Transfiguration Orpheus - Has anyone tried it ?

Nsgarsh,like you I am already "blown away" with how superb,already, the "underated" Trannies can perform.Of course that would consist of an arm that was NOT "sibilent",as it would destroy the magic.-:)Since both our arms are not of the "sibilent" variety-:)we have nothing to worry about!Heh,heh!(stroke of my moustache).

In all seriousness,I too have the Boulez performance you mention,and it is a "corker"!I have at least a half dozen Firebirds,and can really recommend the early pressing Mercury with Dorati,for the incredible double basses in the opening movements.Warmth and power at the same time,along with a huge,wide stage,that the Mercury pressings were famous for.I'm talking real/gorgeous/almost scary tonal balance,when "right".We're talking midbass resolution,as opposed to deep bass power,which is there too.BTW,the Speakers Corner Reissues are superb,but an early original has better tone color,across the board.That is why we love the "super cartridges".They can portray this clearly.Hard to quantify the difference between the "great cartridges" if you make a steady diet of heavy metal,and rock,though some of that stuff is loads of fun.I could never bring myself to getting rid of my rock collection.

I do look forward to your future comments,Larry.Take you're time.It will probably take a good few weeks for breakin and revoicing.Don't feel pressure to post quickly,just to satisfy "nuts" like me!Just do it soon -:)

I do know that the Trannys are considered in the highest echelon of designs,in some quarters,but they haven't caught on for a long haul in the U.S.I hope that is NOT one reason for a new model,but I'm always suspicious of newer models.One reason why I never warmed up to the Eidolon speaker,after living with my Ascents.

Sorry for the rant.

Best!

Being an owner of a Temper V. A cartridge that IMO has a sound that is the essence of analog tape. I speculate that if the Orpheous offers a different sound. That sound would probably go in the direction of more speed and less warmth/bloom. FWIW, I never hear any sort of added sibilance with the V. What is most notable is the absence of distortion, heard in most any other cartridge.

Enjoy your O.

Larry,could you let me know what equipment you have,as well as the LP's you use to determine a cartridge's performance?

Thanks,in advance.

The equipment -- a Basis Ovation TT upgraded with the Debut platter on a Townshend sink on a Target wall-mount; Vector 3 tonearm with the VTA option; the new Orpheus; a Joule Electra LAP-150 tube preamp (this has a phono stage in the preamp chassis and a separate power supply); a pair of Joule Electra VZN-100 100-watt OTL monoblocs; a pair of Klipschorns, with the up-to-date AK-4 drivers and crossovers (rewired with Siltech internal wire) in '62 mahogany lacquer bodies; an ESP power cord on the preamp and NBS power cords on the monoblocs; a PS Audio P-300 powering the TT, and Siltech I/C's and Basis speaker cables.

Non-phono stuff: a Nak CR-7A cassette deck and Wadia 2-box CD player (270 and 27i). Townshend sinks for the CD transport, and preamp as well as the TT. The P-300 also powers the cassette deck and the 270.

LP's -- hmm. I'll select from just a few for an initial impression, e.g., the Reiner Scheherazade; London recordings of the Dvorak last 3 symphonies, Mozart and Beethoven; Berlioz Nuites d'ete; the Muchinger/VPO Haydn Creation, etc. Those are really examples of the initial LPs -- from there, I branch out to an indefinable variety that I think will bring out the advantages of the new item or sometimes that have presented problems that I'd like to see how it will handle or improve the sound and musicality I'd like to hear. The main points here are to either (1) confirm or raise questions about what I think I'm hearing, and (2) see how well the music and its emotion is conveyed.
Larry

Larry, a little off subject, but do you use your CR-7a much? Ever had it serviced? I've had one since new, and with 100-lot, brand new cassettes (even MFSL!) appearing on eBay for pennies, I was thinking of having it serviced/upgraded.