Alternative names for "ZYX UNIverse" cartridge

"... endless fun of a masochistic kind."

Rather like posting on internet forums!

I think the amplitude of the signal generated depends only upon the number of turns of wire, the strength of the magnetic field, and the distance between them.

True. Of course the distance between them is a function of how far and fast the coils are displaced by a groove modulation. Now if coil A is has greater inertial mass than coil B...

Lew,

AFAIK, SORAsound had and still has exclusive worldwide rights to distribute the UNIverse design (however named). ZYX agreed to this in exchange for development assistance provided by SORAsound. I'm unaware of that particular design ever being sold under another name, as doing so would have violated the spirit and perhaps the letter of their agreement (unless perhaps with a material change in design, as suggested by In shore).

Perhaps you're remembering the "Atmos"? That model was introduced exclusively by SORAsound prior to its release to all distributors/dealers as the "4D".

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.

Lew,

I've been off skiing for a week, hope this is still helpful. The following is true for all models where we've made a comparison (Airy 3, 4D and UNIverse)...

COIL MATERIALS
X (copper coils): fastest, most macro-dynamic, most micro-dynamic, least slurring of leading/trailing edges, lowest sound floor, greatest "snap"

S (silver coils): less so (analogy: turns a ZYX into a Benz)

G (gold coils): much less so (analogy: turns a ZYX into a Koetsu)


OUTPUT
Low Output/.24mv (but ZYX uses a non-standard test record, so use .35mv for calculating phono stage gain requirements): see the characteristics ascribed to copper coils, above

Hi Output/.48mv (but ZYX uses a non-standard test record, so use .70mv for calculating phono stage gain requirements): see the characteristics ascribed to gold coils, above


WHY?
It has NOTHING to do with conductivity or other electrical properties of the coils. It's simply a function of their mass, in which:

Gold > Silver > Copper
Hi output (2X as many coils) > Low output (1X as many coils)

Reducing the moving mass of the coils on the armature reduces its inertia. Result? Faster responses, less slurring, greater amplitudes.


CONCLUSION
For any given ZYX model, the fastest, liveliest, most dynamic sound will come from the low output version with copper coils (and the SB weight). The slowest, softest, least dynamic sound would come from a high output version with gold coils (and no SB weight).

This is not theory. It's derived from comparative listening and thinking about why we heard what we heard. The differences were very easy to discern.


***

Ldvalve's description of the sound of a nuded UNIverse sounds much like our review of the UNIverse II, which is a semi-nuded UNIverse (UNIverse in 4D body).

It wasn't really a dig (much!)... actually a pretty realistic comparison. Many people prefer a more rounded, relaxed sound... including nakatsuka-san himself! I'm told his personal preference is the gold-coils.

We were indeed buried up here. My Sat morning flight didn't get out until Mon night... 2.5 days shovelling snow instead of skiing it. We had 40" of measured snowfall, 5-6 feet in drifts. I couldn't open the house doors Saturday morning, it was up to the door handles. Had to climb out a window, posthole to the deck and dig the doors out.

I'm open to other explanations of course. The sound is as described. Wouldn't differences in moving mass explain it? Which accelerates faster and corners quicker, a motorcycle or a Mack truck? ;)

Don_c55's description of the silver coils as "slightly warmer" matches my experience.

Copper = most neutral and dynamic
Silver = 17% warmer
Gold = about 3 times warmer

;-)

Interesting question, Lew. Unfortunately, as we know, there's no solution that doesn't carry its own problems.

MI cartridges differ from MC's and MM's in more than moving mass. An MI propagates the signal by causing one magnetic field to induce a response in another magnetic field. The induced response is necessarily phase-shifted from the original, more or less depending on the cartridge's design/build characteristics.

The audible effects of this phase-shift will depend on these characteristics and of course on the transparency of the entire system. At one end we hear mere "smoothing" or "sludge" (think, entry-level Grado). At the other end we may hear a distinct "echo", very disconcerting, at least to our ears.

The first MI I ever played caused Paul and me to wince. His quicker ears and brain let him instantly describe the phase-shifted echo that was the reason for our discomfort.

After thinking (and wincing) for about 30 seconds he asked, "Does this cartridge generate signal in some unusual way?". I confirmed that it did, and described how MI cartridges work. He rolled his eyes and nodded.

Without knowing anything about the cartridge (he'd never even heard of an MI) and with no prompting whatsoever, Paul heard this inherent characteristic and deduced that the generator wasn't a typical MM or MC design. Scary but true.

Yup, and I still have one. Originally bought it in the 70s for a Dual 1229. Moved it to my
H-K/Rabco ST-7 in the 80s, where it still lives.

I used to entertain visitors by swapping cartridges between that setup and the Teres/TriPlanar/UNIverse. Until they hear it, many people don't appreciate how putting a fancy cartridge on a cheap rig can be a waste of money, while putting a good rig beneath a cheap cartridge can let it boogie like nobody's business.

***
Jwm,

Ours opened up in 30-50 hours IIRC.

I've never known any ZYX to play its best significantly nose down. Rather than that, I'd suggest re-levelling and then reducing VTF. From your brief description I'd guess yours may be too high.

Try my method of reducing VTF in ~.05g increments until you get mistracking on tough-to-track passages. Then scootch it back up just .01-.03g.

Oh... disengage anti-skating while doing this. You can add some back later if necessary but base VTF should be set with A/S at zero.

Jwm, also make sure your stylus is Magic Eraser clean after each side. The ZYX stylus collects gunk faster than any stylus I know and its HF performance deteriorates accordingly.

Jwm, it is indeed a glorious cartridge. As good as the original UNIverse was, the UNI II improves on its weight, impact, speed and clarity while taking its remarkably low sound floor even lower. All this while improving the coherence of a cartridge that was already as coherent as any I've heard, as you noted. It's hard to believe until you experience it.

Classical percussion on Erato? Yum (and yikes!). I've got a few of those and they will knock you off the sofa if you aren't expecting it. ;-)