Transfiguration Phoenix

I have heard the older Phoenix in a friend's system and liked what I heard. It is a lively sounding cartridge, as compared to the "darker" sound of the Temper series. I personally prefer the slightly midrange prominence that gives the Phoenix its lively sound over that of the Temper series. I currently own, and like, the Orpheus L (on a Vector 3 arm/Basis Debut vacuum table).

While I really like the Orpheus, there are plenty of quite different sounding cartridges that I like too, such as the top Lyras (a touch leaner, very open and extended on top).

I don't think there is any reasonable way to guess what would be anyone's particular favorite (differences in taste and system matching), so, unfortunately, there is a lot of random luck involved if one cannot audition cartridges in one's system. The only good news is that the "right" choice is not necessarily related to higher cost. A friend of mine who owns an original Orpheus, had a chance to auditiona Dynavector XX 2 in his system. He actually preferred the less than half priced XX 2 and worked out a trade "down."

Thanks Larry, a part of me just wants to grab the XX mk II because it is the best deal I can get financially speaking.
The quote I got for the Kleos is do-able, but a bit more than I wanted to go. It's a price that I would have jumped at for the Phoenix-S, but a stretch for a Kleos.

I started out looking to stay under $1500 (deal price, not list price). The more I looked, the more I started to stretch that number. It went up to $2K, then I found myself offering $2.5K. But you are absolutely right Larry, spending more money does not guarantee anymore musical satisfaction.

I wound up working my price up for the Phoenix, because I have heard the Phoenix and the Orpheus and liked them both quite a bit. I have read quite a few negative comments about the Axia, so I decided to avoid that. So I feel that I have crossed the Transfiguration cartridges, the Lyra Kleos and the Sumiko Celebration off of my list. However, I haven't crossed Lyra off, perhaps a Delos.

Which leaves me with 3 today (in no particular order):
*Lyra Delos
*Dynavector XX mk II
*ZYX Airy 3-X SB

As I sit here right now, the Dynavector is in the lead. I have had good experiences with ZYX cartridges, but I don't think that the Airy 3 is worth 50% more $$$ than the XX mk II.

The Lyra is still in there due to it's high praise, but to be honest, the Helikon was not my cup of tea. Very exciting, sort of like Nordost cables, but I found that in the long term, listening fatigue became an issue. I've read that this new Lyra generation is smoother, but I also recall reading that about the Helikon 10 years ago.

It's funny how this audio nervosa manifests itself, I wake up in the morning and come to my senses, and just want a good X at the best price. However, as the day goes on, and I look at more and more toys, I find my price tag climbing as the day goes on, working my budget upwards. Late at night I'm want the best X at a good price.

Wake up again the next morning back at ground zero thinking "Thank God I didn't pull the trigger on that last night". haha No wonder most sellers have auctions ending late at night, huh?

Yeah, its easy to talk oneself up in price. Six months down the line we all want to avoid that after-feeling of "I shoulda spent the extra $XXX instead".

I was very (very) impressed with the ZYX Universe II; enough so to make me think favorably of the Airy 3-X SB even though I haven't heard it yet.

Well I cheaped out and bought the Dynavector XX mk II. I hope not to feel bad 6 months from now, and I have had that feeling before, so I know what you're talking about. It's just that when you get caught in this upgrade fever, if you don't watch yourself, it never ends. If I had spent the 50% more on the ZYX, then maybe I'm thinking I need a better amp, table, phono stage, preamp, cables and/or speakers next because the cartridge is too good for the rest of my rig....it never ends, and I don't want to get sucked back into that merry-go-round.

I've owned 3 ZYX's, the Airy 3-S SB, UNIverse-S SB and 4D-X SB2, and yeah, ZYX's are great cartridges. I have down-sized significantly in the last few years, and in the last two months I have started to creep back up again. I wanted to get a LOMC for my new LOMC phono stage, and I think the XX mk II will mate well with my VPI table/arm.

Maybe I'll hit the lottery and get back in the big leagues again, but I'm not holding my breathe or gonna worry about it. Hopefully the Dynavector will fit in well.

I agree. It is worth coming to a level of satisfaction that one is, well, satisfied with, where its not an issue of beating yourself up over spending while continuing to enjoy the hobby - a balance, as it were.

And hey, there were no bad choices on your list and now its time to enjoy a new cartridge and some good music! Congrats.