$800 Cartridge Shootout and Upgrade Path

Me too on the "mediocre equalizers"! But how can Raul hear the music with his head so far up his ***

Hey, no question there are better systems than mine. There are better systems than Twl's too. And Jphii's. And Cmk's. So what? How does stating this obvious fact help Artar 1 select a cartridge? Should he ignore the experiences of everyone but the one person in the world who owns your idea of the perfect system? Spare us your arrogance.

The impressions I've posted of our ZYX have been confirmed by every review that's been published in print, online or by private owners. The review I linked to above is just one among many.

The Fuji supplanted the Shelter 901 in Arthur Salvatore's system for the very same musical reasons that the Airy2 supplanted the Shelter 901 in ours.

Rushton recently told us that, "Lloyd Walker was very complimentary of the ZYX "Airy" model that you have. He said he liked many things about it and that it would possibly be his second choice to the Magic Diamond cartridge that he sells and that I use. From Lloyd, that is high praise."

My equalizers are in pretty good company, and that IS useful information for Artar 1. :-)

I own both a Shelter and a ZYX. I know what they sound like. Do you? If so please tell us.

BTW to Artar 1,
Just so you know where I'm coming from with the ZYX recommendation, if you listened to hard rock, techno, punk, electronica or the like, I'd recommend the Shelter 901 over a ZYX any day. Like some forum members, it's a bit of a head-banging character itself. ;-)

"Equalized" or not, the differences between these two cartridges are easy to hear. For the natural reproduction of acoustic instruments and voices, a ZYX is a better choice, assuming appropriate arm, phono stage, etc.

AFAIK, TWL listens to different music than you and I. Not surprising that he likes a different cartridge. Quite reasonable.

Howdy,

So now we're on to tone controls and tubes. Interesting! Well, count me among those who like those little (or big) bottles. I am planning on buying a tubed amp for my Martin Logans. Heaven knows they need some life, richness, vitality, and warmth so they will sound half-human.

I've got a lot more to say, but first I need to get some work done, and my right arm is also hurting so I got to take it a little easy. Nevertheless, I think I'm getting some where thanks to all the posting being done here. I can say without a doubt that if I didn't ask all these dumb questions, I know for sure I would have blown my analog setup. You know it's not that easy; digital has turned my brain into a basket of a bunch of ones and zeros!

Cmk,

Nice system. I really like your speakers. I mean they almost look alive, or something. I'm sure you get that comment a lot from the non-audiophile types that stumble into your listening room.

I have not considered Schroeder in the past because of price. They make one hell of an arm, and wow is it cool looking. (Sorry Twl!) The Model 2 should make a good match with the Teres; it's listed on the Teres web site as an approved arm. Now the question I have for you is how much does it cost? If it's under two big ones, I will give it serious consideration. But any arm I buy will need to give me flexibility for future cartridge swapping. Right now it's a toss up between the ZXY and the Shelter 501. But I may also want to try a Benz Micro or a Dynavector in the future. It would be financially painful indeed to have to buy a different tonearm for each cartridge. Now it makes a lot more sense why I see a few turntables with multiple arms and arm mounts.

By the way, which cartridge do you use on your Schroeder? How did you go about choosing it?