Archie - I have a ZMC1 in front of my ZP3 and it's great. Right now I am using a Shinon Red LOMC since I have it and really shouldn't buy the Dynavector 17 I really want. Let me/us know how you like the Ortofon Black, that would be another option for me. The Shibata stylus is something I had on a few previous carts and I have always loved that tip. I have the knob on the ZMC1 turned fully clock wise, I never got a good explanation on why it's there so I figured if its turned all the way open it's almost out of the circuit (??). My phono system really makes me smile now, even without a new cartridge. Happy listening, Chris.

Keep us posted on the cart when you get it mounted. Thanks for the info on the ZMC1 control, that's more info than I have ever had. Happy listening, Chris.

You bet I'll be posting results.  Unfortunately, the ZMC1 has to be built and Sarah tells me that it's 5 to 7 weeks out!  :(  I actually told her this was probably a good thing since it keeps us all from going broke sooner!  

Right now I'm running Ortofons STY 40 (FG) on a Concord body.  It's something KAB puts together.  The integrated body is supposed to deliver tighter mids -- or something, as compared to the OM40.  Some think the OM40 is equal to or better the 2m Black.  Either way I am expecting greater things from a Kontrapunkt b.

I realize that until I get my ZMC1 I might not hear what this cart is really capable of but it has so much more clarity than my MM I am kind of blown away.  It has lifted one of those proverbial "veils".  Or two or three!  

Occasionally I get some painful high notes but if they don't get tamed by break-in I can always put my 2.7 ohm Mundorfs back in line on my HR1s.

Huge upgrade.

I am still waiting for my ZMC1 -- I think I'm on deck!  Mean while I am continuing to use the cart with my gains near maximum with outstanding results.  However, I found my first tracking issue.  Fairly minor but there are a couple parts on Jethro Tull's Aqualung, Locomotive Breath, where I get a bit of a buzz.  It's on both my original and my 40th anniversary remix.  I tried increasing the tracking force to the maximum recommended but it didn't help.  Not a bad result -- all things considered.  I doubt that there is a perfect tracking cartridge out there.

I received my ZMC1 yesterday after a looooong 3 month wait.  Worth it?  Absolutely.  :D

I don't know how my sound keeps getting better but it does.  Somehow the ZMC1 adds a fullness that I can't explain.  There seems to be a broadening of the soundstage and a refinement in the resolution.  While it sounds good at all volumes I seem to want things loud.  It's kind of like the exhilaration of speed but with sound.

Steve had suggested that I ground my TT arm to the ZMC1 and then go from my ZMC1 to my ZP3.  What I found though is that by keeping my ZMC1 isolated and just grounding my tonearm to my ZP3 I get the least amount of hum.  I did find that I had my TT power supply too close to the ZMC1 and it was adding noise.  With just a little separation, that went away.  I am using the Decware DSG interconnects between my TT, ZMC1 and ZP3 and the DSRs after that.  I have the ZMC1 dialed about half way for my Ortofon Kontrapunkt b cart.

I am now firmly in the camp that claims MC carts give better sound than MM carts.  I had a MM that some think superior to the Ortofon 2M Black and I wont willingly go back.  That said, I only have experience with Steve's SUT which might make all the difference?

While to each his own, going MC with the ZMC1 has been the best thing I've done and for me, worth every penny.

Thanks Chris.  What MC cart do you use?  I have only experience with the Kontrapunkt b but I'm curious about other options since they don't last forever.

Which Ortofon Black?  Cadenza?  That's a tempting cart for sure.  I've been sucked down the SRA rabbit hole though and I wonder how much Ortofon pays attention to SRA relative to their "tonearm level" spec.  I ended up shimming the back of my cart several degrees to reach their VTA and what I think is proper SRA.  I've seen examples of the Cadenza Black where they end up tail down too.  It's a bit unsettling not to follow the cart's manufacturer recommendations.

Loving the ZMC1.  I don't know much about these but I think Steve's is still a deal despite the recent $250 price hike!  The variable loading is nice since you can tweak the sound on the fly and can use all kinds of MC carts with it -- I think.  Having it in the chain seemed to clean up some of the hum that I had with just the ZP3 although I did not ground it like Steve suggested, I just ground from my tonearm to the ZP3.

One thing I found out by mistake is that it doesn't work with MM carts but not in the way that I would have thought.  I threw my MM back on to see how it would track a section compared to my MC and the sound was not super loud like I would have expected but rather it played at about the same loudness as my MC with 1/10th the output of the MM but in a muted way -- kind of muffled with the high end mostly cut off.

Trip,

Glad your loving yours too.  How did you ground it?  I didn't ground mine at all -- gave the least hum.

Interesting.  That's the ground scheme Steve recommends.  In my case it paid to play around with other configurations.  I also put the ZMC1 on an isolation platform which seems to give subtle positive results.

Archie and hdrider: some questions/thoughts, if you will!

The Ortofon Quntet Black outputs 0.3mV. The Shinon Red LOMC outputs 0.3mV, I think. The Ortofon Kontrapunkt b outputs 0.47mV. It looks like between the CSP3 and the gain stage in your amp, Archie got decent volume even without a SUT!

I was not able to get decent volume from the Hana SL MC cartridge (0.5mV output) using just an integrated solid state amp just to play with. The ZP3 needed more signal, as per Steve. Do you think a 1:20 SUT will cure all my problems? (recessed sound, noise/hum on line due to turning up volume at the amp level)