Best Cartridge for Kuzma Airline

I am running an Acoustical Systems Palladian in my Kuzma Airline.
very happy with it.

Best
E

Any newer or other recommendations on cartridges for the Kuzma Airline?

I have a linear tracking arm (Airtangent) and the London Decca Reference and Grado Statement both work well.

Similar to my set-up for the ET 2.5.

Dave- exactly. The old compressor that came with the Airline died; Kuzma had for a while offered an oversized compressor as an aftermarket item for precisely that reason; I just went directly to the compressor manufacturer and had them configure one with an automatic drain function; it was basically plug and play; the only thing I had to do was remove the output fitting from the old compressor and screw it into the regulator on the new one. Overkill, but it wasn't that much more money than an exact replacement of the original sized unit.
Thanks for the invite.

Ok Bill. Not sure of the provenance of the Kuzma DC motor.

I have not tried the air line arm on my TT - something I would like to try sometime. Is the idea -behind using a mega compressor - that it charges a large reservoir tank, so the compressor does not need to come on very often?

If you do happen to be over this way you should drop in for a visit.

cheers

Dave

Slovenia; cheap, but one way, CZ. There's a joke about that, but it's probably inappropriate for a public forum.

So
Where's Kuzma Airlines flying today and how much tickets?

Thanks Dave. I wonder if it is the same motor that some of the other high-end tables now seem to be using: that recent VPI, as well as the Kronos.
Enjoy it- I was almost in your neck of the woods last month, but the trip got cancelled for reasons not worth explaining. I'm going to try to hook up my new monster-sized compressor to the Airline arm later today- just need somebody to help me get it up two flights of stairs. I'll report back.
Appreciate the response. Apologies for the slight derail of thread, but since this one came back from the dead anyway....
best,

Hi Bill

The new single motor enables the XL to retrieve more detail. I guess it must lower the noise floor.

It has v good speed stability, all the XL strengths are there - powerful dynamics and bass etc - however depth and spatial aspects are improved. Details in the background of an orchestra, for instance, are more obvious, greater bass texture is another plus. There is more information generally available from the recording and so instruments sound that bit more real.

I think it is a very worthwhile improvement over the 4 motors I had previously and is a neater set-up.

hope that helps.

Dave

Hi, Breezer: I contributed to this thread in its original incarnation, and at the
time, used a Lyra Titan i (the Atlas was not available then). I also used an
Airtight and currently run the Airtight Supreme, which I like. You may want to
look at Albert Porter's thread where he compares the Atlas and Airtight,
albeit on SME arms, but still a good explanation of the differences in the
sound of the cartridges.
I still like the Airline after all these years- and am now in the process of
replacing the air compressor with an oversized one to reduce duty cycles.
FWIW, I owned the Kuzma Reference table before I bought the XL- the
Reference was great, very easy to set up and no problems with isolation,
given its design.

Dctom- I see that you replaced your XL with the new model employing the
DC motor. I haven't seen much about this new model- happened on it
recently when I went to the Kuzma website. Care to explain the differences,
either here or on your own page? (sorry if you did that and I missed it).
best to all,
bill hart

Kuzma CAR-50. Magic when set up carefully.

hi

I have a Kuzma 4pt with a ref XL, single motor. I have used - in this order- benzLp ebony, colibri, airtight PC3, shelter harmony and now Atlas.
I would avoid the benz and colibri. All the others are excellent. My most recent cart (atlas) is superior to all the others - fast, powerful, wide stage, depth and detail, very good bass definition. Never heard such convincing piano reproduction. The shelter is also very fine sounding.

The colibri (in my system)is rather lean sounding, gives very good spatial information and is nicely detailed but can emphasise sibilance especially.
with female vocal.

the benz sounds rather dull compared to all the others.

Hi,
Any new recommendations?
I have a Kuzma Stabi Ref. with Airline and use it for some months with a Lyra Atlas. It is very fine, fast, very good details, attack. Maybe not the best low level mass and "big sound", but I like it.
On the other hand, I should say that I just tried the Atlas in this system.
In the past I had DV XV-1s, Lyra Kleos, but just for short period in this setup.
The phono stage is a Jeff Rowland Cadence or a Klyne 7.

Any other cartridge suggestions?
Maybe comparisons for the Atlas (or other cartridges) with Airline and 4Point tonearms on the Stabi Reference?
Thanks, Balazs

Thanks. I tried a few cartridges in the meantime and in my opinion, the best are max. 10gr. Heavier ones are no problem, they work fine, but when I compare those with my Phantom or DaVinci, I think, heavy cartridges are better for heavy Arms.
A sensational Match is the UNiverse, Zyx 100 and the Lyra Skala. The Skala performs well in normal Arms but in the AirLine there is a transmission to something totally different. Very, very good here. A friend with the same Arm uses a Shelter 90x and is very happy with it, he says, it's also good.

I have this arm for about a year now. It is by special request wired with Nordost Valhala (one piece cable from the cartridge to the phono stage) and I am using Koetsu Jade Platinum. According to Franc Kuzma with whom I discussed this issue directly Koetsu is a good choice. He is also suggesting Dynavector DRT VV-1s and Benz Micro LP Ebony.

Thomas, try the Kondo Io-j with your Kondo Transformer - very good match

Eckart

This may be of help.

From the Kuzma website:
Recommended cartridge compliance: Below 25 cu

From the 'specifications' section of the Stereophile article:
Optimal cartridge weight: <9gm.

Given the fact that the optimal cartridge weight should be less that 9 grams, I wouldn't think that the Lyra Titan at 12 grams, or the Dynavector XV-1s @ 12.6 grams, would be the best fit for this particular arm.
All things being equal I would imagine that the Xyx cartridges at 5 grams or the VDH Colibri at 6 grams would work better.

Given the fact that the optimal cartridge weight should be less that 9 grams, I wouldn't think that the Lyra Titan at 12 grams, or the Dynavector XV-1s @ 12.6 grams, would be the best fit for this particular arm.
All things being equal I would imagine that the Xyx cartridges at 5 grams or the VDH Colibri at 6 grams would work better.

Thanks, but vdH are more for Dealers, not for me ...

I think one of the van den Hul Colibri series cartridges would work well. They are very low mass and high compliance. In a thread from last year, Mikelavigne noted that this cartridge outperformed the XYX Universe and Dynavector XV-1S with his Rockport linear tracking arm. The design of the Rockport arm and the Kuzma arm are very similar.

Thank you very much for your help. Heard too, that the Temper "W" is a good match, same about the Titan.

I have heard it with the Transfiguration on a system that was not mine and it sounded amazing (i think it was the then latest W version of the cartridge); I have the arm and use a Lyra Titan (i) which may not be everyone's cup of tea. In talking with the US importer, who recommended, among others, the London and the Dynavector, I also heard through his dealer that the Airtight cartridge has the lifelike virtues in which this arm excels. That may be my next cartridge.

I read that the Airline has an effective mass of 13 grams. As such one should probably stay away from low compliance cartridges. My guess is that the bass will be more substantial with a high compliance cartridge.

Thanks. Good idea. I will check it out.

Hi Thomas,

Transfiguration Orpheus, nice match.

regards

karl-heinz

Well, it is different from the sound reproduction. Specially with old classic records it can produce a soundstage with so much air between the notes, you have to hear to believe it. The other arms are a bit different but when you go for the Airline, you will have a superior design. Works very well.

I'm thinking about buying this arm as well.
How does it currently compare to your pivoting arms:
DaVinci Audio Labs 'Grandezza'
Graham Engineering 'The Phantom'
Tri-Planar VII