Lyra Delos vs EMT TSD 15

Griffithds, I would love to hear a 150 ANV or the ART7 but they are very low output MC carts and I do not have the phonostage for them. I heard the AT33-PTG and it sounded promising. I straight away jumped to their reference ART series cart and chose the one which would go with my phono. The ART9 is one of those carts which doesnt ever make you feel that there are better things out there that needs to be tried! Basically no upgraditis. Tone, timbre, Dynamics, timing and very accurate soundstage, all of them in the proportion that makes music sound musical and exciting and at the same time feels like you are hearing a direct cut from the studio. Not easy to find such a mix, let alone for $1.2k. It is a pity that people have not tried it yet.

I am not speaking from experience - however, the EMT TSD15 works in heavier arms due to their low compliance. The lyras I have heard do have a kind of house sound and have an air and slight treble lift - I personally think they are very good although I have a softer spot for Transfiguration and Shelter Cartridges.
I don't know much about EMT voicing - although I am gonna get one for my EMT 950.

Here is a comparison between Zu-103R, AT33PTG & Delos on a VPI Classic turntable. No doubt that the Audio Technica has a very high cost-performance ratio.

http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/vt.mpl?f=vinyl&m=880112

>The lyras I have heard do have a kind of house sound

We aren't trying for a consistent house sound (other than always prioritizing dynamics, resolution and musical flow), and there are quite significant differences in the style of sound between different Lyra cartridges. For example, the Delos is a more youthful-sounding cartridge than the Kleos, and the Atlas is a more masculine-sounding cartridge than the Etna.

The Lyras have medium-high compliance (17~18mN around 8-10Hz), but also benefit from somewhat heavier tonearms. As long as the turntable suspension is stable and the tonearm has vertical bearings in the same plane as the LP (so that VTF doesn't change when the record moves the cartridge up and down), I prefer to keep the cartridge-tonearm low-frequency resonance at least in the lower 8Hz range, even lower if possible.

kind regards, jonathan carr

Can I just say it's a privilege to have JCarr on this thread. I am saying my observations from having had in my system - both the Helikon and the Clavis both for about 3 years apiece. I've unfortunately not had any of the more recent cartridges - so obviously I may well be wrong. That said i find most companies - ie Koetsu, Naim, Lavardin, Krell, Linn, Rega - all have a certain house sound, and it was in pursuance of this I made my post. I will add that I liked the sound of the Lyra's I had otherwise I would not have bought them for so much! What i wanted to convey to the original poster was that he is comparing two very different cartridges IMHO (and experience) which is going to leave several potential conflicts - ie if you were to compare products occupying a similar space in the market place it is a fairer comparison. I hope I did not offence, because I was simply seeking to be erudite without having to elaborate like I have done here

Lohanimal, could you elaborate on: "he is comparing two very different cartridges IMHO (and experience) which is going to leave several potential conflicts - ie if you were to compare products occupying a similar space in the market place it is a fairer comparison"? How do the cartridges differ? The descriptors I've read of both cartridges, as far as what they excel at, seems similar. I'd like to know more.