Hard choice: Lyra Skala - Ortofon PW - Benz Ruby3

Thanks Rauliruegas for the reccomendation but I have to trade my Grado so I need to buy as new from a dealer or someone interesting in trade

I haven't heard all of your selections in the same system, so I can only say that all of those cartridges are quite good. The Lyra would probably be the biggest change from the Grado (fast, detailed, and a lot leaner sounding than the Grado). The Grado is a rich, "musical" (delivers dense harmonic content of instruments) cartridge, but compared to your candidates, it sounds a touch sluggish and muffled.

The PW I heard in a friend's system was a terrifically neutral and musical cartridge, but, it showed a little bit of strain tracking the inner grooves of the record (the EMT arm/table combination was probably not fully optimized as it is a new purchase). The Benz is a cartridge that delivers detail without sounding forced or overly analytical.

I know the choice is already complicated, but, I would also add to the list the Transfiguration Phoenix. This is a lively, fun, cartridge that I heard, and liked a lot on a Linn/Naim ARO combination.

All good cartridge choices. Complete agreement with Larryi in that the greatest leap in tonality will be the Lyra. I recently bought the Transfiguration Orpheus to use in my TW Raven AC-1 TT with Tri-Planar VII arm. Yes, different and more expensive cartridge, but I left behind a Ruby-2. Yes, the Benz line is highly musical, although I have not heard the new Ruby 3 S Class. The Benz line is a nice blend of warmth, musicality, and dynamics. I auditioned the Scala before making my final decision. Very open sounding, very dynamic, very transparent when compared to the Ruby-2. Just as musical, but in a slightly cooler or perhaps more neutral way. These cartridges all have different load and gain recommendations, so be sure to check that as well with regard to your phono preamp. One more thing, your choices include wood and non-wood bodies. Having lived with a wood body cartridge and having moved to an aluminum body cartridge, my vote is strongly toward the Lyra, Dynavector, or Ortofon which I think are all non-wood bodies and I think more inert making a positive difference in performance. Also, once you have made your decision, remember that perfect set-up will make for perfect sound.

Any Ortofon Per Windfeld owner wants to add some description/opinion about this new cartridge?