Which would you choose- Lyra, Zyx or Benz for VPI

jspownell i am having no problems at all with what you describe a dark with my Aries three, i had a ZYX airy three xsbl and now a universe xsbl and i love it, if anything i am as close to live as i have ever been, my speakers are large and they are invisible, full sound stage nice and ariy with speed and transparency. Yes the airy three is not universe but when it was in my system dark was not a issue.

Doug, I've read some of your previous posts on the Zxy and on one you commented that the Airy 3 may be lively on a unipivot arm. Do you have any concern about that.

That was based on hearing it on Graham 2.2, and we did speculate it might be because of the unipivot design. Since people are reporting good results with their JMW/Airy 3 combos, I'm inclined to think it was some other factor about that Graham/Airy 3 combo that caused the excessive liveliness. That 2.2 just couldn't tame certain upper mid frequency energies. I gather from the posts above that JMW users aren't having that problem.

If in fact your table is inherently "dark", a warmish cartridge like a Benz might reinforce that. A lively, energetic cartridge like a Helikon or Airy 3 might help illuminate things a bit. The ideal solution is perfectly neutral components from top to bottom of course. Easier said than done.

Jspownell,
Another ZYX/JMW user here. My Airy 3S-SB rides on a TNT6 w/12.6 arm. I went w/the silver version based on Mehran's recommendation relative to my system, and am very happy with it. I also considered both the Benz LP and the Cardas Heart(i.e. modified Benz), but thought that the Benz might lean a bit too far towards warmth at the expense of transparency. The ZYX silver versions are a bit warmer than the more neutral copper, but IMHO it is still more neutral sounding than most other carts I've heard.
Haven't heard the Skala, no opinion there.
One aspect of the ZYX that I find exceptional is its ability to play less than pristine LPs without surface noise. No other cartridges I've heard do as well on a mediocre record of letting the music through without annoying surface noise. If you're a used LP hunter, this is a worthwhile bonus and another factor in my overall satisfaction w/my ZYX.

Stltrains, FYI from what I've heard from VPI, the newer tables such as your Aries 3 are more neutral, (less dark) than the older VPIs. Many of their more recent design improvements such as the dual motor flywheel assembly and the HRX plinth layering are moving the VPI house sound away from dark-with-big-bass to a more balanced presentation. I agree w/your conclusion that the poster would risk too warm a presentation putting the Benz w/the older VPI. Cheers,
Spencer

I have the ZYX universe and it is perfectly resolving and tonally balanced on acoustic instruments

what is groove note jazz? were you refering to BLue NOte?
I'm a big fan of those and they sound spendid on a ZYX

Tom