New Lyra Delos Cartridge

Mr. Carr,

Please take no offence with this question, but the design goal of symmetrical magnitic flux in the gap with an optimal tracking force applied seems intuitivly obvious to the layman. Why is this so novel, and what were the engineering challenges you had to overcome to put this approach into practice?

I completely understand - You do not know what you do not know, until you know what you do not know, and only then can you make a guess if it really matters. :)

Do you believe the primary role of VTF is to align the coils & iron core within the gap, or to facilitate sufficient stylus / groove contact for proper tracking? And if the primary effect is to align the coils & iron core within the gap, I'd assume your dampener materials / suspension design / stylus geometry were selected to optimize tracking at the precise load to align the coils & iron core within the gap?

And given your narrow range of VTF (and subsequent VTA) to align the coils & iron core within the gap, did you take this opportunity to help users ensure a proper SRA during setup (i.e. if VTF is within tolerance, and, for example, the head shell is parallel to the platter under load, VTA - and therefore SRA - will be optimized)? Given your necessary design tolerances, I'd think this would be plausible.

Thank you for indulging my questions!

Mr. Carr,

You have been very gracious with your time and your candor. Your insights are not only interesting, but also very informative.

I would be curious to know about some of the ideas / technologies you discarded as you finalized the Delos design, as they did not provide the benefits you intended, or because they will be saved for other cartridges (due to the monitary costs to achieve the experienced benefits).

Also, how do you select your stylus profiles for your various cartridges?

You are very crisp with your technical specifications, however, you openly offer a wide range for catrige loading (100 Ohms to 47 kOhms). Why such a range? What specific impedance would you suggest for the Delos?

I like the suggestion of the incandescent lamp and thermometer to help moderate temperature around the cartridge. Thank you very much.

One other thing...

Does the diagram out on AudioNord accurately imply the your front magnet structure is larger (stonger) than in the typical MC cartridge, and therefore allows for less mass in your coils & iron core) for a similar output?

Much appreciated!