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I have a Lyra Delos that's nearing end of life... losing dynamics and top end sparkle. My fault for buying used.
Do I get a new Delos or has someone who's used a Delos found something they liked better? It's mounted in an SME 3012/2 on a Thorens 124.
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My Ortofon Kontrpunkt A get the same way- "losing dynamics and top end sparkle" when the stylus is very near the end of its useful life.
As another poster has suggested- why not just get it retipped?
Dman
Analog Junkie
For about the same price as the Delos the EMT TSD 15 is much better. But the TSD is a 1.1mv cart. The 1.1mv does not bother my setup. My ZYX Yatra at about .65mv sounds louder. So go figure. YMMV. Thr TSD has a conical stylus which may not last as long either. With the skyrocketing prices of phono carts, I would look into retipping also.
Since you don't know exactly what's wrong, sending it to Soundsmith for an inspection might be a good idea. It will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $75 if I remember correctly, but that money is recoverable if it needs a new stylus and you let Soundsmith make the repair. A retip, if advisable, would be the most cost effective approach to correcting the problem and getting back to topnotch performance. On the other hand, if Soundsmith's inspection reveals the cartridge needs to be replaced, Soundsmith also sells new cartridges.
Of course, there are a number of other brands available, too. I've been using Denon and Audio Technica cartridges because both of these offer exceptional values in high-end low-output moving coils. In fact, I just bought one of Audio Technica's new ART series moving coils, which sounds very good in my system. Both the new AT-ART7 and AT-ART9 cartridges provide surprisingly high-end performance. You can sometimes find the best prices on these through eBay, where I bought mine.
It may well be old age that is causing the decline that you cite. However you don't give us any information as to its age or hours of stylus use. Perhaps this is unknown due to the purchase of it used?
Before abandoning it have you demagnetised it? The symptoms that you give could be caused by the magnetisation of the coils. I don't know specifically about the Delos but Lyra do recommend the demagnetisation of the Skala (which I own) from time to time and I assume the same is true of their other cartridges. NB: other cartridge manufacturers e.g. A.J. Van den Hul do not recommend demagnetisation but as you are at the point of getting rid of the cartridge then should there be a risk it is worth taking.
If the stylus is now worn - the rule of thumb is that if you can hear the effect of wear then you are already well past the time when it should have been replaced and you now risk disc damage - you may find that a retip is a good bet if you like the cartridge. At least get the current state of the stylus assessed.
Why buy new when you can have it retipped?
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