Bad experience with ZYX AIRY 3

Andre,

I held off posting so you could get responses, positive or negative, from ZYX users other than me. The concensus is pretty overwhelming, but I wonder why you started this thread?

When you asked me about your Airy 3 it had only 10 hours on it. I suggested the following before you made any judgements:

- put at least 150 hours on it, preferably 200

- try increasing VTF in small increments (.04g) over a wide range (1.85-2.15g)

- try reducing arm height in small increments (20 on the TriPlanar dial) over a wide range (from level to tail down)

- try a small degree of damping using the TriPlanar's trough (this only as a last resort)

That was just three days ago. You haven't had time to do any of this very thoroughly. What exactly are you asking for?

Top level MC's require exacting setup to perform well. This requires thought, patience and persistence.

Doug

Thom,

Extraordinarily good post. Lots of great info there. Just one teensy correction:

Maybe trannies work well with ZYX's and you've never heard these cartridges strut their stuff because of this?

A ZYX doesn't require an SUT to perform well.

My UNIverse, the Airy 2 and the Airy 3 all sound better with my gain stage than with the 3-4 trannies I've heard used. (That is only because this gain stage is better than those SUT's, nothing to do with the cartridge.)

Again, thanks for a wealth of solid, real comparisons,
Doug

Mike,

I've had the copper and silver UNIverses side-by-side in my system. The silver was slightly slower/smoother on leading edges. It slightly rounded off initial transients. Some people find this sort of thing pleasant. I find it distracting. YMMV.

The copper is more neutral and has more lifelike microdynamics. It does not round off (or exaggerate) transient leading edges. Notes sound like what was cut in the grooves, neither more nor less.

I haven't heard a silver Airy 2 or 3 so I can't be certain this characteristic translates to those models, though I would expect it to. The Airy 2-X is already a somewhat gentle sounding cartridge. Gentling it more might really be too much. OTOH, the Airy 3-X is very free and powerful. Gentling it a touch could be helpful in some systems.

Whichever coils you choose, the SB option will yield a major improvement on a JMW. Strongly recommended.

Doug

Mike,
Your preference for "warmer" certainly indicates the "S" over the "X".

For jazz the Airy 2-S would be good and the Airy 3-S would be very good.

For classic rock I would strongly recommend the Airy 3-S over the 2-S. If you can manage the few hundred extra dollars it will be worth it. It's a much more powerful cartridge.

Cheers,
Doug

All,

Owners of unweighted ZYX's using relatively low mass arms like JMW, Scheu Tacco, etc. would almost certainly benefit from additional mass at the headshell.

Try something simple and easily reversible, like a blob of Blu-Tak on top of the headshell or something.

How much mass to add? Thom's post above gives a clue. Subtract the effective mass of your arm from 18 or so. Add about that many grams to the headshell. Rebalance, reset VTF and play.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. The body, drive and weight that darkmoebius misses in his Fuji will probably show up, ready to boogie.

An unweighted ZYX on a low-medium mass arm could indeed be "soft at the frequency extremes" as Raul says, particularly at the low end. I'll wager that's what he's heard. I've heard it myself. On the right mass arm, however, I have not heard those problems.

As usual, best performance requires careful component matching and exacting setup. I'm certain Raul understands proper arm/cartridge setup. But I don't believe he's heard many ZYX's in his own system or had the time to do his usual extensive series of careful arm-matching tests.

Doug

Ketchup,

Adding weight at the headshell would make your horizontal eff. mass even higher. Doesn't seem like that's the right direction.

Assuming a horizontal eff. mass of 25 and using the usual formula gives a caluclated horizontal resonance frequency of 8.83 Hz, well within the safety zone.

If horizontal eff. mass is 35 horizontal resonance frequency would drop to 7.26 Hz, a bit lower than optimal.

It doesn't look like a serious mismatch. Lower compliance cartridges might be better matches "on paper", but I doubt you'd have any actual problems with a Bloom.