Cartridge options going forward

I sent my Skala to Soundsmith for a rebuild, and it came back a much different sounding cartridge, and one I'm none too happy with in general; I wouldn't go down that path again.  I also agree that the price for a Lyra rebuild simply isn't worth it (their trade-in allowance used to be considerably more generous), nor is it necessarily worth the price new.  I have cognitive dissonance thinking that an elderly Japanese gentleman is the last living repository of such skill and knowledge.  What - when he dies, Lyra effectively goes out of business?  Happened to Transfiguration.

I bought an Audio Technica ART9, and don't think I'll ever go back to a $2K+ cartridge, since as a consumable item it's simply not worth it.  The AT gives me 98% of what the Skala gave me when it was new (and in fact does some things better).  AT has been in business making cartridges for 58 years, and it shows in the materials, build and sonic qualities.  Just my 2¢.

To your point palasr - another consideration that has really worked in my system is my second Ortofon - a cadenza black.  My first was a Jubliee which provided years of good playback.

The Cadenza Black mounted on my Vector 4 is as good or better SQ than the more than twice expensive Transfiguration Proteus which bit the dust after 500 hours and also went out of biz at the same time.

Not sure I will ever buy a 5+K cartridge again after spending the last year with CB - also not likely to go OOB.

I have cognitive dissonance thinking that an elderly Japanese gentleman is the last living repository of such skill and knowledge. What - when he dies, Lyra effectively goes out of business?

You have no idea what you’re talking about. Mr. Jonathan Carr is younger than most of you and contribute on this forum from time to time with valuable information you can’t find anywhere, he’s a cartridge designer. What is really strange is to send Lyra to someone else for rebuild pretending for upgrade in sound.
Different cartridge is always a good idea, we like many cartridges, not just one from any particular brand, except for people who does not have much experience with cartridges.

Refurbished Lyra is not the Lyra anymore, once someone else replaced cantilever or even stylus tip with something with different mass/size etc.

Thanx Chakster. Always send your cartridge back to the original manufacturer if  you want to be assured of the cartridges performance. In the case of the Lyra it can even be upgraded. 
Like mtwilke I hate being without a working turntable. Having at least two functional cartridges is a good idea in case one of them goes down. 

mtwilke, other choices besides the Winfeld Ti are; the Clearaudio Stradavari V2, van den Hul Frog Gold,  Kiseki Purpleheart,and the EMT Pure Lime. I personally lean towards the Ortofon but you cannot go wrong with any of these. 

Dear @mtwilke :  Your tonearm is a good tonearm but not for the Etna level because that knife bearing. Designer Sao Win ( TT, tonearm and cartridges. ) puts a warning in the cartridge top of the line manual ( I owned that great cartridge. ):

" don't use knife bearing tonearm designs with this cartridge ( LOMC. ) "

So you can do it better with the SME V ( very good match. I owned 3 Lyras with including the Kleos. ), Kuzma 4Point, Triplanar or Reed and there are other good options about.

The other important and critical issue is the phono stage, yours has a way higher  inverse RIAA eq. deviation with a swing of 0.5db this certainly is not what deserves the Etna and you.

You can take a look for Ayre, SimsAudio, Pass labs and other in that league.

Now, forgeret about re-tippers the only one is Lyra. I don't think that a Rolex or Cartier owner send to fix his watch to a " re-tipper ": Do you?

When you send to Lyra ask for the SL version, the low output that is a little better. In the mean time give a listen to the ART 9XA and latter on you can sale very easy.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.