Lyra Delos Phono Cartridge Questions

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by avanti1960, Apr 2, 2021.

  1. Slippers-on

    Slippers-on Forum Resident

    Location:
    St.Louis Mo.
    Wow!
     
  2. DaveyF

    DaveyF Forum Resident

    Location:
    La Jolla, Calif
    When I owned a Technics I dont remember seeing that screw! Must be a real pain to adjust with any accuracy.
     
    Catcher10 likes this.
  3. edwyun

    edwyun Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Maybe this will clarify. I'm using a Lyra Delos and a Dynavector XX2 Mk2 at the moment. Physically, the Delos is somewhat easier to view compared to the XX2 (consistent with what you said). However, the sweetspot for getting azimuth correct seems a lot smaller on the Delos than the XX2, whether setting by ear or by software. I attribute this to be why many say the Delos is more finicky. Or I guess you could say the XX2 is more forgiving. In any case, once you get used to it, set up gets easier.
     
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  4. edwyun

    edwyun Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    What looks spot on at 5x, may be off at 10x. Ask my how I know. LOL.:cool:
     
  5. edwyun

    edwyun Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Ouch. So you have to loosen, rotate slightly to adjust azimuth, and then tighten? May make repeatable azimuth adjustments difficult.
     
    DaveyF likes this.
  6. DaveyF

    DaveyF Forum Resident

    Location:
    La Jolla, Calif
    Are we sure this is how Azimuth is actually adjusted??
     
  7. clercqie

    clercqie Forum Resident

    Location:
    Belgium
    With jelco headshells it's the same mechanism, so probably.
     
  8. 5-String

    5-String μηδὲν ἄγαν

    Location:
    Sunshine State
    Yes, this is how you adjust azimuth on a Technics headshell. It is not as difficult as it looks.
    The headshell is removable, you check azimuth, you remove the headshell, turn the screw slightly, rotate, insert headshell back, check azimuth again.
    It took me 5 minutes the first time using a fozgometer.
    Easy peasy.
     
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  9. Gibsonian

    Gibsonian Forum Resident

    Location:
    Iowa, USA
    Yes, simple adjustment, and easy. Feature adds weight, only downside or could be upside, depends on your needs.
     
  10. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    Early read on the Delos is that it is a fantastic sounding cartridge.
    I have not yet experienced any of the commonly reported issues !
    Setup was straight forward.
    Tried many resistance options from 100 to 1000 ohms and the differences are more subtle than I thought they would be. Currently running 200 ohms, 1.75 G VTA, top of cartridge dead level with the platter, 58db gain.
    No signs of thin sound, tipped up treble or any kind of gremlin really.
    Bass is solid, acoustic bass is the most defined of any cartridge I have owned. The sound is warm and full overall. Midrange is uncolored, transparent and ultra refined, no shout or harshness. Treble is smooth yet extended and balanced. Imaging and separation are excellent.
    Dynamics are also excellent.
    I cannot find anything wrong. Off to a very promisng start!
    I will let it play for a fair amount and then compare to my other current and recent cartridges.
     
  11. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    Piano also sounds excellent, one my tests. It sounds clear, distinct, sweet and full of bloom. Best cartridge for that too.
     
  12. 5-String

    5-String μηδὲν ἄγαν

    Location:
    Sunshine State
    I am very happy for you, Tony!
    Things can only get better as you put more hours into it and the cartridge breaks in.:righton:
     
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  13. Catcher10

    Catcher10 I like records, and Prog...duh

    Glad the road to analog nirvana is going well so far.....As the Delos breaks in you'll probably want to revisit loading, like I said I bounced around upwards of 2k ohms, above that I did not notice much if any changes. Although in that 250-500 range it's a well noticed range as it seems you found too. At that point it's about what load sounds most accurate to your ears, I bet you end up in the 300 range as the Delos will loosen up and want to bloom more for you, you'll need to let it :agree:. 58dB is a nice gain setting, more gain is not mo' betta!!
    Have fun
     
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  14. Slippers-on

    Slippers-on Forum Resident

    Location:
    St.Louis Mo.
    I figured youd love it!
     
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  15. recstar24

    recstar24 Senior Member

    Location:
    Glen Ellyn, IL
    Great to hear! Your loading settings are pretty close to mine, I think I have a little more gain but obviously that is a personal preference/taste thing. FWIW - my contact at AQ was like adamant that VTF be set within a narrow range of 1.72-1.75G, with the preference being 1.72 as "ideal". Have no idea where he got that from but who knows! Ignore what I just said if you are finding things to sound great where it currently is at, which is what counts!
     
    avanti1960 likes this.
  16. Catcher10

    Catcher10 I like records, and Prog...duh

    I think within the last year or so Lyra has adjusted their suggested VTF target from 1.75g to 1.72g, with I think the range going as low as 1.68g.........I have always run it at about 1.73-74g.
     
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  17. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    any thoughts on how the sound changes at lower VTF?
     
  18. Catcher10

    Catcher10 I like records, and Prog...duh

    I have not tried anything lower than 1.72g.....For me the difference between 1.75 and 1.73 is pretty minimal. Everything seems dialed in at 1.73-74g..........My feeling is a lower VTF gets me a slightly smaller soundstage, but that is not saying much as the Delos presents such a wide stage anyhow.
     
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  19. Davey

    Davey NP: Hania Rani/Dobrawa Czocher ~ Inner Symphonies

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    Can't believe you guys are discussing the difference of a couple hundredths of a gram in tracking force. I wonder what JCarr would've recommended back in the day when we only had gizmos like the Shure seesaw to check tracking force :)
     
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  20. Slippers-on

    Slippers-on Forum Resident

    Location:
    St.Louis Mo.
    Davey...you beat me to the punch!
     
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  21. recstar24

    recstar24 Senior Member

    Location:
    Glen Ellyn, IL
    to my credit I did acknowledge the absurdity of what AQ directly was telling me ;)
     
    Davey likes this.
  22. Catcher10

    Catcher10 I like records, and Prog...duh

    As I said before, we need daily meds......
     
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  23. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    i just lowered the VTF from 1.75000 to 1.7290001.
    the background went from after midnight black to dark side of the moon black :)
     
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  24. snorker

    snorker Big Daddy

    Glad to hear. How do you find it compares with your Ortofon Cadenza Blue or the AT ART-9?
     
    Heckto35 likes this.
  25. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    stay tuned, i want more playing time on the lyra. i will rate all 5 including original art9, art9xa, soundsmith mimc star, the ortofon cadenza blue and the lyra.
     

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