Interesting. I have a soundsmith boheme cartridge on my classic 1. I have read alot of good reviews of the lyra delos with the JMW 10.5 arm. This is making me have second thoughts. Maybe I should give the zephyr a try. The zephyr was developed to work specifically with JMW tonearms. I would like to listen to this combination.
Upgrade a Dynavector 20X2 H on a VPI table
I'm looking to upgrade my current Dyna 20X2 HO on a Scoutmaster with a Classic 3 arm, with a Audio Research PH7 phono stage feeding a Reference 5.
What I love about the 20X2 is the fantastic bass and big sound it produces. What I think is missing is a smoother upper midrange going into the high end and better resolution. I've recently tried a Lyra Delos and was really dissapointed...it had none of the excitement of the Dyna. Bass was substantially less developed, and it seemed more sensitive to surface noise. So then I stepped up to the Kleos, which at 0.5 MV output is the lowest output I think is acceptable to use with the PH7. The Kleos has a very smooth midrange and very low surface noise, but I still think the bass is just not as good as the Dyna. I'm beginning to think the Lyra house sound is just too polite and boring for my taste.
So what do you guys suggest? Maybe I just like Dynavectors, but stepping up the line they are all low output. Would the 20X2 VPI version with 1mv output be any different in sound? Is there anything out there that gives the big sound of the 20X2 and also give you better resolution and low surface noise? Would the Soundsmith VPI Zephyr do the trick?
Thanks for your opinions!
What I love about the 20X2 is the fantastic bass and big sound it produces. What I think is missing is a smoother upper midrange going into the high end and better resolution. I've recently tried a Lyra Delos and was really dissapointed...it had none of the excitement of the Dyna. Bass was substantially less developed, and it seemed more sensitive to surface noise. So then I stepped up to the Kleos, which at 0.5 MV output is the lowest output I think is acceptable to use with the PH7. The Kleos has a very smooth midrange and very low surface noise, but I still think the bass is just not as good as the Dyna. I'm beginning to think the Lyra house sound is just too polite and boring for my taste.
So what do you guys suggest? Maybe I just like Dynavectors, but stepping up the line they are all low output. Would the 20X2 VPI version with 1mv output be any different in sound? Is there anything out there that gives the big sound of the 20X2 and also give you better resolution and low surface noise? Would the Soundsmith VPI Zephyr do the trick?
Thanks for your opinions!