Air Tight Opus 1 arrived

[asiufy]

Peter,

First, I've never heard the ZYX. Louis, to this day, prefers the ZYX, while Bill Parish has moved on to the Air Tight.
The A95 is, outside of a Lyra, one of the most incisive cartridges I've heard. The A90 was too, but was a bit too much, as it lacked that midbass magic that people expect from good analog reproduction.
That said, the Air Tight is faster still. Maybe I wasn't expecting it, as I sort of expected it to be nice and round like a Koetsu. But it hits hard, very fast and dynamic.
But it does the midrage like few, like a Lyra/Koetsu hybrid, if you will...
That "pop" factor, the rise time and impact of a snare hit, for instance, is just more realistic on the Air Tight. And I'm sure you've heard what an A95 can do on this front, at Ian's, and perhaps you'll agree that it's no slouch in that department...


cheers,
alex

 

[PeterA]

Peter,

First, I've never heard the ZYX. Louis, to this day, prefers the ZYX, while Bill Parish has moved on to the Air Tight.
The A95 is, outside of a Lyra, one of the most incisive cartridges I've heard. The A90 was too, but was a bit too much, as it lacked that midbass magic that people expect from good analog reproduction.
That said, the Air Tight is faster still. Maybe I wasn't expecting it, as I sort of expected it to be nice and round like a Koetsu. But it hits hard, very fast and dynamic.
But it does the midrage like few, like a Lyra/Koetsu hybrid, if you will...
That "pop" factor, the rise time and impact of a snare hit, for instance, is just more realistic on the Air Tight. And I'm sure you've heard what an A95 can do on this front, at Ian's, and perhaps you'll agree that it's no slouch in that department...


cheers,
alex

Sorry Alex, I guess I misunderstood this comment you made up thread:

Hi Gian!

This is the best cartridge I've ever heard, bar none! I've compared it to the A95 (no comparison) and the top of the line ZYX (again, not even close). Oh, comparisons were done on the Kronos Pro with the Black Beauty tonearm...
It does the "smooth" thing like the ZYX, while still being extremely "alive" and dynamic like the A95.
We had one briefly here in the store, but it sold so fast...


cheers,
alex

I'm interested in the topic and in your specific impressions because I know Madfloyd's system quite well and he has the top of the line ZYX and the A95 on a Kronos and Black Beauty arm. So your experience with this exact configuration plus your new impressions of the latest AirTight Opus, a cartridge that I am quite curious about, would be quite valuable to me. But if you have not heard the ZYX, then it is something different. I happen to prefer the ZYX to the A95 by a fair margin.

 

[bonzo75]

I love both but differences in prices between the universe premium and a95 is high. I would take the UniP if I had the budget but against a95 would want to compare it to the Uni II. Which Zyx does the Louis that Alex mentioned own?

 

[ack]

I guess I am also confused, like PeterA, on Alex's comments: first, "I've compared it to the A95 (no comparison) and the top of the line ZYX (again, not even close)", then "First, I've never heard the ZYX"

 

[gian60]

I knew and i stay with Louis in an italian shop alone with him while he was setting Sparta,i spoke a lot with him and he told me that the best cartridge for him is the Universum Premium II

 

[audio.bill]

I have to wonder whether those who find the Ortofon A95 on the analytical side have heard their MC Anna which is reported to have a much fuller and more romantic balance.

 

[asiufy]

I was trying to be succint, sorry folks. The ZYX comment was based on Bill's experience. Since he's the distributor of the Kronos, he's had a fair number of cartridges mounted on it, and those were his words, the ZYX was not even close to the Air Tight.

My own experience with the ZYX is not substantial enough to warrant in-depth comments or comparisons, like I did with the A95, that I know well.

As I said, Louis still prefers the ZYX, and gian now mentions the exact model, which I wouldn't be able to remember right now

The Anna is indeed slightly fuller than the A95.

 

[PeterA]

Thanks Alex. Isn't Bill also an AirTight dealer? Interestingly, I first heard a Kronos at the NYC audio show in 2012 with an SME V-12 arm and AirTight Supreme cartridge. That system sounded excellent, and Louis spoke very highly of the combination when I met him.

 

[asiufy]

I don't know if Bill sells Air Tight... I know that's all he uses at shows, and has been like that for a while now... And when we first picked up the line (Kronos), we had this conversation with him, about carts, and he mentioned the ZYX was Louis' choice, but he preferred the Air Tight.

I understand you like what you heard of the ZYX, so perhaps it'd be useful to know what exactly you liked in it that you don't have in your Air Tight... Because it could just be the Kronos doing the talking... My impression is that if you want something considerably different from what you have, perhaps the ZYX might be it, while the Air Tight would be just a case of "mo' better"...

