Lyra Delos - Dirt Build up on the cantilever
My thought is that the shape of the diamond is different on these 2 cartridges. Is it possible that record wearing from being cut by a different diamond caused tiny particles to clog up the hole the cantilever is poking out of? Do you use a long hair bristle brush? or a short hair dense brush? when you clean stylus. Also, I think always using a wet cleaning brush could cause the moist cantilever to attract dirt! Matt M |
Hi. Could you send me a message, with the serial number of the Delos? Once I know the serial number, I can look into our service records to find out more about what has happened. The reply that you quoted doesn't sound like how we would normally respond in such situations. We usually perform cleaning, and adjustments to the cantilever or suspension without charge. And when correcting a problem requires a rebuild, we will communicate that and ask if the customer is willing to accept the rebuild cost (assuming that the customer has not already given permission for a rebuild if such is deemed necessary). I will refrain from additional speculation until I get a chance to check our service records. kind regards, jonathan carr |
An UPDATE: After providing Jonathan Carr of Lyra with the serial number of my Delos he took a couple of days and then wrote the most detailed emails explaining what has happened to my cartridge and why it was not possible to clean or re-build it. This was accompanied with several very large and detailed photographs that he had obtained from Lyra's service department. Jonathan was also working with Audioquest (Lyra's distributor in USA) to come up with an offer which would be satisfactory to me and my situation. I am extremely happy to say that within a very short period of time that offer was made and today I received my brand new Delos. I can't praise Jonathan highly enough for his attitude and dedication to get to the bottom of the issue and very quickly proposing a solution together with Alasdair Patrick of Audioquest, their distributor. In my particular case both Lyra & Audioquest went well over my expectations (and believe me my expectations are very high) to provide after sales care and service that was exemplary! Thank you guys I really appreciated all your efforts and help. Glad to have the Delos back in my system! |
The reason why Mine could not be cleaned: "is that a build-up of dirt has effectively glued the cantilever of your Delos into the red magnet carrier, making it impossible for the cantilever to move. Attempting to extract the cantilever would almost certainly damage the cantilever, magnet carrier, or both." ......So be very gentle with the stylus & the Cantilever when cleaning. Hope it does not happen to yours! |
mgolpoor The reason why Mine could not be cleaned: I'm glad that this was resolved to your satisfaction. Can you please explain what cleaning protocol you used that resulted in this condition? |
Hi Cleeds: Well to this date we are not certain what would have caused this type of condition. For what is worth I alway sweep the record with Audioquest Carbon record brush before playing (BTW the new one is outstanding totally eliminating static and releasing the dirt particles). I then only use the hard brush that is supplied with the Delos as well as a softer brush that I have from the time I had an Audio Technica. about every 5-6 sides I use the Lyra SPT cleaner with its own brush. Although I have always been very careful I am going to be even more conservative in the use of SPT liquid and try not to touch the Cantilever at all. I am not at all heavy handed with cleaning, in the past 8 years I have only purchased 2 buttons of SPT. As I said in my original post I also have an Argo i which is playing perfectly. I know you were probably looking for definite answers but I don't have that, However, hope this helps and if anyone thinks I am doing things wrongly feel free to let me and everyone else know ! |
Hi Cleeds, Hi mgolpoor :); mgolpoor's unfortunate and unusual issue, was caused not by a buildup of dirt on the stylus, but because the narrow space between the cantilever and the front magnet carrier (which needs to be free in order for the cantilever to move), became clogged up with some kind of hard, solidified substance. While a photo of the stylus wouldn't show the problem, looking at the cantilever from the front (into the cartridge) would reveal that the cantilever was no longer capable of moving. The rest of the Delos (including the washi dust cover, which tends to pick up discolorations fairly easily and is thus a credible guide to how much and how carefully a Lyra has been used) was fairly clean, which suggests that mgolpoor's cleaning regime is pretty good. 'Tis a mystery... |
@jcarr When I was a dealer in the 80's we used Garrott Bros for cartridge servicing & upgrades. "Gumming up cantilevers" were sometimes caused by excessive use of products like "stylast". Also received feedback from John & Brian that they often found small fragments of carbon hairs from brushes. Presumably these carbon hairs can become brittle as they age. More recently I saw a cartridge completely gummed up with dark grey green sludge. Working backwards we found that the owners records when cleaned were generating similar effluent of grey green sludge - we think it was coming off a graphite mat shedding onto the record surface. The stylus was effectively collecting the sludge off the record, so much so it wicked up the cantilever into the guts. |
When I first dove into TT ownership 10 years ago, it was all so daunting but the local dealer "Pete" was a great guy (if a bit exhausted with running the shop, and all the changes occurring in the once popular 2ch hobby) -- a lifelong analog guru, and extremely knowledgable/helpful to me as a young but loyal customer. I vividly remember him showing me to use a long-bristle brush to also brush all the way up the cantilever (not just on the stylus), to where it goes through the hole in the front plate. He specifically mentioned that he’d seen cases of dust accumulation there, over time, affecting the cantilever’s ability to move properly. I was surprised with how relatively forceful & fast his brush movement was (on an old cart he had lying around), and at the small puff cloud of dust clearing out. I see guys post pictures all the time of their carts with a grungy beard of dust and filth on that front plate -- it makes me cringe a bit! And in most of their cases, I'm sure the rest of their vinyl/stylus cleaning regimen is impeccable. |
I have high regard for Lyra cartridges having owned several over the years, and did use the Lyra liquid because Lyra provided it and obviously condoned its use. But, is it possible that in applying it, it migrated up the cantilever and dried, causing a build up? Herr Fremer posted a pic of his Lyra - think it was an Atlas- several years ago, in a confessional that said, in effect, that having examined the cartridge under a digital microscope-(I think this is when Michael was fooling around with SRA settings using a digital microscope), his stylus, and as recall, cantilever, looked like it had been dunked in crystalized liquid that hardened. He didn’t expressly state that he used a liquid cleaner but did state that one should be careful in its application. Here’s the piece: [url]https://www.analogplanet.com/content/dont-let-happen-you[/url] My reaction at the time was that he was probably using a liquid cleaner, and it picked up little bits of lint, dust, stuff that is floating around in your room (and landing on your spinning record) that you ordinarily wouldn’t notice (take a small powerful flashlight and look at your turntable in a dark room and you’ll see what I mean). I’m not saying you did anything wrong-- I avoid liquid stylus cleaners generally, dry brush after each side; occasionally a dunk in ME- even that makes me paranoid given the little loops in the melamine foam- and on the few occasions where my stylus got gunked from a cleaned record- I put a small amount of 99% alcohol on a stiff cleaning brush and was very careful. Clean records are essential, so it sounds like the OP is doing everything right. I am not currently a Lyra owner- been using Airtights, which gel well with my system, but have heard the Atlas in other people’s system and it is impressive. I’m sure Jonathan will do what he can to help--he seems like one of the few designer/manufacturers that can participate in a forum discussion about questions or issues with his product without rancor or self-promotion. |
