best cartridge for 60,70's classic rock, folk ....

I would recommend any cartridge from the zyx line. I have not auditioned the atmos but have owned the airy3s and feel it is a tremendous cartridge. Great tracker, wonderful neutrality and with the right system (table/arm) tremendous bass response. I had to say this because I recently had a chance to compare my old vinyl rig (michell gyro) side by side with my maplenoll and found the bass response from the same cartridge was much more solid with the maplenoll. I did not remember the bass changing when i originally switched (gave my gyro to my daughter)but this weekend, she brought it over for me to work on. Once i got it tuned up, i did a side by side with my airy3s since i have recently purchased a universe and was debating whether to sell the airy3s or the frog cartridge she is using.

I also use Khorns and a marantz amp so our systems are somewhat similar (your stepup is much better however than mine and I have a maplenoll table). I can not speak for the dynavector but i know you would be pleased with the zyx atmos.

thanks for your response.....Is there anyone else".....Sheeesh!

Koetsu Black

if the key word is classic rock...check out the cartrige man mm's.....with the klipsch speakers, you will be there.

I have the zyx atmos on a triplanar arm using an Amazon reference. I listen to a lot of the music you describe, patricularly Neil Young, Floyd, Electric Dylan, Cream, Hendrix, and others from that era. I also listen to the Whiter Stripes, Black Keys from now.

I also had the airy3 before moving to the Atmos. It was a hard choice between the well reviewed Universe and the little known Atmos, but Mehran in particular, convinced me that for rock and roll, the Atmos might be slightly better.

So I went for it and I have not been disappointed. This cartridge really rocks. Its fast, provides substantial base even on my minimonitors, and gives each note its space allowing rock & roll to come out open and spacious. Even some of the more challenging passages from the Black Keys are handled with ease.

Now of course this is also dependent on your other components but everything you have can definately handle the Atmos. I've also noticed it takes awhile to open up and mine is just breaking in, but once it does, well it blew my head off.

Plus Mehran is an added bonus as he is just a great man to do business with.

Hope that helps.

I use a XV-1s and listen to much the same kind of music. I've never heard an Atmos, but from what I've heard of a Universe I would guess that the Atmos will have a very neutral presentation. You should try to hear both and decide for yourself. Both are very good cartridges.

Your all overthinking it, By far the most prevelant system used for playing back these records originally was a gerard changer with a cheap shure cartridge. Go to a thrift shop and pick one up cheap and you will enjoy these records the way they were meant to be heard (you might roll a fatty while your at it). You can still find some of these titles on 8 track if your really feeling nostalgic.

Rccc - I thought I was the only one rolling anything nowadays!

Anyway, everyone else, why such expensive carts for rock?

I chose the XV-1s because I also listen to jazz, country, classical, etc., so I wanted a cartridge that sounded good all around. To some extent it was a compromise, but now I'm glad I did not buy a Universe. That would have been overkill for me.

Any Benz. You will be happy with any of the recommended cartridges on these posts, but if you are critical, you must listen for youself.

Tjnif,

Both the cartridges you mentioned are spectacular for hard rockin'. Which one you'd prefer depends on your tastes and perhaps on how much non-rock you listen to...

The Atmos's incredible slam outrocks most cartridges by a mile, but it still retains more of the trademark ZYX clarity and resolution than any ZYX short of a UNIverse. This makes it really good for non-amplified genres too. Read the reviews by my signature for detailed impressions of the Airy 2, Airy 3, Atmos and UNIverse.

The XV-1S is also a great rock cartridge, perhaps a bit more single purpose than the Atmos. The Dyna's punch and power are similar to the ZYX but it's rougher around the edges and less transparent - great for rock but somewhat less satisfying for other genres.

As others have said, a vintage Garrard, Dual or Thorens with a good MM might also serve you well. Exceptional high fidelity and clarity are not kind to the engineering quality of many rock records. You'd also have money left over for those DIY botanical mood supplements!

Doug has a great point here. The Atmos allows me to hit the rock when I want, but I certianly am not there all the time. More often than not, I enjoy, intimate folk, blues and jazz club feels and the Atmos clarity, as pointed out by Doug, allows me to go there equally as well.

So I appreciate the versatility of listening to an excellent cart that can also rock when I need it too.

Of course, I don't have any money left over except for cheap whiskey, so thats a trade off I suppose.

Glad you chimed in, Doug. You and Paul are the only people I know who have heard both the Atmos and XV-1s.

i own the dynavector xv-1s, just recently broke the cantilever a second time. now using air tight pc-1. better all around sound. less chance of breaking cantilever, it does not stick out as far. would buy air tight again if i had to choose between them. never heaed zyx's. there is a great review in the absolute sound for the air tight, they love it. oh and i only listen to rock and roll classic or otherwise.

thank you all for your input...