Alternative names for "ZYX UNIverse" cartridge

I've owned the Airy 3, the 4D and the UNIverse. They all look very similar except for the labels. They have a similar house sonic signature, but do not sound the same.
Some manufacturers make every model look different, not ZYX.

Lew,

That cartridge is an Airy 3, not a UNIverse. The "G" stands for gold coils ("S" = silver, "X" = copper).

It looks like a UNIverse because the original UNIverse was the top model in ZYX's "Airy" family of cartridges, which also included the Airy 3, Airy 2 and R-100 Fuji (possibly others, I forget). All "Airy" cartridges used the same polycarbonate body. Except for the model name on the faceplate they are visually indistinguishable except upon very close inspection. (Example: the UNIverse has a sapphire backplate vs. a cheaper material for the lower models. This would be difficult to see in a photo and there's no other visible difference unless you can see different cantilever materials or the effects of cryoing.)

You can see pix of several ZYX cartridges here Needle Doctor ZYX page. Rows 4 and 5 include several Airy-family models, including an Airy 3G. Note the visual similarities...

One correction to Jmcgrogan2's post: the 4D/Atmos is quite different from the Airy family of cartridges. Its body is less substantial and wide open on the sides and bottom - a semi-nude design. This same body is used for the new UNIverse II. There are 4D pix on that Needle Doctor page if you want to see the difference.

Thanks, Doug. I searched for info on the 4D/Atmos and found your and Paul's review of same. You apparently hit the nail on the head, because all other reviews cited the same virtues and deficiencies, pretty much, for the 4D vs the UNI. I would consider the 4D, if it would give me some near equivalent of the UNI performance, to save money. But as you say, it's good but "different".

No one seems to have offered up the alternative name of the UNIverse as sold in Japan, assuming there is such.

I have regularly read that the 0.24mV SB copper wire version of the UNI is to be preferred. Any thoughts on the gold wire version? I had a Colibri with gold wiring; it did not knock my socks off.

Doug, the 4D's shape may have been different, but it still looks like a clear acrylic body like the UNIverse and Airy 3.

When I think different looking, I mean really different looking. Look at the Sumiko like, the Blackbird looks nothing like the Celebration, or the difference between the Dynavector XV-1s and a TE Kaitora Rua. These are radically different looking cartridges within the same line. The ZYX line, by comparison, has subtle differences visually.

What about the Omega? When I first saw it years ago, I thought the purple ball out front was the height of gimmickry. ("Lapus lazuli", indeed.) Since then I've heard the UNIverse and gained high respect for ZYX as a result.

I want to add a top flight LOMC to my cartridge repertoire, and I think I want it to be a ZYX, but after hearing so many superb and inexpensive vintage MM and MI cartrides in my system in recent years, I am the more reluctant to pay the ca $5K freight for a new UNI, or a "reconditioned" one from Sorasound.