worrasf
28-05-2014, 17:00
My ZYX R100 has finally arrived after an almost 6 month wait but oh boy it was worth it :)
My thanks to Paul at Reffc for his advice (and persistence).
Hand built by Mr Nakatsuka he is clearly proud of his work. The Zyx comes with a "proper" instruction/owners manual in a very sturdy box all presented in a twee soft fabric bag :drool:
It was with some trepidation that I set about installing it in the Schick graphite headshell. Even though as the blurb points out this is the basic model in the series £800 plus sovs is still a lot of dollar and I was in no rush to FUBAR it :eek:
Setup was surprisingly easy (or maybe I'm getting practiced). Set VTF to the recommended 2g and away we go.
This cartridge is like nothing I have heard before (clearly I have limited experience but I've heard/owned a few). First impressions - wow!. Fast, clean, detailed, powerful. It gave me the same impression as when I first heard my Decca Blue compared to other MM carts I had heard - in fact the sound is quite reminiscent of the Decca in its' energy and presentation but is way more detailed, open and natural sounding and with a much wider soundstage.
Bass is stunningly deep. What strikes me the most though is that instruments sound far more natural than with any other analogue or digital source I have heard. It’s like for years the tone/timbre has not been “quite right” but I think the brain compensates but somehow you know that there is something just a little off from the live sound but hard to pin it down. With the Zyx things just sound more as I remember the “real” instruments do.
The presentation is "powerful" but not shouty or "in your face". You can "feel" the chimes on Dark Side and their "tang" is just perfect. Its clean and precise and already there is low-level detail not previously heard.
I’ve only played Rodrigo y Gabriela and a bit of Pink Floyd, Nina Simone and some Flamenco so far but I am really really pleased and so glad I hung on for it.
I think things can only get better :cool:
Steve
My thanks to Paul at Reffc for his advice (and persistence).
Hand built by Mr Nakatsuka he is clearly proud of his work. The Zyx comes with a "proper" instruction/owners manual in a very sturdy box all presented in a twee soft fabric bag :drool:
It was with some trepidation that I set about installing it in the Schick graphite headshell. Even though as the blurb points out this is the basic model in the series £800 plus sovs is still a lot of dollar and I was in no rush to FUBAR it :eek:
Setup was surprisingly easy (or maybe I'm getting practiced). Set VTF to the recommended 2g and away we go.
This cartridge is like nothing I have heard before (clearly I have limited experience but I've heard/owned a few). First impressions - wow!. Fast, clean, detailed, powerful. It gave me the same impression as when I first heard my Decca Blue compared to other MM carts I had heard - in fact the sound is quite reminiscent of the Decca in its' energy and presentation but is way more detailed, open and natural sounding and with a much wider soundstage.
Bass is stunningly deep. What strikes me the most though is that instruments sound far more natural than with any other analogue or digital source I have heard. It’s like for years the tone/timbre has not been “quite right” but I think the brain compensates but somehow you know that there is something just a little off from the live sound but hard to pin it down. With the Zyx things just sound more as I remember the “real” instruments do.
The presentation is "powerful" but not shouty or "in your face". You can "feel" the chimes on Dark Side and their "tang" is just perfect. Its clean and precise and already there is low-level detail not previously heard.
I’ve only played Rodrigo y Gabriela and a bit of Pink Floyd, Nina Simone and some Flamenco so far but I am really really pleased and so glad I hung on for it.
I think things can only get better :cool:
Steve