Lyra Delos mistracking after 350 hours

A

anthos314

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Hi everyone, I made the same post on audiogon.

For nearly four years I have been enjoying my Lyra Delos, using it with a 510 ohm impedance load (which I found gave the best balance between stereo imaging and an organic sound).

Lately though, having spent some time listening through headphones, I heard distortion and mistracking creeping up. The cart has been used for 350 hours and it seems the tracking abilities for which it is renowned are not here anymore. I used a cheap AT-VM95e cart I had on hand just to compare the other day and the mid- and end of side distortion is actually quite similar.

What do you think could the problem be? Apart from this distortion, the rest is fine. The cartridge was aligned as perfectly as possible, alignment was checked and rechecked, the turntable is dead level. I have tried to clean the stylus before every side, following cart designer Jonathan Carr's advice, but I am still quite disappointed as I thought the cart would track perfectly for like another 500 to 1,000 hours maybe.

The cart is nearly four years old. Maybe that's the reason?

Thanks for your help guys!
 
Any pictures of your cantilever to see if it looks like it's centered and not cocked to one side or the other?

If your cartridge isn't damaged in some way, it still should be working correctly. What is your tracking force and your anti-skate set at?
 
When that happened to my Benz, it was the stylus missing. I had it re-tipped at SoundSmith with great results.

Get a good loupe, and inspect your stylus and cantilever.
 
Hi everyone, thank you very much for your help. I had a look at the cantilever and tip and they looked fine, I checked and re-checked the alignment and tracking force (1.72 gr), and this morning after a quick test I heard the same amount of distortion (maybe slightly less but I might be imagining things). Cart designer Jonathan Carr sent me a message, I'll send the cart back to Lyra Japan and have it inspected. Thanks again, I'll keep you posted.
 
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I would suspect a failing or loosened suspension string. Do you notice it riding lower than usual?
Groovetickler (I follow his Instragram with interest) has done countless suspension (and other) repairs by now, and seems to be an expert in the subject. Normal stylus wear would not degrade so quickly - unless it's literally missing or chipped, which is unlikely - and is typically (subtly) audible on inner grooves before outer grooves.

So if I were you I'd send it to a retipper who can do more than just slam a new cantilever in there - you want someone who's also good at suspension & coil work (if necessary). Sometimes it's as simple as re-tensioning the string. Frankly that's better than waiting out a warranty claim IMO.
 
mulveling said:
I would suspect a failing or loosened suspension string. Do you notice it riding lower than usual?
Groovetickler (I follow his Instragram with interest) has done countless suspension (and other) repairs by now, and seems to be an expert in the subject. Normal stylus wear would not degrade so quickly - unless it's literally missing or chipped, which is unlikely - and is typically (subtly) audible on inner grooves before outer grooves.

So if I were you I'd send it to a retipper who can do more than just slam a new cantilever in there - you want someone who's also good at suspension & coil work (if necessary). Sometimes it's as simple as re-tensioning the string. Frankly that's better than waiting out a warranty claim IMO.
Click to expand...
That is really interesting thanks a lot. The cart is going back to Japan for thorough inspection!
 
mulveling said:
I would suspect a failing or loosened suspension string. Do you notice it riding lower than usual?
Groovetickler (I follow his Instragram with interest) has done countless suspension (and other) repairs by now, and seems to be an expert in the subject. Normal stylus wear would not degrade so quickly - unless it's literally missing or chipped, which is unlikely - and is typically (subtly) audible on inner grooves before outer grooves.

So if I were you I'd send it to a retipper who can do more than just slam a new cantilever in there - you want someone who's also good at suspension & coil work (if necessary). Sometimes it's as simple as re-tensioning the string. Frankly that's better than waiting out a warranty claim IMO.
Click to expand...

Read post #4. He's sending it back to Lyra at Johnathan Carr's request.
 
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