Lyra
Phono Cartridges
are designed and manufactured by Lyra Co Ltd of Japan and
include a line of high end Moving Coil phono cartridges.
LYRA DORIAN
£495
The Absolute Sound Phono Cartridge of the Year Winner -
2006!
The Lyra Dorian is the newest, entry-level cartridge in a
line of the world’s finest phono cartridges. Very similar
in design to the Argo, the Dorian is designed for lower
priced systems which usually require a bit more output.
Exceeding all expectations for a sub £500 MC cartridge, the
Dorian is rich and musical without compromising the detail
retrieval for which Lyra is renowned. Finally, the famous
Lyra sound is within most any analog lover’s budget!
Completely hand-built (like every other Lyra model), Mr.
Mishima personally adjusts and checks every single Dorian
before giving it the Lyra seal of approval. Designed for
easy set-up, the threaded Dorian is machined from a solid
piece of aluminum for rigidity with the cantilever directly
mounted to the body to reduce distortion. Lighter weight
than other Lyra’s, at 6.4 grams, the Dorian mates better
with a variety of tonearms and offers improved tracking. As
always, the Dorian comes with Lyra’s exclusive stylus force
gauge to ease with installation and protect the cantilever
when not in use. The Dorian is a flat out bargain! Output:
0.6mV, .
'The Dorian's transparency, transient speed, rhythmic
solidity, resolution of low-level detail, and taut,
well-extended bottom end brought an overall balance and
musical excitement that I've yet to hear from any cartridge
competing at this price!'
Michael Fremer, Stereophile, March 2005
- Output: 0.6mV
- Moving coil cartridge
- Tracking Force: 1.8-2.0g
LYRA ARGO
£795
The Argo is the new entry-level model from Lyra, and
replaces the discontinued Lydian Beta. [...]
Technology-wise [...], the Argo shares practically nothing
in common with the Lydian Beta. Rather than thinking of the
Argo as an upgraded Lydian, it is more appropriate to
consider the Argo as a simplified Helikon - with different
physical geometry, different metallurgy and alternative
voicing.
Moving coil cartridge - 0.45mV output
Lyra Helikon SL Moving Coil Cartridge
£1045
The Helikon SL is a special low-output version of the
regular Lyra Helikon. It is exclusively intended for use
with phono preamplifiers with particularly high gain and
low noise. It should only be chosen over the regular
Helikon when it is absolutely sure the phono amp (or phono
preamplifier/transformer combination) will be capable of
handling its low output with satisfactory S/N ratio and
resolution. Like the regular Helikon it is a medium-weight,
medium-compliance cartridge, and was designed for use with
high-quality tonearms that allow the cartridge/ tonearm
low-frequency resonant point to fall between 8 - 12Hz.
Avoid tonearms with loose or overly tight bearings, and
avoid those with undamped lift mechanisms, since these can
"drop"the cartridge onto the record and shorten the
lifespan of the suspension. The tonearm output cables
should be connected to a dedicated phono preamplifier or
phono input on a preamplifier designed for direct use by a
low-output MC cartridge (0.22mV output voltage or less).
Lyra Helikon Moving Coil Cartridge
£995
The Lyra Helikon is the first cartridge of Scan-Tech's
fourth-generation design architecture. [...] The Helikon's
most notable advance is in the elimination of as much
conductive material as possible from the vicinity of the
generator and gap. [This design allows] a more useable
output level [...] while maintaining the accurate
reproduction of atmosphere, musical timbre and detail that
has become the hallmark of all Lyra phono cartridges.
LYRA SKALA
£1849
Lyra designer Jonathan Carr does it again! Introducing the
5th Generation of Lyra Cartridge design: The Lyra Skala!
The Skala is a major advance in phono cartridge technology.
Material selection, body design and stylus/cantilever
assembly have all been thoroughly improved. The voicing of
this new cartridge is much more natural and closer in
tonality to the Lyra Titan. Our highest recommendation!At
first listen, you will instantly hear a tremendous sense of
dynamics with incredible amounts of fine, low-level musical
detail. The Skala combines this incredible detail retrieval
with a tremendous sense of warmth and musicality. What’s
even more astounding is the noise level of this cartridge;
it’s almost undetectable! This is the most natural
sounding, quietest phono cartridge ever to come form Lyra.
You will hear deeper into every recording you play
LYRA TITAN
£2695
'The Ultimate Reference Cartridge!' The Titan(i) is the
most sophisticated cartridge Lyra has ever designed. The
very first time you drop the stylus into the grooves, you
know you are listening to something very special. The Titan
i is the perfect marriage of thunderous dynamics and pure
delicacy; in one word: GLORIOUS! This cartridge portrays
the essence of live music: true-to-life scale and
perspective, tonal accuracy of real instruments, the most
overall cohesive musical presentation possible. Michael
Fremer called the Titan i 'the least mechanical sounding,
most lyrical and liquid sounding cartridge he's ever heard
from anyone at any price!' In HiFi+, Roy Gregory wrote that
'the Titan i is a genuine flagship product that towers over
the rest, delivering unprecedented musicality and forgiving
of all but the most extreme surface damage.' It may sound
strange to call a £2695 phono cartridge a great value, but
after playing just one of your favorite LPs, you too, will
be a believer! It takes many hours of tireless labor to
hand-build and voice every Titan(i), so please be patient
if you must endure a short wait to get your hands on one
the world's finest cartridges!
Moving coil cartridge - 0.50mV output
