zyx universe cartr.- ideal weight -ideal vta ,

Doug, I liked the way you've said that, "Smothers Responsiveness". You analogy makes much logical sense to me about VTA, and Anti-Skate. Your words hit home, thank you for putting it into words than even I can understand.

So many disbelievers seem to speak about "fairies dancing on a head of a pin", and whatnot when speaking about all things "analog".

Your logical suggestions, and advice we have talked about in private.

My Benz Ruby 3 is finally starting to sound like a good Cartridge, it's not sounding "quite so broken" anymore, and sometime soon, I will try your suggestions of O-rings as well, lessening VTF, try to ignore the Digital VTF Scale (within reason), and let my ears be the final judge.

Makes mucho sense that excessive VTF, and Anti-Skate, even if ever so slight, may not serve much benefit.

Interesting read Doug, and in relation to this whole thread, and what has been written, do you feel then, that such minor changes of .01-.03g (and such) in VTF (with the UNIverse in particular) may be somewhat not only affecting the Stylus-groove interface itself, but also how precise the Coils are situated within the Cartridge itself as well?

You very last post seems to suggest this, in that the suspension appears to have further broken in, and a lower VTA was optimum for Coil Centering within the Cartridge. (do correct me if I'm wrong about these possible assumptions).

If I am so far on the right track with this thinking-reasoning, then could it also be a viable reason why a Cartridge like the ZYX UNIverse may be slightly more sensitive in this regard of VTF changes in comparison with other fine MC Cartridges? Thanks, Mark (PS: I sure do love topics like this, as it's the know-nots like me that learn something! lol)

Hello Halcro,
Thank you too for your post, enjoyed the read as well.
After I read it, I was thinking of Doub, thinking of some of the things he would be telling me to "remember-consider" with Cartridge set up/Tuning.

Doug I remember mentioning once to me not to be too anal about the precision of a Digital Scale, and that while a decent scale will help you get into the ballpark, and the Manufacturer's recommended range of settings, that the ear is the final criteria in achieving best sound.

I think common sense would dictate, when one makes a change, or tweak, and it sounds better, one could assume "somthing right was done".

I myself also went to a better (or should I say "easier") Expressimo Micro-Tech Digital Scale, from previously using the Shure teeter-totter SG-2.

I double checked this Digital against reference weights just to insure it was reaonably accurate, and it was, but of course, a Scale that only reads on .1g increments isn't going to tell you if you're accuratly at 1.93g.

Doug had mentioned an ultra accurate Gauge was only perhaps needed if one wished to exactly repeat a previous setting if one was doing constant changeouts, and wanted to get dialed back in quickly with a previously used Cartridge.

Not to hammer you with the obvious though, have you ever perhaps confirmed the accuracy of your newer Scale? Mark