I going try to trade it back in on a HANA ML or ORTOFON CADENZA RED. The dealer told me how great the Delos is. NOPE. |
I've had to set it at 47r loading to try to tame the extra treble energy and shrillness. Still doesn't work. This Cartridge is going on Audiogon for 500 bucks. Never again LYRA. |
Makes my analog sound like horrible digital playback. Who the hell designed this thing!? |
I had it at 470, 1k, 47k, 220, 100, 47. doesn't make a difference. shrill bright sound. junk. The HANA ML absolutely blows this LYRA DELOS away!!! |
lesson learned. a 2000 dollar Cartridge isn't always better than a 1200 dollar one. HANA ML is a giant killer!!! |
This Lyra set me back 1700 bucks. I've had 300 dollars cartridges sound better. New lesson learned, moving coils DO NOT sound better than moving magnets. BUT, the HANA ML I had was a nice sounding moving coil. |
When I heard a Demo of the Delos it was on an all tube system. Mine is solid state. There is the problem. I would not recommend this cartridge to anyone unless you have tubes which roll of highs and add body and warmth to the sound.
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I am replacing the Plinius Koru phono stage this week with a BAT VK P12. If a 8000 dollar tube phono stage can't make this cartridge sound good then it's not my 12k dollar Krell amp, it's not my 5k dollar Ayre preamp or the 5k in cabling. The Delos with be replaced. I'm having a VPI guru come over and check the calibration of my Classic one turntable with the Delos. adjusting azimuth and tracking force does not change the sound of the cartidge. It only affects imaging. The Delos sounded fantastic when I listened to it on all very expensive McIntosh tube gear. Maybe throwing some tubes on it will give me the sound I'm looking for. |
Yes, I understand who J Carr is. I'm just frustrated my 1700 dollar purchase isn't giving the sound I expected. My analog now sounds digital. The Delos tracks beautifully, is the quietest cartridge I've ever heard(don't hear hardly any clicks and pops on records) and is EXTREMELY detailed. Way too much detail. It's lean, bright and too harsh and shrill in my opinion. I have it surrounded by expensive equipment. I think moving coils are overrated. An Ortofon 2m Black will absolutely blow the Delos out of the water. I have it at 1.75 tracking force, VTA perfect. Azimuth is done by eye, hard to adjust on a VPI CLASSIC TURNTABLE. I just sold the plinius koru phono preamp. maybe that was the problem. A BAT VK P12 coming this week. It could transform the Delos. I will report back. |
My ortofon 2m black blew the Hana and Lyra out of the water!!! MOVING COILS ARE HIGHLY OVERRATED.. Tubes cannot have frequency extension like a transistor. Mr Atmosphere, I sold your amps back in the 90's at a dealer in Southern California. Had a pair of your OTL's running the top of my Vandersteen 4a's. Nice amps, but they were NOT a neutral sounding amp and DID NOT HAVE the air and transparency of their solid state equivalent. |
MC's are COMPLETELY overrated. |
As a matter of fact I hope some designer builds a balls to the wall Moving Magnet. Like a 5k dollar moving magnet. I'll buy it. |
fsonicsmith, I have forgotten more than you will ever know about high end audio. I have been in the hobby for not only 30 plus years but have sold the equipment in a high end store. I have sold VPI turntables and am proficient in setting up a unipivot arm. |
I bent a cantilever on the Hana ML I had and it is either going to be repaired or replaced at the dealer. I'm thinking of just trading that Hana AND the Delos in on a KLEOS. I am extremely picky of my sound and maybe the Delos is too low end of a cartridge. Also, I am extremely hard on Cartridges due to having a few beers and getting clumsy with the tonearm. I will have the Delos inspected. My friend has a Kleos and told me I should have just by passed the Delos and gotten it. |
fsonicsmith, please return to listening to your 1990's NAD gear believing its high end. lol |
HAHAHA, Very funny fellow goners. Now this is turning into a VPI bashing party. I say enjoy your cheap gimbaled tonearms with its horrible friction and lack of adjustments. To do a gimbaled tonearm correctly costs a lot of money. You're not going to find ANY Gimbaled tonearm at an affordable price that beats a VPI Unipivot. |
atmosphere, I had an Electron Kinetics Eagle 2 on the bottom of the 4a's. Your amps while sonic champions in the midrange, suck in the bass department. I suggest you listen to an Audio Research engineer and start using a hybrid circuit in your amps for better full range sound. |
I may not get the Hana back. it's cheaply made. the cantilever bent with a slight brush to clean the stylus. The Lyra is built a lot better. You could even probably do some DJ work with the Delos it's so well built. I just have to try to dial the Delos in or maybe it's damaged. |
flembo, now actually you post some helpful commnets!!! Thank you
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Mr Atmospheres's amps were the best I had on my Vandersteen 4a's back in the day. That was a bi amped loudspeaker with an external electronic crossover. The Atmosphere OTL's smoked Conrad johnson, BAT and Quicksilver which at the time was the only tube gear we had in the store. They could not do bass well though. midrange and highs were magical. I used an Eagle 2a for the subwoofers in the Vandersteens. That amp could do bass. I meant no criticism to him. The guy knows what he is doing. Has been designing great amps for years. Look at my updated post on the Lyra as well. I brought home a new phono preamp and a VPI guru to check the Lyra out. The system ROCKS now. Total musical orgasm. |
I have put a follow up discussion on the Delos. System matching and calibration is extremely important with this cartridge. delete this thread moderator.
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