Anyone compare Ortofon A90 vs Lyra Titan i?

Been thinking about these cartridges. How on earth could Ortofon take the position that they cannot or won't rebuild the A90? Do they mean to tell its owners that they spent ca $4000 for a cartridge that has a life span only equal to that of its stylus assembly? Doesn't make sense to me. On the other hand, some audiophiles do like to be abused by manufacturers. Can Expert Stylus in England or Soundsmith in US rebuild the A90?

Larryi,

Thanks for the feedback.

Variety is the spice of life. Yes I want something different but equally refined and transparent.

Does anyone know what rooms at RMAF I might find Lyra carts in action? Same with Transfiguration?

Sean

Sean,

Bergman has shown Lyra Titan-i the past two years. Last year I felt the table and Arm did the cartridge some justice. It was the Sleipner vacuum hold down table.

Spiral Groove "may" show Lyra. They designed the Centroid arm to work with Lyra carts by adding a special alignment hole to the arm but Immedia Sound recently lost the distribution so I don't know.

Audioquest now distributes Lyra so they may have the cartridge in one of there suites if they are playing vinyl.

The Audio Alternative tends to show Lyra on there tables.

Dre

Dre,

Sounds like I will just have to keep my eyes peeled. I wish more of the exihibitors would list what they will have in their rooms.

I will be there all three days and will just focus on analog so I should be able to hear most of what is there.

I want to check out the Soundsmith strain gage as well.

Sean

Sean,

Your trip to RMAF sounds like it would be fun. As you are well aware, in terms of listening to alternatives, there are so many variables involved, auditioning may not really prove that much. The best I've ever gotten out of a show (I've been to several CES/THE SHOW and CEDIA shows), was some very general observations, such as: setups with this or that cartridge seem to always sound bright.

But, talking with exhibitors can, at least, give you an idea of what manufacturers of tables/arms and retailers think of certain cartridges. For example, at a recent regional show in the DC area, I got to talk with the proprietor of High Water Sound (NYC). We talked mostly about records, but, I am sure someone like that could give you interesting insights. High Water is BIG on analogue, and I am sure they could represent virtually any brand of cartridge of their liking (I believe they were showing with the Ortofon A90 or its cousin the PW).

The closest thing to a reasonable side-by-side comparisons would be the digital recordings some people make of different cartridges playing the same records. If you can get some of those, you can at least hear some semblance of what the cartridge may sound like through your own speakers.

I've been pretty lucky. I have been able to take home cartridges for audition, something that I know is not always possible. I got to do that with both the Titan and the Orpheus. I never took home the top of the line Allaert for audition, but, a local DC dealer actually allowed regular customers to take home that cartridge. I was a bit too chicken to take home a $12,000 cartridge for audition--I might break it, or I might like it -- either result would have been BAD.