ZYX airy 2 with Dynavector P75, setting suggestion

[york]

I have my ZYX airy 2 mounted on my lp12/schroder 2 combo with the dynavector p75 phono. the sound is not that impressive. yes the p75, arm and cart. are all brand new, need time to break in, but still the sound is not something i expected.

I am now setting the p75 according to the info from the cartridge database, I set the phono at the low uotput cartridge mode(not the famous phono enhancer mode) at 100ohm and 60db gain. VTF at approx1.9gram, the sound is a bit lean, the high is a bit too sharp and bright. When the VTF set at approx. 2.0 gram, the sound is a bit rounder, the bright sounding highs reduces with a bit dull in overall presentation.

Is there anyone tried the ZYX on a P75? what setting are you using? The cartridge database says the ressistance of the airy 2 is >100ohm, I am now setting at 100ohm, what if I set at 470k ohm and still keep the gain at 60db(or 63db?)? will it be any damage to the airy2? any thought??

thanks!!

[blakep]

I do not have direct experience with any of your equipment. However, I would make a few recommendations. You are probably dealing with a break-in/burn-in issue with all the components. If you don't have the Cardas Sweep Record, I'd suggest buying it and logging 3-4 hours on the 3 burn in tracks (maybe an hour on each) to speed up the process.

I'd also suggest using the "enhancer" mode on the P75. I have an Aqvox Phono 2 CI that operates on a similar basis and sounds beautiful in that mode.

But I think burn-in (the Zyx's are supposedly a bit notorious for being as you described for I think up to about 200 hours-you can check Audiogon for some threads there on the same issue) is your primary issue with respect to both cartridge and phono stage.

[york]

hi blakep, as you suggested I studied the P75 manual again, i now set the P75 at phono enhancer mode 1 (4-10 ohm), the low resistance coil setting(my Zyx, according to the database is of 8ohm coil resistance), the sound is now a bit more dynamic and bigger contrast, but still not as full body as I anticipated and the background noise, not sure is I imagine it or not, seems not as good as low outout cart. mode. I shall give them some more time before seriously evaluating their performance, thanks. I hope I am not expecting too much from the P75.

(I didn't set PE mode at the first placebecause I misunderstand the internal resistance from loading impedence. Therefore I thought the PE mode is not suitable for my ZYX)

[blakep]

York: Good luck. Your setup may well deserve a better phono stage than the Dynavector, but it has a very good reputation and I would not be too hasty making any judgements with a brand new cartridge and phono stage. That lean, aggressive quality is very typical of a new cartridge and, particularly a new phono stage. I would probably not even be listening critically in the first 10-15 hours or so because in my experience, without some kind of enhanced burn in like the Cardas Sweep Record, it's just too depressing!!!

So, if you don't have the Cardas Sweep Record, order it immediately and use those burn in tracks. It will do both your cartridge and phono stage a world of good in a few hours as well as easing your mind about your purchase. Following that, the frequency sweeps on the record are valuable in terms of degaussing your system on a regular basis. It is money well worth spending.

[york]

I will get one, sounds excellent gadget.

I admit the P75 has some good things I really like, but the sound is not as transparent as my old ASR mini basis, (of course the ASR is something from another class, shouldn't be put together for comparison). The P75 is more PRAT than ASR, however, but everything else(the round stuff like soundstage and transparence etc))inferior to ASR at this moment. Since I am looking for flat earth sound so there is nothing about this i should complain about.

Maybe a dynavector cart is more suitable for tis purpose?

[Audie]

Hi York,

Had a quick look at your cartridge on the web - should perform well.
It is very light at 5gm, but they sell a headshell/cartridge weight to bring it up to a normal 8gms. If you did not purchase the weight, you may need to add some weight to match better with your arm-try 3gm of bluetac.
The sounds you describe at 1.9 gm and 2gm suggest you need somewhere in between, around 1.95gm. The cartridge is sensitive to 0.2gm changes in VTF.
The cartridge is said to be sensitive to VTA and azmuth, so you should check these with the HFN Test Record, or your ears if experienced enough.

The phono enhance or current sensing mode should sound best. In that mode the cartridge loading is automatically adjusted.

Audie.

[york]

hi audie, I agree that the weight of the cart is too light. I added 1gram of bluetac originally. As you suggested I tried to put 3gram on it, after adjustment, seems better! The sound seems more relax. Still need more observation to see if it really works. Thanks.