Lyra Delos review after a couple of weeks with it.

I've just installed my new Delos after waiting 5 weeks; the arm is an SME V on a Basis Debut Gold Standard TT.
I can only agree with the OP and others in saying that this cartridge is magical.
VTF is 1.75 and its loaded at 100Ohms - its so detailed but not in a 'in your face' way, I could listen to this baby all night!
Its tracking superbly and I'm sure it'll sound even better after 50 or so hours. The stylus guard is also sensible and easy to fit and remove. 1000 GBP is a lot to spend on a cartridge (at least, it is to me) but if I can get 3-4 years of joy from it, then it'll be money well spent. I can't imagine how good the more expensive Lyra's are

 

Quality cartridges are so important, that bit at the beginning, get that right and everything follows.

 

I love my Delos. I actually prefer it the Kleos.

As you go up, the Atlas is magical, however I could easily live with Delos.

 

Glad you like it. I loved my Delos, but hated the VPI arm. I haven't read the other posts here, so apologies if this has been mentioned, but be careful with the Delos suspension

If you apply to much tracking force or accidentally let the arm down too fast, you can mess up the suspension. Lyra will fix it (actually they'll probably just replace it), but it took me 12+ weeks to get mine back.

Fortunatlly, that served as a convenient excuse to upgrade to an even nicer cart. But there was absolutely nothing wrong with the Delos. Kinda wish I would have kept mine, but I doubted I'd ever need it.

 

Old thread, but for those who might be interested, I recently (JAN 16) replaced my Lyra Argo i (2006) with the Lyra Delos. The Argo i had lots of miles (9.5 yrs @ 4-5 hrs/week = 2000-2500 hrs), but was still going strong (tracked well, no excessive sibilance). Used with a Eurolab (Scheu) Premier MK II / Moerch UP-4 / CODA FET 03P. I figured I had so much luck with the Argo i, and could still get a good trade-in, Delos seemed to fit in well. Set up was no problem (same general form factor as Argo i). Set at 1.76g / 100 ohms. Immediate improvement in the low end, dynamics, space vs. the Argo i. My wife digs it very much, too, with her favorite tunes. I lost track on break-in hours, but I'm sure I'm past 50 now, and as a result of a likely combination of physical and mental break-in, the Delos is fantastic. And most importantly, it looks great planted on my system.

Dave

 

Another Delos user here.......I have about 40-50 hours on it now and it is an insane cartridge. I also echo the setup is super critical, my initial mistake was not paying good attention to VTA of my arm.....Once I checked it and adjusted the sound became beyond brilliant, I was only off about 0.50mm too high and that was enough to throw the sound off. With the Lyra "New Angle" system, seems that SRA with a USB scope is not needed, as long as the cart is perfectly level with the platter surface, everything lines up at least that is how it is designed.

I am at 1.75g with gain at 58.4dB. I started at 380ohms then tried 243 and have settled at 121 ohms.....Pretty darn sweet!

I use a Musical Surroundings Phonomena II phono stage, cart is mounted to a Pro-Ject 9cc. I use an Accutrak 2point arc protractor using baerwald......Best big money I have spent in a long time

 

What are you using to clean the stylus? I've been using the brush that came with my Delos. I picked up the last stylus cleaner and preservative recently. The brush has been okay, but I am a bit cautious on using it if I move a certain way that might damage the needle.

 

I've had my Delos for two years and clean it after almost every side with a Discwasher SC-2 cleaner, which is similar to the supplied stylus brush. I wouldn't worry about it. I think you'd have to push hard backwards on the cantilever to damage it. Being "a bit cautious" is all you should need to keep your needle safe.

 

I used the Lyra SPT (with its included brush) for the life of my Argo i...my single data point tells me it works great. I picked up a new bottle of it for the new Delos and will be using that.

 

Yup.....the stylus brush works very good....I keep a jewelers loupe near by to check for dirt, the brush does nicely....Back to front is the rule and all should be good

 

Lyra SPT stylus cleaner and small brush.

Lyra SPT Stylus Treatment »

 

I am using the same cleaner as well. I am still running my Delos and it seems to just get better with age and I love this cart.

 

Wow. I can't tell you how glad i am reading your post. I currently have a Clearaudio MC cartridge installed in my Pro-ject Xperience (9cc arm) and using a Rogue Triton preamp. I only have a year with the cartridge and i'm glad with it, but, you know, i already started to think about my next purchase to replace it in a couple of years. I used to dream about a Lyra Delos, but i thought was to much for my system. Now, i definitely consider one of these for real.

