Lyra Delos A truth teller or what?

@lewm I couldn't agree more.  I was using a Benz Wood SL and bought a Delos while the Benz was in for service.  The Benz was a bit too soft for 80s Thrash Metal but the Delos was a bit too hard.  My current Kiseki Blue NS is a very good balance of both those cartridges.

It's difficult finding a cartridge with the right balance of virtues for your tastes.

I have owned a Lyra Delos, Kleos and most recently an Etna SL. I sold all of them within a relatively brief time. The Etna SL was obviously the best and it did not have the exaggerated top end of the less expensive Lyras, but it was still (IMO) over-priced and overrated.

I have also owned a Benz LPS, Ruby Z, Glider, L2 and L0.4. I have kept the Glider and the L0.4. The LPS and Ruby Z were nice cartridges but always sounded a bit too dark and closed in for my tastes - as someone noted above, the polar opposite of Lyra. But I do like the lower priced Benz cartridges, such as the Ace, Glider and the entry level wood cartridges, which I think are the best value in the Benz line up. Not quite the resolution of the Ruby Z or LPS, but they sound great on their own terms and sound a bit more neutral than the higher level cartridges, though still with the characteristic Benz warmth.

Currently I am enjoying a Van den Hul Black Beauty, which I think has the speed and dynamics of a Lyra without the shrill top end, and some of the warmth and richness of a Benz. It has become my favourite cartridge, and it is a bonus that they have a long life of 2500 hours and are inexpensive to retip. At a lower price the Frog is also an excellent and well balanced cartridge, so I highly recommend checking out the Van den Hul cartridges.

Where did you get the Van den Hul?  i agree the Benz and the Lyra are polar opposites.  I have been told that the Lyra needs well over 100 hours to settle down.  Thats a lot.  The Benz works well with newer recordings and the Lyra works really well with older vinyl, especially from the golden age.  The thing with the Lyra is it just about tracks anything perfectly.  Old records I thought were worn are obviously not.  I really love the sound of the benz but they just do not track very well on many recordings IME but they can sound just wonderful.

The SME 20 is very good no doubt

It will be interesting to hear your comparison to the Michell.  I really think that table can be just magical.