Cartridge options going forward

Mtwilke, Get yourself an Ortofon Windfeld Ti then send the Etna back to Lyra to rebuild when finances allow. Then you will always have a back up if something goes wrong and you won't be in this position again. The Windfeld Ti is a great cartridge that punches way above it's price point. It is very neutral and an excellent tracker. You will see this in all the reviews. In the meanwhile you can have an Etna Lamda at a significant savings.

I sent my Skala to Soundsmith for a rebuild, and it came back a much different sounding cartridge, and one I'm none too happy with in general; I wouldn't go down that path again.  I also agree that the price for a Lyra rebuild simply isn't worth it (their trade-in allowance used to be considerably more generous), nor is it necessarily worth the price new.  I have cognitive dissonance thinking that an elderly Japanese gentleman is the last living repository of such skill and knowledge.  What - when he dies, Lyra effectively goes out of business?  Happened to Transfiguration.

I bought an Audio Technica ART9, and don't think I'll ever go back to a $2K+ cartridge, since as a consumable item it's simply not worth it.  The AT gives me 98% of what the Skala gave me when it was new (and in fact does some things better).  AT has been in business making cartridges for 58 years, and it shows in the materials, build and sonic qualities.  Just my 2¢.

To your point palasr - another consideration that has really worked in my system is my second Ortofon - a cadenza black.  My first was a Jubliee which provided years of good playback.

The Cadenza Black mounted on my Vector 4 is as good or better SQ than the more than twice expensive Transfiguration Proteus which bit the dust after 500 hours and also went out of biz at the same time.

Not sure I will ever buy a 5+K cartridge again after spending the last year with CB - also not likely to go OOB.

I have cognitive dissonance thinking that an elderly Japanese gentleman is the last living repository of such skill and knowledge. What - when he dies, Lyra effectively goes out of business?

You have no idea what you’re talking about. Mr. Jonathan Carr is younger than most of you and contribute on this forum from time to time with valuable information you can’t find anywhere, he’s a cartridge designer. What is really strange is to send Lyra to someone else for rebuild pretending for upgrade in sound.
Different cartridge is always a good idea, we like many cartridges, not just one from any particular brand, except for people who does not have much experience with cartridges.

Refurbished Lyra is not the Lyra anymore, once someone else replaced cantilever or even stylus tip with something with different mass/size etc.

Thanx Chakster. Always send your cartridge back to the original manufacturer if  you want to be assured of the cartridges performance. In the case of the Lyra it can even be upgraded. 
Like mtwilke I hate being without a working turntable. Having at least two functional cartridges is a good idea in case one of them goes down. 

mtwilke, other choices besides the Winfeld Ti are; the Clearaudio Stradavari V2, van den Hul Frog Gold,  Kiseki Purpleheart,and the EMT Pure Lime. I personally lean towards the Ortofon but you cannot go wrong with any of these.