 

Another recent Delos owner here on a VPI Prime. I previously owned a Delos some time ago used on an LP12 among other tables and I loved it. When it finally gave in to use I purchased another table and went through a period of Ortofon Quintets (Bronze and Black) as the Delos price increase to $2000 put it out of my reach.

Recently purchased a low use Delos at less than half the cost from @alan967tiger and it is an outstanding match with the VPI 3D arm, it really sings! I also use Lyra SPT after each side, tracking at 1.77g, 100ohm load on the Manley Chinook which has fixed MC gain of 60dB.

 

I have this cart on the way and putting it on a Classic 1. After reading this thread I am excited and pretty nervous about installing it. I was really counting on the VPI jig to be adequate for the install, that does not sound like the case. Has anyone had success with using the VPI jig?

I also have a fixed MC gain of 60db on the internal phono on my BAT. If that doesn't get it done I don't have many good options.

 

Gyrodec SE with Michell power supply, Funk FxR arm and Dynavector 20x2L here but I'm thinking of upgrading the cartridge and my dealer recommends the Delos so thanks for all the reviews.

 

Curious to hear how your setup went. Did you end up using the VPI Jig? How you getting on with the cart?

 

This will probably be my next Cart purchase. That is, once I wear out my Benz Woody SL. Has anyone compared these two carts' sound signatures?

 

It worked out really well, it is truly an exceptional cart.

A forum friend lent me his dr. Freiker protractor. I took plenty of time to fuss with it until it was good but I got there. It wasn't difficult, just a little frustrating at times.

 

Also...I did pretty quickly after installing the cart get a new Phono, A VTL tp2.5. The internal on my BAT sounded good (if not great) but I was using much more of the volume knob. It has 140 steps to full volume. With the 2m Black in place I never went above 90 and with the Lyra, I was running at 120 for the same level of volume. I didn't love that but the when I switched the phono to MC, I wasn't getting a good signal to my left speaker. I was nearly convinced that I must have messed something up with my install of the cart. Before I threw in the towel and took it to get looked at, I grabbed an eternal phono I have in another system to test it out. The signal was clear and strong to both channels. The problem was that phono was a pretty big step down in SQ from the internal on the BAT.

The weird thing is that the VTL has about the same amount of gain but I am back to running full volume at no more than 90 steps on the volume knob. The VTL phono was about as much as an upgrade as was the Delos. The two together really made an outstanding improvement.

 

Well, three months and some auditions on. I auditioned the Delos (on my set up) against my existing 20x2l and an equivalent Ortofon but there was not enough difference to justify an upgrade. Two or three weeks later I auditioned my existing 20x2l against a Transfiguration Axia and Ortofon Cadenza Bronze (yes big price jump I know). I was absolutely gobsmacked when the Bronze won hands down and initiated an immediate purchase. And to be honest so was my guy John at Doug Brady's as being a Jap cartridge fan he expected the Axia to blow the opposition out of the water. However against the Cadenza Bronze he felt the Axia sounded somewhat lethargic.
Anyway the moral of the story is never buy on the basis of a review or reputation. The only judge is your own ears.
NB the Cadenza Bronze just gets better as it runs in.

 

Santa came a day early and brought me a Lyra Delos Took a little less than 2 hours to align it to my Mint Best Tractor. Level arm, 1.74g VTF and loaded at 100 ohms with 56dB of gain. Sounds pretty good. I'm not used to the extension in the upper frequencies, as my Benz Wood S was more rolled off (romantic) sounding. It's not harsh, just different. Groove noise is also less noticeable which is a huge plus. I put about 400-500 hours on the Benz Wood over an 8 month period so I became very familiar with it's sound signature.

 

Hello All,

Just got a Lyra Delos and looking to install over the weekend. Fascinating reading some of the earlier posts above and thought I would ask the experienced folks on here as to what would be the best loading settings to go with on my Moon 310LP phono stage. I have the following options:

MC gain has three options: 54, 60,and 66db through RCA outputs - I am using XLR output so I would get an additional 6db gain - therefore, lowest I would be is 60dB

Impedance settings: 10, 100, 470, 1K, and 47kΩ - (Delos range is roughly from 100 to 800 Ohms)

What have you guys found to be the best sounding for Impedance? Am I right in thinking that the higher value one uses, the thinner the sounds becomes with less bass?

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,
Vin.

 

I like 100 Ohms for my set up and I would start out at the 60 gain setting first and then try the other 2 and see which works best with your system.

 

Make sure you have a good tracking force gauge. This cart is very sensitive to a specific tracking force and it changes with the seasons. I check mine once a month to keep it on target and it is well worth it. Enjoy your new Delos