There is a certain similarity in the high end in that they both do that well. By comparison the 2m feels forced, loud, not smooth or natural. Kind of like the 2m is a pair of JBL L100’s and the Lyra is Sonus Fabre. The 2m black is much, much more noisy. Both with SN and revealing the noise floor of a turntable. Listening with headphones isn’t very pleasant with the Black. I would also add that using a SUT with the Delos is a pretty big deal. Without it you’ll need about 60db of gain and that has a way of making the high end a touch bright.
Go to AQ and the price book is transparent, I think it is $1375 or something like that...........I emailed AQ 2-3 months ago and they were backordered at that time. I am sure Covid and 2020 has production all backed up.
About preamp gain........The Delos is a healthy 0.6mV, you only need about 55dB to get 300-325mV out. I run my Nova II phono stage at 56dB and that gets me about 375mV to my Parasound preamp input stage, which is specd at 300mV in...........I've run the Nova II at 60dB and don't like it, that setting removes detailed and starts to close up the sound as well raises the noise floor.
I kind of glossed over this ART9 comment. If this winds up being the case for me I may give up the audio hobby and things may get flung accross the room....
I’d agree that less is more but the preamp has a lot to do with it. I find that anything less than 60db with my old fisher and I have to use way too much volume knob.
I know people love the ART9 and I’ve not heard it myself but I’ve never heard an AT cart that I’ve liked.
I did not have my Delos and the ART9 at the same time so take the following with a large grain of salt but I got tired of the Lyra sound after about 6 months while my ART9 has stayed on my Technics 1200G for almost two years now and I do not see it going anyplace anytime soon.
AT house sound is accepted as being bright, sparkly, icee cold on the top end for sure, I've never had an AT cart that gave a different upper end character........I'm fine with it, can be tamed some with loading and cables. I still enjoy my OC9ML/II but the dynamics and resolution is non existent as compared to a Lyra.
@tzh21y has the Delos on his Technics and he likes it. Audio Technica ART9 MC Cartridge- The Real Deal?
The synergy between a Delos and the Technics arm is going to be a big question, IMO. I used to run a Technics with a AT and the synergy was ok, but I doubt the Delos will be...seems like the OP will find out. I will be interested to hear his thoughts, but I'm pretty sure if negative, the blame can be laid at the tonearm to cartridge synergy...and not just the cartridge.
Seems like a safe bet but it’s tough to make that investment when the down line carts aren’t winners at their price point.
I ran through all the calcs. the new 1200 G / GR series arms are lighter than the old models. I should be right about 10Hz resonant frequency. My Ortofon Cadenza Blue sounds excellent.
Presumably the head shell you will be using will not be the stock one? I don't know how you alter azimuth with the stock arm...
If the Delos wasn't $3000 CDN I would have bought it. So I went with the $1500 CDN ART9. I think I made a good choice. But, I still think about the Delos! Cheers, Doug
The Delos is neutral, detailed, dynamic and fast. I find the image slightly forward of the plane of the speakers. Some say the treble is pronounced but I don't find it so. Bass is tight and tuneful, but perhaps not as weighty as some other carts. Tracks well, even at 1.75g. IMHO, setup is key to getting optimal sound with the Delos. Spend some time and effort, and you will be rewarded. Setup is a bit more finicky than, say, a Dynavector XX2 Mk2 though. So take your time. The MintLP is a good choice for azimuth and works very well. Precision is key. Instead of this... You need to get something like this... Still, you can get some more improvement using Adjust+ and AnalogMagik to dial in azimuth/zenith. But the MintLP gets you very close. Hopefully, your Technics will allow you to fine adjust VTA/SRA and azimuth/zenith easily. Perhaps, but my actual measurements with AnalogMagik are fairly flat for the Delos. A 1.5 ~ 2 dB rise in the HF isn't so bad (this is with a SUT with loading at 104Ohms). I've seen better and worse with other carts. Agreed. System synergy does play a part. The Delos with an SUT and Tube phono sound great in my setup. If there is harshness in the phono chain, that could be factor.
Take my impressions with a grain of salt as the Delos is my first foray into the MC world, but I’m about 400ish hours in and it continues to engage and thrill me more and more. Excellent speed, dynamics, resolution is spades, wonderful sense of space and transparency. It’s a very clear and refreshing pure cup of water that’s for sure! Others have mentioned that it’s not a bass monster but the bass I find to be of extremely high quality and surprisingly low distortion. Tracks wonderfully and definitely the quietest cart I’ve owned from a noise perspective. 1200GR - Pass Labs Aleph Ono - Wyred4Sound mPre - Benchmark AHB2 - Audio Physics Virgo iii EDIT: I should add I didn’t find it particularly difficult to setup on the GR, as technics IME are as close to idiot proof for setup as you can get. I’ve got a contact with AQ HQ and they use the GR in some of their demo rooms so my guy basically told me “these are the settings we use” and I said “OK” and that was that.
FYI here is the loading procedure based on cable capacitance from the Delos manual.... Seems as if cable capacitance around 100pF is OK, I will see how it sounds at 200 or 475 ohms before I buy some low cap cables, unless anyone feels I should for best results....