Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Lyra Helikon Phono Cartridge by TAFKA Steve

Here are some early impressions. Normally I would wait longer to report on a product. But I think this one is so distinguished that my early comments might benefit people thinking about upgrading their cartridge.

I got this cartridge installed and pretty much dialed-in in approx. four days (1 kohm load, maximum silicone trough fluid damping, 1.7 g tracking force, arm rear raised 0.03" above level, azimuth tilt very minor clockwise from front). As a first LP, I put on Dire Straits "Industrial Disease" and before I got to my listening seat, the reality of the sound of drum sticks snapped together stopped me dead in my tracks and I whipped my head around in awe. Had a similar reaction listening to America's "Muskrat Love", marveling at the beauty of the harmony vocals. Tried Direct Disk Labs: "Blood, Sweat ,and Tears" and never heard the brass sound this good. So I brought out my Bach Brandenberg Cto's 4 and 5 on DCM TimeGate (overall the best-sounding record in my collection) and as the opening seconds past my jaw nearly dropped to the floor, the goosebumps were in peak harvest season and I thought: "It's ALIVE! This is impossible." Similar experiences with M&K For Duke, Belafonte at Carnegie Hall, Fulton's Armstrong High School Choir, etc.

This cartridge is a breakthrough component in my experience. The strengths, by my order of importance, are:

1. The best recordings sound LIVE. There is an immediacy, a palpable presence with this cartridge, that snaps me to attention and makes me catch my breath.

2. Dynamics are lively and convincing at both the macro and micro level. Violin and cello passages are very expressive and particularly well-served by this facility. This is NOT a bland cartridge.

3. The sound is very high resolution, yet cohesive and balanced. You get the forest as well as the trees.

4. Naturally smooth, grain-free, and resonance-free, it allows one to hear instrument textures previously hidden by colorations.

5. Low distortion makes even mediocre recordings sound better.

6. A PRAT muh-sheen! This is one lively stepper.

7. Excellent image focus, outstanding soundstage size (high, very wide, and deep) with excellent front-to-back layering.

8. Bandwidth extension is very natural and excellent at both ends of the spectrum. Sibilance is not emphasized and mid- and upper bass are not boomy.

That's a pretty impressive list of attributes in my book!

The downsides are:

1. Surface noise is more prominent than with cartridges like the Grado Reference, but the noise is detached from the music and confined to the front plane of the speakers.

2. Very sensitive to low SRA misadjustment. If you hear no image height and the midrange sounds pinched and the bass is bloated, you need to raise the back of your arm.

3. Very sensitive to azimuth adjustment. Soundstage width collapses rapidly on one side when you tilt too far over each way.

4. Doesn't track as well as the Grado Ref. in the midrange, outtracks it at high frequencies. Only mistracks the +18 dB 300 Hz test on the HFNRR test record (try that with a Koetsu!). Also, needs a lot more antiskating than the Grado Ref (pretty much maxxed out on my arm), so the Ogura line contact profile must result in a lot more drag energy.

5. Needs frequent cleaning, and the stylus is so small that a magnifier is mandatory. Open architecture (except for that little bit of washi paper wrapped around the bottom) makes spastics like me nervous as hell.

Okay, so $2500 isn't cheap for cartridges (but minor discounts are available). And I don't even know what the exchange/retip cost or longevity is for this product. But I look at it this way: for the cost of a Sony SCD-1, you can buy two of these cartridges and listen happily to thousands of recordings through the next decade.

One final thought: if this replacement for the Clavis is so good, the forthcoming Parnassus replacement could be awesome and may rewrite the art.

REVIEW: Lyra Helikon Phono Cartridge Review by TAFKA Steve at Audio Asylum