cartridge Benz, Koestu, Lyra

while benz is a soft sounding cartridge,
lyras are more agressive more suitable for rock and instrumental music.

I have the Koetsu Black (newer generation) and love it. Not only is it holographic it just plays music period. I have had a Benz glider as well as Dynavectors, Shure and Sumiko's in the past. But I will be sticking with the Koetsu for life.

There are a couple of nice used ones on Agon.

Hi Jeff,
IMHO, the Lyra Helikon would not be overkill. It is a very nice cartridge, and worked well with my JMW 10.5 tonearm. No tracking problems at all. The Lyra is very different from the Koetsu and the Benz though. The Koetsu and the Benz's are warmer, fuller sounding. The Lyra has more air, speed and transparency. Of the three that you have listed, I would prefer the Helikon, unless your system is on the bright side and needs the added warmth.

As for buying used, I would not recommend this when buying a cartridge. I have bought many used components in my life, but none have bought me more regrets than buying used cartridges. There are too many variables. How accurately the seller tracks the hours used is a big one. Also how was the cartridge setup and maintained? How old is it? Even with low hours a cartridge's suspension can go bad from sitting on a shelf for too long. IMHO, I would never recommend buying a used phono cartridge. You would be better suited lowering your model and buying new. For example, buy a new Lyra Dorian or Argo instead of buying a used Helikon. That's just my $0.02.

Cheers,
John

Hi Jeff, it's a system synergy and taste thing really! I heard a Glider in a system using class d amps and it sounded amazing (a good balance of warm cart and clinical electronics).

I have an '80s Koetsu Black, which was inspected and re-tipped about 2 years ago (the suspension was given a clean bill of health btw). I love my Koetsu and could never sell it, however I prefer my XX-2 for its incisiveness and more "up-front" dynamics. The Lyras sound a little lean, lacking "sound density" for my ears - they tend to be good partners with dark sounding components (Garrard 301/401, SME tables, warm tube amps) and I would guess might sound too bright to you after your Benz.

I haven't heard the wood bodied Benz carts, however generally you get "more of the same but better" when you move up a manufacturer's line. A friend who has heard them all rates the Benz LP as very close to the Dyna XV1-S and ahead of the Zyx Universe, for its naturalness and ability to play good and bad recordings equally well.

You can usually make big savings buying used, provided you have access to a reliable cartridge rebuilder should it be necessary.

When rebuilding a cartridge, both the components used and the craftsman doing the work have a significant effect on the resulting sound. If the cartridge rebuilder is not the same as the original manufacturer, neither the components nor the craftsman will be the same as the original, hence it is to be expected that the sound will be different.

jonathan carr