You should really get a Kronos Pro, so you and Ian could just swap the arm wands with the Air Tight and ZYX (and perhaps a 3rd with the A95!)


cheers,
alex

 

[PeterA]

Alex, I've never directly compared the ZYX to my AirTight Supreme, so I can not be sure how one compares to the other specifically without the influence of the rest of the systems. They both sounded good in the respective systems in which I've heard them. I currently listen more to my MSL Signature Gold than I do to my Supreme. I've written about that direct comparison and posted my impressions on this forum. I have recently been told by someone who has directly compared the Supreme to the Opus 1 that the latter is better. I upgraded from the PC-1 to the Supreme about four years ago. He told me that if that upgrade represented a 100% improvement, then the switch from Supreme to Opus 1 would be about 50%. He wrote me that the Opus is better in every area, which is why I am curious to hear it one day.

I have no immediate plans to sell my SME 30/12 in order to buy a Kronos. They are both good turntables.

 

[gian60]

Now Opus 1 has about 70/80 hours and change a lot.

Mid and voice and very natural and high become open,fast and sweet.

In the first hours i listen little warm sound,against Atlas and GFS,but now has bigger image,fantastic mid and high very open.

Really a super cartridge.

 

[PeterA]

Now Opus 1 has about 70/80 hours and change a lot.

Mid and voice and very natural and high become open,fast and sweet.

In the first hours i listen little warm sound,against Atlas and GFS,but now has bigger image,fantastic mid and high very open.

Really a super cartridge.

Congratulations. Those impressions do not surprise me at all. So, which of three is your favorite? I assume these are all on the SAT arm?

 

[gian60]

Hi Peter,

I have bergmann Turntable Sindre with air bearing linear tracking,and i would like to buy in future AFO,In future next year.
SAT arm is a dream,but too expensive

I dont know which cartridge i prefer because are wonderful all three,and different.
Could be Opus is the most complete because has very good bass and impact,mid seems Koetsu and also high now become out and are ok for me.

With Koetsu mid,natural sound and voice are fantastic but have no the impact of opus.
GFS is explosive and very open like my taste,but i found on my system a little thin

 

[PeterA]

Sorry gian60. I confused you with another member who has the SAT arm and is trying out different cartridges also. Thanks for sharing your impressions.

 

[Tango]

Sorry gian60. I confused you with another member who has the SAT arm and is trying out different cartridges also. Thanks for sharing your impressions.

Sawasdee Peter,

My AtlasSL is only about 50 hrs. So it will be a month before I try switching to Opus. The Atlas is gaining more meat. The new arm is superb. I am now very sure that i can get maximum out of the Opus with the SAT and I might even prefer Opus similar to Gian. Remain to be seen.

Kind regards,
Tang

 

[gian60]

After 3 months of listening the Opus 1 i can tell that i am very surprised because the high become shining,open and fast like the GSF that i have and the Atlas of my friend.

At beginning i found Opus very good for his depth,image,bass and natural mid.I have also GFS and i like also Atlas,cartridges very open and explosive in the mid high and i found Opus very good but little dark in comparison but now the high become wonderful like Atlas and GFS
Really a superb cartridge

 

[bonzo75]

After 3 months of listening the Opus 1 i can tell that i am very surprised because the high become shining,open and fast like the GSF that i have and the Atlas of my friend.

At beginning i found Opus very good for his depth,image,bass and natural mid.I have also GFS and i like also Atlas,cartridges very open and explosive in the mid high and i found Opus very good but little dark in comparison but now the high become wonderful like Atlas and GFS
Really a superb cartridge

Interesting

 

[PeterA]

View attachment 31633

Gian60, from this photo, the cantiliver looks a bit skewed to one side. Is it just the angle of the photo or is it not perfectly straight? My MSL arrived this way and I had to send it back for repair.

 

[PeterA]

After 3 months of listening the Opus 1 i can tell that i am very surprised because the high become shining,open and fast like the GSF that i have and the Atlas of my friend.

At beginning i found Opus very good for his depth,image,bass and natural mid.I have also GFS and i like also Atlas,cartridges very open and explosive in the mid high and i found Opus very good but little dark in comparison but now the high become wonderful like Atlas and GFS
Really a superb cartridge

I noticed this same improvement over time with my MSL Signature Gold. Full break in took over 60 or so hours. It has the same cantilever and stylus shape as your Opus 1, which differs from my AirTight Supreme.

 

[Steve Williams]

More to follow but marty and I were st Gian's house yesterday to hear his system and also that of his friend Marco. The Air Tight Opus as well as the Lyra Atlas are amazingly wonderful cartridges.

We are on the way to the airport and arrruve home late this afternoon. Once over jet lag I have many photos of the trip as we as these two wonderful systems. Stay tuned.