ZYX R 1000 Sigma X - thoughts, comments, reviews

Thanks for the response Dougdeacon. Read your review of the UNIverse and it sounds wonderful. Question for you is depending upon price, would you go for a UNI or a Sigma. Audiogon classifieds have the UNI listed at $7,500 with selling for $5,000. If you could get a Sigma for around the same price of $5,000 would you? Again, do you know of any reviews of the Sigma cartridge and what would you think are the major differences in sound? Thanks for your thoughts.

94968,

I've never heard the Sigma myself and don't know anyone who has. Never even saw a review. It disappeared before I reached this level of insanity.

It had a list price of $10K when it was discontinued 4-5 years ago. That could be driving that $5K asking price. What's it "really" worth? Only you and the seller can decide. ;-)

FWIW, you'll have to pry my UNIverse from my cold dead pinkies (and you'd still have to fight off my partner). Here are some considerations I'd be thinking about:

- Nakatsuka-san believes the UNIverse is better (though his sonic priorities do differ from mine, and maybe from yours)

- there's no price difference, and the UNIverse would come with a full warranty and Mehran's unparalleled customer service

-there's a pretty active community of UNIverse owners here and elsewhere who'll share tips (it's the most responsive/sensitive cartridge I know, with very narrow sweet zones for VTF, VTA, antiskating and azimuth and very high rewards for getting everything right)

Here's one unwelcome tip: the UNIverse deserves a better arm than any Graham short of the new Phantom. Not that it won't play and play well on a 2.x, as your Benz undoubtedly does now, but you won't get anywhere near its full capabilites. More upgrades to look forward to!

Thanks again Dougdeacon,

You pretty much answered the way I thought. Is there ever an end to upgrading one's system? Somehow this audio sickness we all have seems to be a self fullfilling prophecy. We upgrade one component only to have to upgrade another to get the best out of each one. ARGGHHH!!

Budget and common sense needs to play a role. I have spent the last 4 years upgrading my system, which was 20 plus years old when I started the upgrade process. Have reached a point were I am very satisfied with everything and only wanted to upgrade the cartridge. Have been fortunate to usually upgrade with demo's which really helps with the cost.

Its nice to hear something can be improved upon and come out at a lower price.

I forgot to add that I also have a REL Studio III to complement the Guarneri's.

Will take your thoughts, and any others, under advisement and make my decision.

Any thoughts on an arm upgrade now that you brought it up?

Thanks

For a top level ZYX it's hard to beat a TriPlanar VII. Several have reported good results with the Graham Phantom also, but I haven't heard myself.

Thom Mackris of Galibier turntables likes to say, whichever arm you're most comfortable setting up and adjusting may be best, especially at this level, since exacting setup can make the difference between good sound and HOLY MOTHER OF CRAP! good sound. :-)

For something other than a ZYX, it depends on the cartridge. Matching arm to cartridge is vital in helping to delay that NEXT upgrade.

Like you, we're in year 4-5 of an unexpected adventure. "The road goes ever, on and on. Watch your step going out of that door Frodo. There's no telling where you may be swept off to." At least our tonearm and cartridge (and preamp) adventures are settled. We've heard nothing better that we can afford - and many things we can't afford and would never want to! ;-)

As my preamp/amp designer says, tolerate equipment, enjoy music!

Couldn't agree with you more on Gandalf's wisdom. Yes, it is all about enjoying the music! And I have been at that. Never really appreciated how good audio equipment could sound and by that the music produced from said equipment could sound until I went down the upgrade path. Have been startled and pleasently surprised. For me the biggest improvement in sound has been the upgrade in cables. I know many think Siltech are overpriced but boy once you have heard the difference it is hard to accept anything else.

For now I think I will stay with my Clearaudio and Graham. I have only had them for about a year and a half and am enjoying them immensely. I think I will pull the trigger on the cartridge as I know I need an upgrade there. I am getting a good warranty and price on the Sigma. I may not get the most out it but know the potential and it will be an improvement over what I have.

Next line of improvements will be my CD player and my Reel to Reel. Have been a long time user/fan of R-to-R and enjoy recording tapes and just pressing play. Its also much easier to make tapes and edit than it is to make cd's from vinyl. Additionally am very interested in the Tape Project and will be taking out a subscription shortly. Will need to update my Otari for the tapes but it will be worth it.

Thanks again for your comments. Audiogon is a great sight and has been extremely helpful with my upgrade journey.