A trip to the darkside

For the past 45 years or so I've been a resolutely moving magnet kind of guy, running Goldring 800s, Shure M75s and later V15s, and within the past year or so a plethora of various p-mounts from Technics, Ortofon, Grado, ADC, Empire, Stanton, Sony, AT et al. The purchase of a pivot-arm TT, a Sony with a magic-motor biotracer arm opened up a whole new world of cartridge possibilities, and a few have already been and gone - AT440mls, Grado Gold, and Pickering XV15-625E (actually this is still for sale - any takers, low hours, spare (new) stylus - PM me!). All in the search for the holy grail.

I have a p-mount Ortofon X1-MCP high output moving coil, which I like, and reading great things about the SAE1000E HOMC I got one for the Sony. Job done! Detailed and dynamic, plenty of weight, nice treble what more could you want? Just when I thought I was sorted there was that cartridge shoot out using the Era Gold V, and then an Ortofon Anna for comparison. This was a disaster (for those who haven't read the thread) for the Anna MC as it sounded no better than the vastly cheaper MMs. However I found a source of comparison rips of high end MCs on a German magazine site, and TBH these were the real deal. So the search was back on!

Now, the thought of spending £2k+ on a needle sends a shiver down my spine, and sets numerous alarm bells ringing - most notably one labelled "diminishing returns". Rather than climb the whole way up to the high end I settled on the foothills and looked at the lower models in those esoteric ranges. For a long while I had a Benz-Micro Glider SH on order, but I got fed up with waiting and looked at the Zyx range. The R100-H2 was almost the equivalent model to the Gilder (without the sexy nude look, and oh-so-exposed cantilever), and one came by return of post, nicely packed in a wooden crate protected by a draw-string fabric bag.

With the loan Elevator (thank you Jon!), I've put 50 hours on the Zyx now, and my own Elevator turned up yesterday (thank you GSP's John!).

Was it worth the expense? Is the Zyx any better than the SAE? I would say so, of course, but definitely yes! The presence and detail of the R100 makes the sound tangible. It's deeper, higher and wider, and more dynamic. Treble detail is refined and not at all harsh. Like any good piece of hi-fidelity kit it takes on the nature of the music playing through it. Smooth and velvety with Paul Desmond, edgy and dynamic with Weather Report, expansive and detailed with good orchestral recordings like Bax's 5th on Lyrita. Obviously the sound is the sum of it's parts, and the Reflex/Elevator combo is definitely doing its job well.

I certainly haven't heard  a better MM, and I know that Graham thinks MCs are the spawn of the devil, so I hope he'll forgive me this foray off-piste. At least that was another Elevator sold!

Visually the Zyx is a boring little black blob, but here's a picture anyway . . .

Edit: added links

One of these, which I bought back in the 70s, was of the typical "easy listening" fayre of the day - the Franck Pourcel Orchestra playing arrangements of Beatles songs. Obviously naff!  Or was it? The arrangements were mostly effective, and the quality of the sound from the Zyx/EXP/Reflex combo was stunning.

Somehow the sound managed to be both forensic and lush at the same time. Instrumental lines were easy to follow, instrumental doubling easy to separate, different acoustics for different instruments only too apparent (this not so much of a plus), and string sound as smooth as velvet with harmonics extending well into the stratosphere.

I've played this many times and never noticed a lot of these details, now newly revealed, which just suck you into the music.

it just keeps getting better (and my Elevator's far from run in). Those glowing reviews quoted on the Elevator product page are bang on!