Richardmr,
I really don't think my comments will help you except to the extent of making you comfortable with whatever you choose. I was one of the attendees Dougdeacon mentions who heard both the UNIverse and Olympos. We had both cartridges mounted on Schroder Reference arms using a Teres 340 twin arm table. We could A/B quite quickly or otherwise with this setup. I think this was about as scientific as you could get but I'm certain there were variables such as how many hours were on the wire in the arms and how many hours each cartridge had previously been used. As Doug said, both were outstanding examples with very little difference between them. In my opinion, for what that's worth. About what you've paid for it, for sure.
I don't even own a cartridge of this calibre myself. Mine is a ZYX Airy 3 S SB which happened to fall at the top of my budget range. While I love my cartridge I doubt the other folks in attendance would have picked the silver wire version I own. I'm not offended at all if that's how they feel. Who knows, they may be right but since, in my system, I have no other reference to compare it to I either made the right choice or I'm lucky enough to not know it. Certainly, if there is a difference I'm confident it is very, very small in the real world of listening. The point I'm trying to make is that since we just don't have any real opportunities for comparrison one needs to be pragmatic. My take? You cannot make a mistake at the level you are considering. Certainly, the arm you are using will make a larger difference (assuming it is one I've not heard wiht a Lyra or ZYX) than the cartridges being considered.
Threads like this serve the purpose of at least allowing you to realize you can't make a mistake. For myself money is an issue. If you can realize significant savings by trading in your old cartridge then I'd suggest you place heavy emphasis on that.
I really don't think my comments will help you except to the extent of making you comfortable with whatever you choose. I was one of the attendees Dougdeacon mentions who heard both the UNIverse and Olympos. We had both cartridges mounted on Schroder Reference arms using a Teres 340 twin arm table. We could A/B quite quickly or otherwise with this setup. I think this was about as scientific as you could get but I'm certain there were variables such as how many hours were on the wire in the arms and how many hours each cartridge had previously been used. As Doug said, both were outstanding examples with very little difference between them. In my opinion, for what that's worth. About what you've paid for it, for sure.
I don't even own a cartridge of this calibre myself. Mine is a ZYX Airy 3 S SB which happened to fall at the top of my budget range. While I love my cartridge I doubt the other folks in attendance would have picked the silver wire version I own. I'm not offended at all if that's how they feel. Who knows, they may be right but since, in my system, I have no other reference to compare it to I either made the right choice or I'm lucky enough to not know it. Certainly, if there is a difference I'm confident it is very, very small in the real world of listening. The point I'm trying to make is that since we just don't have any real opportunities for comparrison one needs to be pragmatic. My take? You cannot make a mistake at the level you are considering. Certainly, the arm you are using will make a larger difference (assuming it is one I've not heard wiht a Lyra or ZYX) than the cartridges being considered.
Threads like this serve the purpose of at least allowing you to realize you can't make a mistake. For myself money is an issue. If you can realize significant savings by trading in your old cartridge then I'd suggest you place heavy emphasis on that.