VPI Classic and ZYX Airy 3 X SB...good match?

So Airy 3 is not a pick up for rock music?

Who said that? If you want to be rocked by whatever's in the grooves, and not by some coloration added by a pick up, I haven't heard anything that rocks better in its price range. I've heard quite a few that rock less, including some that cost many times more.

Paul and I are not frequent rock listeners, but in our experience the Airy 3-X-SB (low output version) is a very good rock cartridge. I'd have said "great" but there are better (Dynavector XV-1S, Transfiguration Orpheus, ZYX Atmos/4D for example, though they all cost ~$1K more).

Even the UNIverse, not widely renowned for rock, can literally tear the house down. But it needs utterly neutral and dynamically unlimited components through an entire system to fully show its stuff. Like some rock stars, it plays its best when surrounded by very expensive toys. ;-)

Stefanoo,

Classical is our primary genre also, see our reviews. The Airy 3 is indeeed very good for this, though it's true the Atmos and UNIverse are even better. :-(

I wasn't sure why you asked about rock but your question implied something untrue IME, so I judged a response would be useful. Post the questions you don't need answered in a smaller font and we'll know to ignore them. ;-)

Doug

Ah, we've reached the dithering stage. Good! ;-)

Read the reviews beneath my signature. The models you're asking about are all covered.

The UNIverse is discontinued. The worldwide distributor, SORAsound, still has remaining new stock. The only other source would be a used one (don't hold your breath).

The Atmos designation was discontinued but it's the same cartridge as the 4D, which is still a current model. SORAsound has remaining Atmos's. Any ZYX dealer can sell a 4D.

Your tonearm will match any of these models provided you get the SB option (integrated additional weight). Tonearm matching should not factor into this decision at all IMO.

Choose between Airy 3, 4D/Atmos or UNIverse based on your budget. The improvements from one to the next are clear and audibly significant. Whether they're worth the additional cost is a decision only you can make.

You haven't said a word about needing "smoothness" or "magic" or "musicality", so I assume you're not attracted to/fooled by sonic treacle. Neither am I. Our listening priorities seem similar.

Therefore, whichever model you choose, get the copper coils, SB weight and low output version (assuming an appropriate LOMC phono stage). Everything you've posted about your priorities leads toward these choices.

My experience with UNIverse is that *some* A/S is needed when the cartridge is new, though nowhere near the amount recommended by some tonearm dials. Does your VPI tonearm have the optional A/S device? If so, I'd recommend NOT using any of the supplied weights after the first 100 hours or so. Get some little O-rings that fit the rod and use as many or as few as you need to track difficult passages without R channel distortion/mistracking.

As the cart wears in you'll be able to decrease A/S steadily. If it acts like mine (and the suspensions are very similar, so it should) by the time you reach 4-500 hours it won't need any. At that point you can try removing the A/S device altogether. Most A/S devices are like any other doohickey hanging off the arm: an unnecessary resonance trap that raises the arm's sound floor.

I've personally seen more cantilevers canted from excessive A/S than from too little. I don't believe that's a significant risk. I've been running my UNIverse with zero A/S for two years and there's no sign of any cant.

It will vary from cartridge to cartridge though, so you'll have to watch, listen and decide for yourself.

Congratulations on ordering a Mint. Best product of its kind IME.

You learned how to use a scope, that's clever. Now learn when not to use it, that's wisdom.

Why assume the optimal setup for tracking a high amplitude, single frequency tone would also be optimal for tracking lower amplitude, multiple frequency music? That assumption is naive. It ignores the many obvious differences between the two conditions.

Any cartridge worth more than $50 will differentiate between such varying conditions, so it needs to be optimized for the condition you'll actually be playing. Certainly a top performer like the 4D does.

Your method will result in excessive VTF and A/S for real records, and that will shorten the life of your 4D's suspension. These excessive forces will also smother dynamics, reduce transient speed and limit high frequency extension. A 4D played with this setup will sound comparatively dull, slow and lifeless - but if it wears out sooner you won't suffer as long! ;-)

If there's mistracking in the R channel on REAL records then of course you should add some A/S. I never said to accept mistracking.

But the HFN record is not a real record. To track it cleanly requires more VTF and A/S than you need for real records. Playing real records with excessive VTF and A/S dulls the sound and softens a suspension faster.

Scope if you must, but use real records. Test records are too different to provide meaningful results. I own several, including the HFN record, and none of them is of any use for adjusting VTF or A/S to play real music.

Brrgrr,

The purpose of the SB option is to get the effective mass of the cartridge/tonearm combo high enough to get into the range where a ZYX performs best. From my experience with many ZYX models and reports of others, that range is somewhere around 15-20gm or so.

So, total up the effective mass of your tonearm, the weight of the cartridge and mounting screws. Then add whatever additional weight you need (at the headshell end) to reach 15-20gm.

Whether you add the weight with ZYX's SB option, VPI's headshell weights or otherwise won't matter insofar as effective mass is concerned. Of course the fact that ZYZ's SB weight is glued to the cartridge probably effects the propagation of stray energies differently than a VPI weight, but I can't say which would be better as I haven't compared. All my ZYXs have been with the SB.

P.S. ZYX doesn't sell a copper weight as far as I know. The only weight option is the "SB" option. What ZYX offers in copper, silver or gold are different material options for the coils.

Brrgrr,

The SB option is factory-installed by ZYX before the cartridge is shipped. You can't field retrofit one and it's not sold separately.