Hard choice: Lyra Skala - Ortofon PW - Benz Ruby3

Any Ortofon Per Windfeld owner wants to add some description/opinion about this new cartridge?

All good cartridge choices. Complete agreement with Larryi in that the greatest leap in tonality will be the Lyra. I recently bought the Transfiguration Orpheus to use in my TW Raven AC-1 TT with Tri-Planar VII arm. Yes, different and more expensive cartridge, but I left behind a Ruby-2. Yes, the Benz line is highly musical, although I have not heard the new Ruby 3 S Class. The Benz line is a nice blend of warmth, musicality, and dynamics. I auditioned the Scala before making my final decision. Very open sounding, very dynamic, very transparent when compared to the Ruby-2. Just as musical, but in a slightly cooler or perhaps more neutral way. These cartridges all have different load and gain recommendations, so be sure to check that as well with regard to your phono preamp. One more thing, your choices include wood and non-wood bodies. Having lived with a wood body cartridge and having moved to an aluminum body cartridge, my vote is strongly toward the Lyra, Dynavector, or Ortofon which I think are all non-wood bodies and I think more inert making a positive difference in performance. Also, once you have made your decision, remember that perfect set-up will make for perfect sound.

I haven't heard all of your selections in the same system, so I can only say that all of those cartridges are quite good. The Lyra would probably be the biggest change from the Grado (fast, detailed, and a lot leaner sounding than the Grado). The Grado is a rich, "musical" (delivers dense harmonic content of instruments) cartridge, but compared to your candidates, it sounds a touch sluggish and muffled.

The PW I heard in a friend's system was a terrifically neutral and musical cartridge, but, it showed a little bit of strain tracking the inner grooves of the record (the EMT arm/table combination was probably not fully optimized as it is a new purchase). The Benz is a cartridge that delivers detail without sounding forced or overly analytical.

I know the choice is already complicated, but, I would also add to the list the Transfiguration Phoenix. This is a lively, fun, cartridge that I heard, and liked a lot on a Linn/Naim ARO combination.

Thanks Rauliruegas for the reccomendation but I have to trade my Grado so I need to buy as new from a dealer or someone interesting in trade

Dear Curio: All those are very good cartridges. Which are your tonearm and music sound priorities?.

Btw, this seems a very good opportunity on a top cartridge:
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?anlgcart&1239121955&/dynavector-XV1-s-reduced

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Thanks Syntax for your detailed opinions .. expecially the one regarding the Benz Ruby3 cos I haven't found much around the net about this cartridge , reviews and similars.
I didn't think it could be compared to the other two .. and I have added to my list cos I can buy at good price
Interesting ...

Tough choice, because they are all different.
Lyra Skala
Very detailed, can show you the differences in a recording very well and in my opinion the most "musical" cartridge from Lyra at the moment. Easy load for a phono preamp, not so sensitive to arms, but when it is a heavy one, it is more musical, less analytic, the "musical flow" is different.
Benz Ruby
Unsurpassed on voices, it is really a kind of magic which is hard to beat.
no experience with the other ones, except DV 17Karat, for me one of the best deals out there from/Performance-Price ratio.