Jump to content

ZYX Bloom, best bargain MC under $5,000?


luvdunhill

Recommended Posts

congrats, John, i'd love to hear the atmos -- sounds like a phenomenal cart. the bloom is a cart i'd like to hear in my system, but man, that royally sucks they've up the price to a grand. $500 was such a sweet deal.

come xmas when supply of the DL-S1 runs low as Denon only makes them once a year to fulfill demand for the coming year, they'll be available for $950+. looks like the DL-S1 can be had right now for around $500, which is a great price -- 45% below retail.

Denon DL S1 - Phono cartridge

forgot to ask... what load were you using on the denon?

Edited by 909
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Airy 3 is the one cartridge that I never really understood in the ZYX lineup. I've compared it to the UNIverse and Airy 2S in one sitting and it didn't seem to have the same sound signature of the others. Lacking in the mids is one way to put it, but I'd say not as much alive as the others. The 2 series was discontinued later as I'm sure you know. Supposedly they (2 and 3) are similar in construction, but perhaps my ears weren't working that day or something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Airy 3 is the one cartridge that I never really understood in the ZYX lineup. I've compared it to the UNIverse and Airy 2S in one sitting and it didn't seem to have the same sound signature of the others. Lacking in the mids is one way to put it, but I'd say not as much alive as the others. The 2 series was discontinued later as I'm sure you know. Supposedly they (2 and 3) are similar in construction, but perhaps my ears weren't working that day or something.

I have not found the Airy 3X lacking in the mids at all. But it is a neutral sounding cart, good bass and treble extension, so the mids are not overemphasized. I would say its like listening to tape, or good digital.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, it was the last cart in the old lineup. Geared towards "rock".

It is essentially the 4D although current dealers may dispute this as they redid the line in response to Sora Sound losing their distribution rights.

On another sad note, nothing ever goes as planned. No sooner did I get the Atmos on the deck did the OL Sovereign speed go fucking haywire. I have an email into them to see what the potential problem could be. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have not found the Airy 3X lacking in the mids at all. But it is a neutral sounding cart, good bass and treble extension, so the mids are not overemphasized. I would say its like listening to tape, or good digital.

I meant more in comparison to the 2 or UNIverse than in general.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Greg, do you have the most up to date MIO console, drivers and firmware, if not go to mhlabs.com and grab them. My issue is sometime when I flip an LP the 305 loses sight of the mic pre amps and outputs no sound and meters see nothis as well but if I reboot the unit all is well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You know, I meant to do an ULN-8 update a number of times these past few months but became distracted along the way. I forget that the ULN-8 needs to treated more like a computer/interface gear rather than a fixed bit of hardware like a DAC or CDP. Great suggestion, thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

The cart upgrade itch was nagging me for a while so I decided to buy one of these Blooms (low ouput) from Mehran. Will update on when I get it smile.png

The price went up quite a bit from when this thread was started, but I prefer to buy carts brand new and I can't think of any others in the under $700 range I wanted to try more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.