Cartridges: Kuzma CAR or Lyra on a 4-Point (11") arm


Hi there,
I have a Kuzma Stabi-M and 4-Point (11") first generation arm, and a CAR-40.
Used to own a Lyra Delos before upgrading to the CAR, and found that the CAR-40 has a more "grounded sound" while Lyra has a more "nimble & lithe" sound.  The CAR is a sturdier cartridge, as the Delos suspension did not last as long.  The Delos is still sitting in a drawer.

Looking to upgrade my 7 year old CAR-40 now.  New cartridge will be fitted on the said arm and turntable.
Considering CAR-50 and Lyra Etna Lambda.

What are your views and comments?  Thank you for your advice.

hamburger

Showing 5 responses by dover

@hamburger
Hi,
Have installed CAR50 Kuzma 4Ppoint on the Kuzma 4Point, and can report back.
Previous cartridge on arm was the Van Den Hul Colibri Black Grenadine.
To give you some background I have set up the Colibri in 3 tonearms in the same system - Morch DP8, Helius Omega & lastly the Kuzma.
On the DP8 the Colibri was very quick, agile relatively neutral. On the Helius the Colibri was quite different, midrange much more expansive, more body. The Helius is very low mass. Finally on the Kuzma, very fast and dynamic, the best overall in terms of speed, coherency and transparency.
So then a few weeks ago tried the CAR40 on the Kuzma. Whislt not in the league of the Colibri, thought it offered good performance for the money ( Colibri twice the price ).
Based on that strong showing the owner purchased the CAR50.

Installed the CAR50 a day or so ago and have done about 5 hours on it.
From the getgo the CAR50 on the Kuzma presented an expansive sound, very tight punchy bottom end. The CAR50 offers considerably more transparency and performance over the CAR40, it really is a big jump in performance. Compared to the Colibri swings and roundabouts. The presentation is quite different - the Colbri fast and agile, the CAR50 presenting a more majestorial sound - bit like a Benley Turbo vs a Ferrari.

To give you an idea, listening to Ry Cooder on slide guitar with the Colibri you get speed, coherency, superb rendition of the acoustical space. With the Kuzma CAR50 you get speed, coherency, but the emphasis is more on the body of the instrument - what stood out was that as the notes went up and down the scale, you could more easily hear the body of the guitar across the full range. What impressed me was that the CAR50 presents the full frequency cut from one cloth. On music I know the CAR50 presented very similar sonic signature to my reference Dynavector Nova 13D.

Looking back at your original post, you commented that the CAR40 was more grounded than the Lyra, which you describe as lither, more nimble.

What I can say is that the CAR50 is a massive step up from the 40, still has that grounded quality. What impressed me was that the CAR50 presents the full frequency cut from one cloth. The speed and transparency is up there with the Colibri. The owner of the 2 cartridges is going to run the CAR50 and keep the Colibri as a back up. To be fair the CAR50 is probably a better match for the arm, but that the CAR50 is at the level of the Colibri, to me suggests it is doing the business.

I suspect if anyone found the CAR50 "boring" it either doesn’t match their system or they prefer more emphasis on "hifi" type presentation of music. I wouldn't describe the CAR50 as "polite", a better description in my view would be that it is very even handed.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you need any more info.

If you can wait for a week or so I am about to mount a CAR50 on the latest version of the Kuzma 4Point. The arm currently has a van den hul Colibri on it, and I have heard the CAR40 on it previously, which I thought was good value for money. I will let you know if the thread is still running.
@rossb
Thats great info - comparing the Phasemation/Colibri/Dynavector XV, which is the most revolving ? I’ve listened to the Colibri a lot, with multiple arms, but not the others.
@hamburger 
I can confirm I will be installing the CAR50 on the latest Kuzma 4Point early next week - will be able to let you know how that compares to the CAR40 & VDH Colibri. 
@vortrex 
I have heard the Air Tight PC7 on a very good front end - $60k worth - muddled in the mids. CAR50 in my experience far more resolution, more coherent. Can only assume it didn't match your system.