better tonearm for SME 20/2

Just to add, to Raul and Peter, the Celebration fits your decription to a tee

"I'm looking for something that's neutral- not lush, but not analytical at the expense of musicality either. I listen to a wide variety of classical music, much of it orchestral (mb 40-50% of my collection), in addition to rock (30%), w/ world music, r & b, & jazz making up the remainder of my listening in about equal proportions."

If you can set the cart load to 1K ohms do so for the Celebration, it really is like finding the right VTA with some carts - it just locks everything in to where the "magic" is just so obvious. I use a Basis Vector, but your SME will really work well with the Celebration (as it can send a little energy back into the arm and the SME is SUPER stable and able to take anything a cart can send). I have the same listening priorities as yourself - mostly larger Symphonic works (Romantic and Modern era's) and the Celebration throws a huge stage, hall info (at 1k loading), palpable players in stage ("see around", not "see through" carboardy players), it does vocals and rock very well, great pace, great layering and dynamics,..... I would have to go to a Lyra Titan, top ZYX or Transfiguration to beat it. I have had mine a few years now, maybe 800 hrs???? and its stylus looks like it has very little use - so it seems to really last as well.

Like Bugman03, I too think the Titan is the Lyra to get (maybe the new Skala too, haven't heard it yet). It seems to do the palpability thing the Celebration does, but add the Lyra hall info, and do it all better. I really like the Titan.

The Celebration to my ears, is better than the Helikon. Better bass, bigger stage, better layering..... the only thing about the Helikon that is better than the Celebration, and not by much is the "Hall Info" and rear of stage(as B. Crump would say) is a wee bit more decernable with the Helikon. If you check out Fremer's review of the Helikon, vs the Celebration, he pretty much lays it out, The Celebration is "class A" in his eyes with the SME table and arm (or as I hear it with my Basis Vector). but you have to listen for yourself to see if you hear it the same way as I (I have had them head to head here, as a good friend has a Helikon SL and mono). With either cart your in good shape, but I feel there would be better performance, and better synergy with the Celebration + SME combo (over the Helikon, not over the Titan).