Lyra Delos A truth teller or what?

@tzh21y @rossb 

I owned a Clavis for a few years before shearing off the stylus.  Had it redone by Soundsmith but found it lost its magic. I traded for a Delos which I still have and like but I did prefer the pre-Soundsmith  Clavis to the Delos.  I felt it was more natural - less etched.

 A few months ago I  got the itch again and bought a Van den Hul Black Beauty Special X.  To me and in my system, there is no comparison between the VDH and the Delos.  The VDH has as much or more upper end extension without the etched sound of the Delos.  And the VDH midrange is far richer than the leanness I hear from the Delos.  By far the most impressive thing I hear from the VDH is its ability to bring the recording venue into your room.  I've never heard a cartridge with the "air" the VDH Black  Beauty presents.

This may not be a fair comparison.  The VDH Black Beauty SPX is over twice the price of the Delos. I Don't by any means want to trash the Delos. At its price point it digs a lot of music from vinyl.

I differ with some who think the Delos has a tipped up top end.  I think it's top end extension is its strong point.  Rather what I hear is an exaggeration in the upper mid range which gives horns and strings the "etched" sound many don't care for.  In a "soft" system this may be additive but in a neutral or SS system it just sounds bright.

Regarding the difference you hear between old originals and reissues, stay away from any reissue label that does not use the original master tapes.  With the the change in EU copyright law there is a lot of trash coming out of Europe which claims to be audiophile on 180 gm vinyl. In reality most of that stuff is "mastered" from a cd.  Stick with labels like Pure Pleasure, the newer MFSLs, and Analog Productions.  To my ear Chad at Analog productions is doing the best job of anyone with reissues.  He is very pricey but his mastering is superb.

Actually what I have found with the Delos is it can be a little fussy with setup.  I settled on the stock headshell with the 1200g and lyra screws and nylon washers.  Sounds wonderful.  It does not sound overly pronounced in the upper mids anymore.  I was using the ortofon LH 6000 headshell and it seems pretty much made for the cadenza  cartridge.  maybe I will get one of those too.  I was having a hard time getting the right screw compliment for that headshell.  I was getting terrible resonances in the upper mids due to the screws not working in that headshell.  It sounds great on the 1200G stock headshell with boston audio design mat and Stillpoints LPI.  

I may try a Jelco (sumiko hs12 variant) as well

update: The longer i listen the more fatigue I get. I have tried the stock headshell, lh 6000 Ortofon, lh 4000 Ortofon. With each of the ortofons, I get terrible bass artifacts and when I use the stock headshell, that goes away but it is just too bright. I am thinking the Delos is a mistake with the 1200G table. It seems like the delos is a high energy cartridge that requires a very high mass arm to get the best out of it. think I will be selling it. Somebody will be getting a practically brand new cartridge for a lot less than retail. live and learn I guess. The headshells weigh almost 15 grams, 13 grams, and 7 grams. I doubt a 12 grams headshell will make much of a difference. I am wondering about the effective mass of the arm on the 1200g. they say 12 grams but I doubt it. I hooked up my scout with the Lyra and I did not get the resonance i did with the stock arm on the 1200G. I believe the effective mass of the 1200G is far less than 12 grams.

@tzh21y But not to worry, tomorrow it will be the best cartridge ever again.