Lyra Delos MC Phono Cartridge - Factory Refurbished

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General:
The Lyra Delos is a great MC cartridge that goes toe to toe with just about anything we have calibrated at the shop. Key features are a solid boron cantilever, and a Namiki micro-ridge line stylus. 

Best yet, this particular Delos has just come back from Lyra with a clean bill of health where it was factory refurbished. We are offering this cartridge at a $300 discount compared to new.

Included will be its original box and accessories.

SkyFi Cosmetic Notes:
No visible signs of wear on the cartridge. Some wear on the box. Overall excellent.

From Lyra: 
While vinyl records played back with an MC cartridge can sound exceptionally good, it is a surprising fact that the design of conventional MCs restricts the sound quality that can be achieved from LPs.

An essential factor for proper operation of an MC cartridge is the angle between the magnetic circuit, signal coils and core. Performance is optimal when the angles are all aligned, but any significant difference in the angles will cause the formation of a strong and directional flux that will flow constantly from the magnetic circuit into the signal core. This directional magnetic flux will orient the core toward a specific direction and make it impossible for the core to move with equal ease in all directions, which is necessary for proper cartridge performance.

Unfortunately, conventional MC cartridges have been designed so that the angles between magnetic circuit, signal coils and core become aligned only when tracking force is not applied. The result is that during playback, the required tracking force causes the angle between magnetic circuit, signal coils and core to become misaligned. This limits the cartridge’s resolution, tracking ability and dynamic range.

The new Lyra Delos is designed to conquer this problem. Compared to conventional cartridges, the Delos has a new body structure with an unusually shallow angle, and this has been paired with a unique asymmetrical damping system. When no tracking force is applied, the shape of the asymmetrical dampers forces the signal coils and core into a more upright angle than the magnetic circuit.

However, no tracking force applied means that the cartridge is not operating, and therefore any angular discrepancies between magnetic circuit, signal coils and core will have no effect on performance. When tracking force is applied, however, the force of the stylus pushing on the LP causes the asymmetrical dampers to be deformed into a symmetrical shape, and when this happens the angular discrepancies between magnetic circuit, signal coils and core all disappear. Since tracking force applied means that the cartridge is now operating, it should be clear that the design of the Delos is able to keep the angles between the magnetic circuit, signal coils and core aligned during playback.

Keeping the proper angular alignment prevents the formation of any strong and directional flux that could otherwise flow constantly from the magnetic circuit into the signal core, and enables the Delos’ core to move with equal ease in all directions, for optimal performance.

The Delos also has a microridge stylus on a boron cantilever for outstanding tracking, a non-parallel solid machined metal body for low resonances, and 6-N high-purity copper coils and nude construction for greater clarity. The result is clearly improved sound quality, particularly resolution, tracking ability, dynamic range, transient impact and immediacy.

Feel free to audition the Lyra Delos, and hear how good a New Angle can make your LPs sound.

SkyFi Technical Notes:
Factory Refurbished and tested.

Ownership:
Single Owner

Cosmetic Condition:
9/10 = Excellent. Perfect physical condition, gently used. See our detailed rating description here.

Working Condition:
Working perfectly and tested in our lab.

Included:
Unit and box

Packing:
Original Manufacturers Packing

Original MSRP:
$2,495.00

Specs:
- Designer: Jonathan Carr
- Builder: Yoshinori Mishima (final build, testing), Akiko Ishiyama (primary build)
- Type: Medium weight, medium compliance, low-impedance moving coil cartridge
- Stylus: Namiki microridge line-contact nude diamond stylus (2.5um x 75um), surface-mounted
- Cantilever system: Solid boron rod with short one-point wire suspension, directly mounted into cartridge body
- Body: Anodized aluminum
- Coils: 3-layer deep, 6N high-purity copper, square-shaped permalloy former, 6.3ohm self-impedance, 9.5uH inductance
- Output voltage: 0.6mV@5cm/sec., zero to peak, 45 degrees (CBS test record, other test records may alter results)
- Frequency range: 10Hz ~ 50kHz
- Channel separation: Greater than 30dB at 1kHz
- Compliance: Approx. 12 x 10cm/dyne at 100Hz
- Cartridge mounting screws: 2.6mm 0.45 pitch JIS standard
- Distance from mounting holes to stylus tip: 9.5mm
- Cartridge weight (without stylus cover): 7.3g
- Tracking force: 1.65g – 1.75g (1.72g recommended)
- Recommended load directly into MC phono input: 97.6ohm ~ 806ohm (detailed guidelines in instruction manual, finalize by listening)
- Recommended load via step-up transformer: Use a step-up transformer designed for 5 - 10 ohms cartridge impedance (step-up transformer’s output must be connected to 10kohm ~ 47kohm MM-level RIAA input, preferably via short, low-capacitance cable)
- Recommended tonearms: Medium to Medium-High mass arms recommended, which is bulk of tonearm market

Approximate Age:
2025

Testing Process:
We start by doing a detailed physical inspection under light magnification to asses the cantilever condition, its position in the cartridge body, and the condition of the suspension.

We also inspect any coil wires and the output connections to make sure it hasn't been strained. We then perform a light cleaning with specialized agents and very carefully blow dry with compressed air.

Following that, we conduct a thorough examination using our Wild Heerbrugg professional microscope. From there we can asses the wear and quality of the stylus and determine how much use it has seen, and if there are any mechanical issues. We can also identify if it needs further cleaning or care.

We then move the cartridge to a digital microscope where we take photos of the cantilever and stylus for future reference.

Next we move to the test bench where we can check for continuity of each channel and resistance.

On certain cartridges (or if the technician feels necessary) we install the cartridge on a turntable and run several test records to ascertain tacking ability, distortion, and compliance.