'ear we go - Ortofon Cadenza Red and Bronze

[bob4333]

... maybe it was the setup....

Tom, if you're talking about partnering kit then I think you've mentioned the most crucial aspect of the whole thing. Never has synergy had a more important part to play. Not quite sure how long the Jubilee has been out of production now - superseded by the Cadenza's I think? By coincidence, in my gazing through the multitude of internet ramblings, I found this:

"So how did this Lyra (Delos) compare to the discontinued Ortofon Jubilee I cherished for so long?

Very, very well. In fact, in my system, I preferred the Delos in every way: It just seemed to let more sonic and musical splendors through, as if there was less haze between me and the music. "Veils were lifted," as audiophiles used to say back in the day, and every record I played sounded as if it "snapped" into a tighter auditory focus courtesy (of) the Delos.....

......The Lyra Delos was the most musically convincing cartridge I'd yet heard in my own system--no small feat considering the Delos costs noticeably less than the Jubilee ($1649 vs. $2199), and that the latter still handily bests many pricier cartridges."

I admit to still being more than a little uncertain as to which Ortofon Cartridge (Red, Blue or Bronze) would come closest to suiting my musical tastes although I'm relatively happy that they'd each sit OK in my system. Likewise I'm still trying to form a view on the sonic characteristics of the Delos.

I haven't actually found a poor review of any of those listed - but that doesn't automatically translate into "buy any one of them and you'll be fine".

Translating music into words is a rare gift.

[petrat]

Buy the blue.

There you go ... no need for all this stress and option anxiety, is there?

[bob4333]

Buy the blue.

There you go ... no need for all this stress and option anxiety, is there?

Yeah, that'll work. Never thought of it, don't know what I'm messing about at...................

[montesquieu]

Buy the blue.

There you go ... no need for all this stress and option anxiety, is there?

Totally agree.

I've had a few Lyras (Clavis, Dorian, Argo i, Dorian Mono, Helicon) and heard a few others ... and while for me the best of the bunch was the Argo i (in terms of having the most 'fleshy' presentation, the Helicon being by far the worst, frankly a bit nails on a blackboard), none of them really floated my boat. All a bit hifi ... obviously partnering kit makes a difference (they are generally medium to high compliance which don't suit the heavy arms I generally prefer) but overall I prefer the Ortofon sound to Lyra. YMMV (and frequently does).

[bob4333]

Totally agree.

I've had a few Lyras (Clavis, Dorian, Argo i, Dorian Mono, Helicon) and heard a few others ... and while for me the best of the bunch was the Argo i (in terms of having the most 'fleshy' presentation, the Helicon being by far the worst, frankly a bit nails on a blackboard), none of them really floated my boat. All a bit hifi ... obviously partnering kit makes a difference (they are generally medium to high compliance which don't suit the heavy arms I generally prefer) but overall I prefer the Ortofon sound to Lyra. YMMV (and frequently does).

Tom, it looks like you certainly got through your fair share of Lyras, presumably there was something that appealed to you about their sound quality at some point?

Can you put into words what the Ortofon gave you that the Lyras failed to produce? The Blue seems to be getting quite a lot of support.

[montesquieu]

A lot of this was in my early days of serious Hifi, when I was on a 'detail quest'. Lyras deliver that in spades as you go up the range, but in some models it's art he expense of body ... It's a sound I was attracted to but was ultimately a dead end in my system.

Ortofon house sound - in general - has more body though at the high end they can fall into the same Hifi trap - I generally find the simpler stylus profiles more musical than the high end Relplicant ones. I currently have 3 Miyajimas but after hearing the Blue I genuinely asked myself whether what I have (retail over £5k when you add up Shilabe. zero and premium 78£ is overkill.

But the Miyajimas are the best I've heard so far - over all sorts of Lyras, Koetsus, Dynavectors and Ortofons not to mention the runner up, AN Io, at making music while still having strong Hifi attributes (soundstage; detail and so on).

[allthingsanalogue]

Delos cartridge owner here, best cart i ever owned.

[Tarzan]

Delos cartridge owner here, best cart i ever owned.

Can imagine a Delos suiting the Techie well.