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Is there a problem with my Lyra Delos cartridge?

Last March I upgraded from a Grado Platinum to a Lyra Delos cartridge which was installed by Analogique in Manhattan.My turntable is a VPI HW-19 MK-3 with an Audioquest PT-6 tonearm.After about 120 hours of use I have been getting distortion on certain lps.For example:Last night I wanted to hear Moment's Notice from Coltrane's Blue Train lp(180 gram).This is the second track on side one.So I drop the needle on track two and sound starts distorting at about the 7 minute mark(track is 9:09 minutes),I lift up the needle then lower it onto the lp again and it plays fine.This is not happening on every lp but it is happening quite often.I am tracking at 1.8 which is the Lyra recommendation.I switched phonostages but that does not seem to be the problem.I also put on a new belt but problem persists. Help!!!
montgomery

Showing 5 responses by moonglum

moonglum
619 posts
 
360 hrs on my Delos and no problems. Looks & sounds fine.
moonglum
619 posts
 
Just a thought - does this happen with only 180g or other weights too? Do you adjust VTA for thicker discs?

You mentioned that you're on the upper limit of VTF for the Delos. Sometimes we can exceed that if VTA is unfavourable? I've certainly exceeded the max on some carts by up to 0.1g (I know a lot of people go even higher than this on some carts) and always wondered if sustained use at heavier forces can distort the suspension permanently, especially in warmer climate, or the User can just cheerfully regress back to lighter VTF after 200 hrs or so...(?)
moonglum
619 posts
 
Hi Montgomery...sorry to hear that this problem is still giving you headaches.
There is a clue in the manual for checking SRA on the Delos : If you look at the cart from the side during play, the stylus should appear to be, under ideal VTF conditions, at right angles to the cartridge face?
Even a 1 degree error would be noticeable just by looking at it with a large loup.

Although you don't want to involve the Dealer it might be your best course to ask them to inspect? BTW If you don't have one already it might be worth acquiring a modestly priced digital downforce gauge. These are invaluable even if you have an arm which is calibrated - at least it enables confirmation of the VTF.
Hope this is helpful.
All the best....
moonglum
619 posts
 
"I am having the exact problem you described above with the stretched suspension. The Kleos is riding closer and closer to the record and is now only floating a few millimetres above the vinyl. It has been mounted on a Moersch arm and gently lowered everytime."

Jakeman...did you actually mean a FEW millimetres???
Several MM sounds like too much clearance not too little?
BTW...I've found the Delos is quite immune to effects of fluff build-up on the stylus but lifting off could well solve the OP's problem if this is the case?
Some LPs are natural "chargers" and will seem to almost manufacture lint out of thin air while others remain pristine after play.
One example is the HFN/RR Test Disc which ironically is one of the worst "chargers" I've ever seen - perhaps due to increased friction from test signals.
moonglum
619 posts
 
Manitunc....sorry to hear about your alarming experience.
One possibility is that given your max VTF, if the VTA is "tail down" the Washi paper could be skimming the warps on the disc(?)
Carts with an "undercarriage" tend to register disc contacts as loud thuds but the Lyra, whose stylus is mounted through the front panel, might instead just hash the high frequencies and sound mis-tracked whenever it touches down? Once friction gets going you might find an accumulation there too?
Just out of curiosity are you loading the cart "fully open" or with a fairly low resistance?
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