Doug, there is a ZYX RS30-02 on sale for $500. This is a mouth watering price provided this cartridge is as good as current ZYX cartridges are. Do you have any idea about them ? |
Doug, you say that my 14g effective mass tonearm is just about okay but 18g should have been better for ZYX yatra. Can I choose the ZYX with their additional silver headshell weight to increase the effective mass ? |
This is not easy I suppose. Helikon is traditionally known to be fast and lean and I am not really looking for that kind of sound. I am looking for something that is naturally detailed. I read some good things about Delos so considering it.
I also remember reading somewhere that ZYX cant do rock and pop well. How far is that true ? 30-40% of my consumption is classic rock and blues. |
Hi Doug and Syntax,
My TT is a Nouvelle Platine Verdier, Tonearm is SME 3012 S2. While current phonostage is a Auditorium23 SUT + Leben RS-30EQ I am planning to change it to an RCM Sensor Prelude or 47 labs, still not decided. Naim Superline is also under consideration.
While the Platine is a very solid table it is actually a bit warm and relaxed sonically, at least that is what I feel with the SME and EMT tonearm I have heard them with. I need a cartridge which can liven up the sound in a natural way and do some nice rhythm and timing. Am I on the right path looking on the ZYX and Lyra ? |
Doug, mine is the older generation SME 3012 Series2, not the new gen SME 312. You mention that with a heavy tonearm the ZYX yatra can rock. Do you think my tonearm fulfils that criteria ? It will be interesting to hear from you what you think about Lyra, just in case you have heard one.
Sometimes I wonder how difficult is it for a dealer to allow a home demo of a cartridge if not the top end at least the mid level ones. He can even charge a sum for doing it but how easy the life of the buyer becomes !! |
Doug, what is your opinion about Lyra vs ZYX ? Since you are so exhaustively into analog I would guess you have heard some Lyras also ? |
Dover, what is it about 3012 that you dont like ? Or say what can I expect the Phantom to do more ? |
Doug and Syntax, I like your suggestions and can see very reasonable logic behind. But, are we not taking extreme cases into this equation. $100 tonearm with $4k cartridge is good for illustration but am I in that situation ? My tonearm is an SME 3012 Series2 with ATA (analog tube audio) modification. It may not be a top notch tonearm but it is still well respected, isnt it ? I paid $1.5k for it, the latest variant of this is SME M2-12R costing $2k. However there are lot of articles on the vinyl forums where people feel the older model was better. I do not know which is better but I would like to safely believe that they must be close enough hence the comparison. Mine is further modified by ATA (please read about them).
So, are we saying that a decent $2k tonearm is not worthy of a $1.5k cartridge (Delos or Yatra) ?
Or, am I being suggested that I should sell this arm, use my cartridge budget to top up and buy a modern arm like SME 309 and continue using my Denon 103pro ? And that will give me a better sound ? |
Thank you guys. Thats a lot of useful information to chew upon. Could I ask what would be a good compliance number to be considered "high" ? |
Syntax, I was looking at a 47 Labs RS-A1 arm. It is affordable and quite well appreciated. Do you have any opinions about it ? |
Syntax, you say that the SME 3012 was made for super soft carts but it has a effective mass of 14 grams, will that accomodate a high compliance cartridge like the Shure or Empire (compliance above 25) ? |
Interesting reply :-). So you found the 47 labs tonearm too funny to try !
Anyway, Syntax, frankly I dont have the bandwidth to spend $5k on a tonearm. I suppose the kind of serious tonearms you are talking about are all $4k+, correct me if I am wrong. My maximum stretch budget will not exceed $2.5k, that too I am hoping I get a good price for my 3012. 47 labs is well within my budget and has got some nice user opinions. Then there are Jelcos but I am not sure if it is an upgrade over my existing arm. The point is, I do not know what to look for under $2.5k . FR64 is very well regarded I know, it could be an option. What else ? |
Syntax, FR64 has an effective mass of 35g. Will it work with cartridge like ZYX and Lyra ? |
As an update, I bought the ZYX rs30-02 cartridge. Much much better than Denon 103pro. For the tonearm, I have an option of buying Graham 1 tonearm for about $1.2k and a Graham 2.2 for $2k. Not sure if the additional $800 is worth the investment!!
Has anyone tried Graham and ZYX combination. Is it worth pursuing ? |
