Transfiguration Phoenix

@Toronto416, look at your spec sheet, if it says internal impedence is <2 ohms and the serial number is 2400 or higher, it's the Phoenix-S.

Jtimothya, isn't that what I said? Do you have one? How do you like it? I've been searching for one at a nice price, I just missed out on a dealer demo. :(

Jtimothya, send it to me, I'll mount it for ya. ;)

I've been looking for a good deal on a Phoenix, can't seem to find one though. I just missed out on a dealer demo with less than 50 hours for $2200 last week. I won't hold my breath to wait for another one to come up. :(

Yes, the Proteus has replaced the Orpheus-L model, but Bob Clarke told me that he expects the new Phoenix-S to be in the line for another 2-3 years. It looks like the list price on the Proteus is going to be about $6250.

Thanks for the link, but I can't even look at that kind of stuff, I'll have to sell a kidney. :)
A friend of mine had an original Orpheus on a Basis 2200 Signature w/ Vector 4 arm, it sounded great.

Yeah, I don't think I'll get another crack at a Phoenix, so I'm changing my focus to another few cartridges. I'd like to grab one in the next week or so. Here are four I'm considering, the order changes hourly. :~)

*Lyra Kleos
*Dynavector XX mk II
*ZYX Airy 3 X-SB
*Sumiko Celebration II

Thanks Larry, a part of me just wants to grab the XX mk II because it is the best deal I can get financially speaking.
The quote I got for the Kleos is do-able, but a bit more than I wanted to go. It's a price that I would have jumped at for the Phoenix-S, but a stretch for a Kleos.

I started out looking to stay under $1500 (deal price, not list price). The more I looked, the more I started to stretch that number. It went up to $2K, then I found myself offering $2.5K. But you are absolutely right Larry, spending more money does not guarantee anymore musical satisfaction.

I wound up working my price up for the Phoenix, because I have heard the Phoenix and the Orpheus and liked them both quite a bit. I have read quite a few negative comments about the Axia, so I decided to avoid that. So I feel that I have crossed the Transfiguration cartridges, the Lyra Kleos and the Sumiko Celebration off of my list. However, I haven't crossed Lyra off, perhaps a Delos.

Which leaves me with 3 today (in no particular order):
*Lyra Delos
*Dynavector XX mk II
*ZYX Airy 3-X SB

As I sit here right now, the Dynavector is in the lead. I have had good experiences with ZYX cartridges, but I don't think that the Airy 3 is worth 50% more $$$ than the XX mk II.

The Lyra is still in there due to it's high praise, but to be honest, the Helikon was not my cup of tea. Very exciting, sort of like Nordost cables, but I found that in the long term, listening fatigue became an issue. I've read that this new Lyra generation is smoother, but I also recall reading that about the Helikon 10 years ago.

It's funny how this audio nervosa manifests itself, I wake up in the morning and come to my senses, and just want a good X at the best price. However, as the day goes on, and I look at more and more toys, I find my price tag climbing as the day goes on, working my budget upwards. Late at night I'm want the best X at a good price.

Wake up again the next morning back at ground zero thinking "Thank God I didn't pull the trigger on that last night". haha No wonder most sellers have auctions ending late at night, huh?

Well I cheaped out and bought the Dynavector XX mk II. I hope not to feel bad 6 months from now, and I have had that feeling before, so I know what you're talking about. It's just that when you get caught in this upgrade fever, if you don't watch yourself, it never ends. If I had spent the 50% more on the ZYX, then maybe I'm thinking I need a better amp, table, phono stage, preamp, cables and/or speakers next because the cartridge is too good for the rest of my rig....it never ends, and I don't want to get sucked back into that merry-go-round.

I've owned 3 ZYX's, the Airy 3-S SB, UNIverse-S SB and 4D-X SB2, and yeah, ZYX's are great cartridges. I have down-sized significantly in the last few years, and in the last two months I have started to creep back up again. I wanted to get a LOMC for my new LOMC phono stage, and I think the XX mk II will mate well with my VPI table/arm.

Maybe I'll hit the lottery and get back in the big leagues again, but I'm not holding my breathe or gonna worry about it. Hopefully the Dynavector will fit in well.

Thanks Tim and Jeff! That's weird about the suspension collapsing on the XV-1s, but I probably never owned my XV-1s long enough for the suspension to collapse. :)

My ZYX UNIverse died too, it took about 5 years, but the eventually the stylus wears and the suspension breaks down and you are left with a very light boat anchor.
I can't see myself ever playing up in that high ticket area again Jeff, especially with toys that wear out like cartridges.

I still remember how close the Airy 3 and 4D came to the performance of the UNIverse. You have to pay a LOT of money to move up just a wee bit. That's not just cartridges though, as I've downsized I've been quite pleasantly surprised at just how good a $20K rig can sound compared to a $100K rig. It's a LOT closer sonically than it is price wise. I'm sure a well assembled $5K system could push mine.

Cheers,
John

Now your wetting my lips for AZ Jeff. I have a pair of AZ Satori Shotgun speaker cables due in, hopefully next week. I actually received them already, but they were damaged on receipt. The seller was kind enough to take care of repairs, AZ has had them all week now. Hopefully I'll get them next week.