I haven't heard the Temper W in quite a while. At the time, I thought it was a decent cartridge, but somewhat "polite" and lacking in the ability to make the music jump. The later Transfigurations are much better in that regard. I've heard, and liked, a Phoenix that a friend had in his system for a short time (on a Linn table with Naim ARO arm).
I own a Transfiguration Orpheus L cartridge. I like it a lot. It works very well with my Basis Vector 3 arm/Basis Debut Vacuum table. I think the Basis arm would work well with just about any medium to low compliance cartridge. It is an arm that is very capable of draining/dissipating the large amount of vibrational energy a cartridge can deliver into the arm (one of the reasons Jonathan Carr of Lyra recommends Vector arms).
I also own a Lyra Titan cartridge. I like this cartridge a lot too. It has a bit more open and "airy" sound than the Orpheus. The Orpheus has a bit more emphasis in the upper midrange (Lyra is cooler sounding). Both are terrific cartridges with a different, though, to me, equally appealing sound.
It's been a while since I heard the XV-1S and it was in a somewhat unfamiliar dealer system. The system sounded good, so the cartridge must be good too. A friend has a cheaper Dynavector (XX-2, I believe) that he likes as much as his Orpheus. Beyond a certain price/quality point, preference becomes a system matching/personal preference decision and one cannot necessarily expect price to indicate "better" sound.
I own a Transfiguration Orpheus L cartridge. I like it a lot. It works very well with my Basis Vector 3 arm/Basis Debut Vacuum table. I think the Basis arm would work well with just about any medium to low compliance cartridge. It is an arm that is very capable of draining/dissipating the large amount of vibrational energy a cartridge can deliver into the arm (one of the reasons Jonathan Carr of Lyra recommends Vector arms).
I also own a Lyra Titan cartridge. I like this cartridge a lot too. It has a bit more open and "airy" sound than the Orpheus. The Orpheus has a bit more emphasis in the upper midrange (Lyra is cooler sounding). Both are terrific cartridges with a different, though, to me, equally appealing sound.
It's been a while since I heard the XV-1S and it was in a somewhat unfamiliar dealer system. The system sounded good, so the cartridge must be good too. A friend has a cheaper Dynavector (XX-2, I believe) that he likes as much as his Orpheus. Beyond a certain price/quality point, preference becomes a system matching/personal preference decision and one cannot necessarily expect price to indicate "better" sound.