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

Thank you all for the comments, and especially to @jcarr  for the explanation on how the Lyra could have been damaged.  Much appreciated!

@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.

@dover
Thank you for reporting back and your detailed comparison has been very helpful.

- bit like a Benley Turbo vs a Ferrari.

That sort of nail it on what I want. If I had just compared a Lyra to CAR50 as titled, I would have said the Lyra is a Ferrari. I do not have any experience on the VDH Colibri. The Bentley is more my type of car than a Ferrari, as I am no more a spring chicken. And in that same sense, the sound I am seeking is a more "matured evenness" rather than focusing on "fast and dynamic".  And yes, the word "majestic" that you wrote also sort of captured the essence.

On music I know the CAR50 presented very similar sonic signature to my reference Dynavector Nova 13D.

Interesting that you mentioned the similarity with Dynavector. As far as I know, Kuzma, Dynavector and Lyra are all made in Japan. I guess my ears are unknowingly "tuned" toward this group of cartridges. Unfortunately the Kuzma arm is too heavy for Lyra, but I really appreciate J.Carr for responding to this thread.

What I can say is that the CAR50 is a massive step up from the 40, still has that grounded quality.

I seriously hope for the massive step up, as the price difference is massive too. ;p

Well, I think this conversation thread sort of confirmed the direction that I am heading. Hope I settle my purchase decision at the latter part of this year. 
  Cheers!

“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’m a fan of Kuzma but it was boring to me. I thought the Air Tight PC7 at less than 50% the cost was better. I assume since my analog rig was all Kuzma and my phono pre had many loading options this was not a matching issue. Definitely consider my preference to be strongly anti HiFi. 

@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.