ZYX Airy 3x/SB vs. Dynavector XV-1 or 1s

Three suggestions, with apologies in advance if you've already tried them:

1) VTF and SRA adjustment (both are very critical with a ZYX)

2) Graham damping fluid adjustment (also critical, read SirSpeedy's thread on this topic if you haven't)

3) Try a lower impedance load

The one time I tried an Airy 3-X-SB on a Graham 2.2 it was also a touch bright. All attempts to tame it failed unless we went so far that HF musical content was lost. There was no happy medium.

It's possible these two components are not the best match, as I hypothesized in my Airy 2/3 review last year. The Airy 2 and UNIverse have no problems on the Graham IME.

Sorry, I haven't heard an XV-1S, though I'd certainly like to.

In the system where the Airy 3 was too bright we found an impedance of 75 ohms better than 100. Try something like that if you can.

Listen to SirSpeedy re: the Graham damping fluid. We were adjusting and hearing changes with amounts far smaller than a drop. Dip a toothpick in and scrape some of that onto the pivot. Be very careful not to drip any of it against the sides of the well. It will take forever to settle back down.

Unless you're in a very warm climate, 1.90g may be insufficient downforce. My UNIverse is currently happy at about 2.05g. Very small changes will be audible here too.

A nose-up orientation is not optimal for any ZYX I've heard. They like to be level (referring to the cartridge body, not the arm tube). OTOH I wouldn't expect this to cause brightness. Nose-down does that.

Keep on tweakin'!

This is my first analog gear and must admit that I am no expert in fine tuning these delicate pieces of equipment. I am able to hear the subtle changes in sound when various settings are changed -- but need to nail down a methodology for determining the best combination of settings -- just too many moving parts, literally and figuratively!

Very true, and many of these adjustments are interactive. Change A and you affect B, which will in turn alter A when you try to correct. It's a great deal of fun. ;-)

Check out this article for a great how-to on VTF/VTA:

http://www.walkeraudio.com/fine_tuning_your_turntable.htm

Ca2284,

Glad to see you're making progress. Keep at it!

SirSpeedy,

Alls well that ends well.

Interesting results you're getting moving the Herbies, and it makes sense. A tube in its socket should vibrate more at the top than at the base. Moving the dampers upward should dampen that movement better.

I have two Herbies on each tube in my preamp/phono. Two sounds better than one and I'd use three if I had the space. Herbie's website warns about "overdamping", but I have a hard time imagining how ANY vibration would improve the performance of a tube. If damping a tube makes the system sound lean or dry, there's a problem elsewhere in the system.

Sir S,

Perhaps we need to meet. If Paul or I remind you of thirteen year old girls your visual problems must dwarf your audio ones.

I've been listening to LP's since 1959. I figure if my learning curve were any slower I'd be going backwards. ;-)