Lyra Delos or Transfiguration Axia or ?

Thank's for all the advice, (you too Bill) I bought the Delos....but my TT does not arrive till Sept. 22. Lots of time to contemplate my next upgrade...I mean buy more lps.... lucky I'm going backpacking for 2 weeks, I'll save a ton of money!

Gandme,

I haven't heard the Delos, but, I am pretty confident you will like what you purchased. I've owned a Lyra Lydian and a Helikon, and I currently have a Titan. All were/are great cartridges, all are very long lasting (the Helikon is in a friend's system and it has been going strong for close to 2,500 hours of use), and built to close tolerances (cantilever/stylus straight and true, very close channel balance).

My other cartridge is the Transfiguration Orpheus L. This too is a terrific cartridge. This is the first Transfiguration cartridge that I've owned; so far, it has been terrific. I have heard the lower cost Phoenix and really liked its performance -- very lively, with the kind of midrange presence and clarity that particularly suited jazz recordings. That might be a candidate for the next step up.

I just mounted a new Delos 10 minutes ago in my SME 309 on an Avid Diva II. I have had a Dorian and recently an Argo i - and an Axia. I prefer the sound of the Lyras, although it is waay too early to say anytning about the Delos.

The Axia and Dorian were in a VPI Scout/JMW 9 turntable - and the Dorian was just so pleasant compared to the Axia.

So far the Delos has a great bass, great midrange, but a not so nice and pleasant treble, but I am sure it will come through in a few days. I am only loading it with 100 Ohm on vdH mc-501 tonearmcable - this could explain the treble...

I'm using the Delos in a new Graham Phantom II. Once fully setup the treble really settles down to a more appropriate level which is entirely natural in it's presentation. I'm not sure if mine is suffering from "low riding" syndrome but the sound is excellent and getting better as the cart runs in. For me it was also a toss up between this and the Axia. I was seduced by the engineering sales patter on the Delos.... :o)

Plafitracer:

I used to run a SME IV.Vi arm, Lyra Cart with a vDH cable. That cable is a serious weak link. I don't know if I had the mc-501 cable however. I'd recommend trying others.

Serveral should be good step ups like the Silver Breeze, several from Cardas, Kimber, Transparent and Purist.

I suspect the Lyra Delos and a SME arm is a killer combo!