[Rob N]

Has anyone has experience of these?

Not looking for the most expensive,upto around £1200

 

[jp11801]

I have owned the ZYX yatra and I currently own the bloom. Both are grat carts and bettered the carts I have owned (music maker, dynavector 20x, shelter 501 mkll and the. shelter 7000). The yatra was better, more refined and resolving, than the bloom but both were steals for the price.

 

[Rob N]

Still looking at these might go for the R-100 Fuji which is £1200 in the UK

 

[CD44hi]

I have the R100 Fuji. It is a great cartridge, very refined and has great frequency resolution: tight bass, clean treble. In terms of comparison, honestly, the cartridge I had before on the table was a Dynavector 10X5 so I am sure it is not fair to say much. Yet, when I substituted in the Fuji, it was a remarkable change.
It may be worth a shot to contact Mehran at SORAsound, maybe he can ship to UK? I could be considerably cheaper...(I don't know about VAT.) He is really a good guy to do business with.

 

[Rob N]

The UK dealer for ZYX says that the low output Fuji (0.24mv) sounds better than the high output (0.48mv).Can anyone confirm this?

For the low output one I will need a step up transformer.Any suggestions? How much should I spend?

 

[Zanth]

IF you are going to get a step up (is this because your phono/pre can't do it now?) then you have two awesome choices:

EAR's MC-4 is a very very good step-up and wouldn't be too pricey for you in the UK. By most accounts it is in the top three of stand-alone steps.

If you want the very best, you need to hit up Bent Audio, but they are very delayed on getting theirs out the door. Though my future is a Bent Audio step, with my Ear 834p (bipassable steps) I should get the MC-4 to remain consistent in sonics, but I can get the Bent's for cost so it kinda a no brainer for me plus I'm in Canada (as is Bent).

 

[Rob N]

Yes,024mv is to low for the Artemis Labs PH-1 (would have been okay for PL-1) and getting a step up is cheaper than a new phono amp at the same level as the the pH-1.

The UK dealer for ZYX,Graham Tricker also makes step ups at prices from £300-1000,are they good?

 

[Zanth]

I don't know anything about his step ups. I just know from reading over the years at Audiogon and Audioasylum that the MC-4 is a good one and that the Bent Audio ones are the best (by most accounts). I'd be surprised if his weren't good!

 

[Parafeed]

The Stevens & Billington TX103 used in the Bent Audio Mu step-up is one of the best sounding transformers I've heard. Better than the EAR IMHO. I've used the R100 Fuji with the TX103. I still have mixed feelings about the Zyx. It can sound a little too detailed and lack body. But then to put that into perspective I'm a Koetsu fan, preferring a warmer, easy-going sound.

 

[Rob N]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parafeed /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Stevens & Billington TX103 used in the Bent Audio Mu step-up is one of the best sounding transformers I've heard. Better than the EAR IMHO. I've used the R100 Fuji with the TX103. I still have mixed feelings about the Zyx. It can sound a little too detailed and lack body. But then to put that into perspective I'm a Koetsu fan, preferring a warmer, easy-going sound.

I'm a little concerned about the detail although i think in my system more detail won't be a bad thing and I've heard great things about the Fuji

Did you have the Bent or was the TX103 part of another amp or a stand alone unit?

 

[Parafeed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob N /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm a little concerned about the detail although i think in my system more detail won't be a bad thing and I've heard great things about the Fuji

The Fuji is a great cart, but IMHO it is very dependant on synergy with the rest of the system. There are some carts (that I'd call middle of the road-in terms of sound, not price) that will always sound great whatever the rest of the system. Then there are others, (and the R100 Fuji would definitely fall into this category), that only shine when they gel with the rest of the system. I would describe the Fuji as taught, clean, detailed, fast. I feel that it works best with a tube phono stage. I remember listening to it with a solid state Iso HR/Hera phono stage and wondering what made it worth a penny more than a Dynavector Karat 17D2. A decent pair of step-up transformers and tube phono stage - it was a different cart.

I'm not very good at vocalizing what I hear, (definitely wouldn't cut the grade as a reviewer), so take this with a pinch of salt. If your overall system errs towards bright and fast I wouldn't recommend the Zyx. On the other hand it's a great cart for injecting a little more speed, detail and PRAT into an all tube system, especially with DHT SET.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob N /img/forum/go_quote.gif Did you have the Bent or was the TX103 part of another amp or a stand alone unit?

I still have the Bent. Actually, I bought the S&B TX103's direct from the manufacturer, used them in a DIY enclosure and then bought the Bent Mu kit (minus the transformers) at a later date. The Mu enclosures sure look a lot better!

 

[Rob N]

I do have a tube phonostage

 

[Parafeed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob N /img/forum/go_quote.gif I do have a tube phonostage

Yes, I should have picked that up from your sig! (As well as the other tube gear. That's a cool vinyl rig. I like the look of the Raven One.

 

[Rob N]

I've pretty much decided to go with the Fuji (including the silver headshell weight) and GT Audio mid range step up transformers

 

[Parafeed]

Please post your impressions of the Zyx.