IMHO, the Delos is clearly the superior performer, but by today's pricing standards, the out-of-production Dorian can also be an attractive bargain.
The Dorian was phased out because higher fuel, energy, raw material etc., not to mention the Yen's rise against pretty much every other currency meant that it was no longer possible to keep it in production without seeing prices increase significantly.
Some of our distributors in particularly price-sensitive markets still deplore the loss of the Dorian, but the reality is that if it had been kept in production, its retail pricing wouldn't be too far off from the Delos (unless the distributor was willing to reduce margins substantially).
In return for its higher price, the Delos offers higher performance, particularly in the areas of dynamic range and gradation, and timbral range and gradation. The differences are a bit like comparing multiple-exposure HDR photos to single-exposure shots. The Delos also tracks better than the Dorian.
Some listeners even prefer the Delos over the Kleos, but IMO, this is due to the fact that the Delos has a more incisive treble, which works better in certain types of audio systems.
As to whether the Dorian or the Delos is the "better buy", my personal opinion is that its the Delos, but if your tonearm prefers a lighter cartridge, or you want to save money and you don't think that your audio system will benefit much from the Delos' higher resolution, you may prefer the Dorian. There are valid reasons for either choice.
hth, jonathan carr
