the other version with ease can do the same this one. Having said all that, I wouldn't sweat it, just bear it in mind. Of course my original mention of it was to Lewm who was considering the Orpheus.

I trust all this will be taken as informative rather than advertising. Just ask me to shush if I'm pushing the rules too much.

dealer disclosure.

Dear Rccc: Nice to see your experiences on MM type cartridges.

Just to be sure I mounted today the MMC2 in the GST-801 with a Nagaoka magnesium headshell and is an awesome performer.
My experiences on those B&O and the V15-V as you know are different from yours but our systems are different too and probably our music sound reproduction priorities too.

As I reported some where even the M97 like me in some way over the V15. The V15 sample that I owned I try it in two different tonearms and with different headshells in my Essential 3160 Phonolinepreamp loaded at 100K ( I try it at 47K too ) and 150pf ( try it with different capacitance values. ), I have no doubt: the B&O ( in my system ) works/performs better by a wide margin.

I don't try more time on the Shure because I own not only the B&O that outperform it but IMHO many other cartridges too and someone told me about the M97 and I buy it and overall performs a little better, maybe my V15 was not a very good sample I can't be sure.

Anyway the subject is to try different alternatives like you are doing it.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Of course Raul, for one to try to compare a Cartridge that might be pushing 40 years old, such as a Shure V-15, regardless of how good the Cartidge was way back when, and how new the Stylus is on it currently, it would not be a worthy evaluation comparing such a Cartridge, with a new Cartridge of today.

Same would hold true, with a Dyanvector XV-1, ZYX UNIverse, Lyra Titan, 20-30 years down the road.

So, with that being said, users, such as yourself, Redtop, and countless others may in all actuality be giving truthful, accurate accounts, that would make a person like Redtop say, that "a crap Cartridge like the Shure V-15 was one valid reason analog took a mighty plunge with the advent of CD many years ago.

Of course, this is not true, and as an example, should I "hypothetically" decide to buy a used Dynavector XV-1 from a seller, a Cartridge that has recieved many accolades, just like the Shure V-15 III did many years ago, and get a poor, or damaged sample, it would then not be fair, or accurate to judge such a Cartridge, saying that the XV-1 was not as good as a "hypothetical" brand new $249 AT-150MLX, and that the XV-1 displayed "rolled off lows, and highs" such as Redtop once stated about the Shure V-15 III.

Opinions are of course like you know what, we all have them. And of course, under such circumstances, it then becomes hard to accurate judge-assess any given Cartridge.

And as you wisely point out as well, the different synergy from one system to another will have to be taken into account. Certainly, not one of us have the exact same system, with the exact same sound qualities to produce what would be a rock solid basis. And as wll, do we all possess the exact same ears, or sonic "likes". Mark

I gotta say that "back in the day" I heard many a B&O cartridge and was underwhelmed, tho I'm not certain that I ever have heard the specific model that Raul mentions. The ones I did hear cast a flattering sheen on the sound and made everything sound the same. But I certainly did not have top quality gear in those days. Still, I preferred may other cartridges to the B&Os, including Decca, Grado, ADC, to name a few. I never was crazy about the Shure V15, either.