VPI Aries 2 , SME IV and Benz Micro Ruby 2 .

Loontoon,
I agree that the Koetsus I've heard were biased toward the warm or smoothed side of neutral. As you say, one either likes listening to that or not. Your deduction that a ZYX either, "...does have a sound, or so severely lacks any sound that it confuses those who hear it." was perceptive. In my experience the latter is the case, although "severely" might imply coldness to some; that is not the case.

Gfloyd53,
You'll find the ZYX reviews and comparisons mentioned by Nrchy next to my signature. They include direct comparisons with Shelter 901, Koetsu Urushi and RSP.

If you're looking for top to bottom coherency, balance and natural, seamless integration a ZYX can provide it. They demand very careful setup, but if you are willing to do that you'll be listening to instruments and voices more and to your stereo less.

I haven't heard one on an SME so I don't know about any synergy issues. The mass/compliance specs are fine, FWIW.

Doug

Gfloyd53,

I don't see any phono stage specs for the 320s on the ML site. The key questions are:

GAIN
How much phono stage (not line stage) gain does it have?
It may have selectable phono gain settings.
If so, find out what all the choices are.

IMPEDANCE
What input impedance does it have at the phono inputs?
It may have selectable impedance settings.
If so, find out what all the choices are.

I wouldn't expect any serious cartridge compatibility issues with a reasonable quality SS phono stage, but I've been surprised before. Play it safe. Ask ML for the gain and impedance specs before choosing a cartridge.

Doug