Kiseki Purpleheart

Soundsmith Paua

I replaced my Allarerts MC1B with Lyra Kleos. I am happy with change. The Allaerts had a lot of mileage on it. Nice detail and openess. 

Well I have to say that Upscale Audio took care of my PH issue and processed an exchange without question. An excellent company and customer service crew. I decided to go with the Sumiko Celebration 40 as a replacement since the specs were relatively close and first impressions are exciting as it’s breaking in. It doesn’t seem as warm as the PH yet not quite as detailed as a Kleos. A well defined, crisp  mid range & excellent high end. I did lower the gain by 2dB to warm it up a little and the bottom seems respectable without being too overpowering. All said, after 10 hours of break in time, NICE!

This is a very helpful thread and truthfully,  the PH was on my short list but no longer due to the quality issues mentioned.  The Cadenza Bronze took it's place.

FWIW My short list is:

Miyajima Saboten

Hana ML or Unami (a little price difference between the two)

Ortofon cadenza bronze

:

Of all the cartridges mentioned here, and there is not a klinker in the lot, the Kleos would be my pick. The only fly in the ointment would be the tonearm. @krelldog what tonearm is on your table? If it is VPI's unipivot arm I would consider changing that before getting a new cartridge. VPI now makes a gimbal arm that is a direct replacement but there are many other great arms you could mount with a little cleverness.