Cartridge
typical
Among the 89 cartridges in the catalogue, this one is typical.
A band places a component against its peers and carries no price. It is deliberately the only price indicator on this page: a second one, measured against a different set, would narrow the two together far enough to give the figure away.
First Lyra cartridge with "New Angle" technology — pre-angled damping aligns coils with magnetic circuit during tracking.
Hand-built in Tokyo by Yoshinori Mishima.
Designer Jonathan Carr; final build/test by Mishima with Akiko Ishiyama on primary build.
Assessed against 15 rivals across the sixty systems: 2 head-to-heads won, 43 lost.
The dimension the engine names as the weakest link, counted across every head-to-head it lost.
12 lost · Artisan, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Intimate, PRaT, Reference
Against the Intimate brief, the van den Hul The Frog keeps the slot decisively.
With the Naim NVC TT MM/MC, the pairing gives up most on low-level clarity.
With the Technics S-shape magnesium tonearm (SL-1200G), the pairing gives up most on bass control.
On its own merits the Lyra Delos MC is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
taut, deep, and musicalDaily Audiophile review
10 lost · BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Twin Arms
Against the Intimate brief, the van den Hul The Crimson keeps the slot clearly.
With the Vertere Groove Runner X, the pairing gives up most on bass control.
On its own merits the Lyra Delos MC is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Vertere Groove Runner X gives up bass control under the Intimate weighting.
It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
taut, deep, and musicalDaily Audiophile review
4 lost · Silent Path
Against the Silent Path brief, the Goldring Eroica HX MC keeps the slot decisively.
With the Whest Audio 60Se Pro, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
On its own merits the Lyra Delos MC is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Whest Audio 60Se Pro gives up quietness at rest under the Silent Path weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
4 lost · Artisan, Cavity-Native, PRaT, Reference
Against the Artisan brief, the Sumiko Blue Point No.3 Low MC keeps the slot by a whisker.
With the ProJect Tonearm 8.6 Carbon (Debut PRO), the pairing gives up most on bass control.
On its own merits the Lyra Delos MC is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the ProJect Tonearm 8.6 Carbon (Debut PRO) gives up bass control under the Artisan weighting.
taut, deep, and musicalDaily Audiophile review
3 lost · Artisan, Reference
Against the Artisan brief, the van den Hul The Colibri keeps the slot decisively.
With the EAR Yoshino 88PB MM/MC, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
With the Vertere Groove Runner X, the pairing gives up most on bass control.
On its own merits the Lyra Delos MC is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the EAR Yoshino 88PB MM/MC gives up quietness at rest under the Artisan weighting.
taut, deep, and musicalDaily Audiophile review
2 lost · Vocals-First
Against the Vocals-First brief, the Etsuro Urushi Gold MC keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Lyra Delos MC is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
2 lost · Vocals-First
Against the Vocals-First brief, the Etsuro Urushi Cobalt Blue MC keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Lyra Delos MC is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Koetsu Azule Platinum MC keeps the slot decisively.
On its own merits the Lyra Delos MC is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.
It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Linn Kendo MC keeps the slot decisively.
On its own merits the Lyra Delos MC is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.
1 lost · Intimate
Against the Intimate brief, the Hana EL MC keeps the slot by a whisker.
With the ProJect Tonearm 8.6 Carbon (Debut PRO), the pairing gives up most on bass control.
On its own merits the Lyra Delos MC is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the ProJect Tonearm 8.6 Carbon (Debut PRO) gives up bass control under the Intimate weighting.
taut, deep, and musicalDaily Audiophile review
1 lost · Vocals-First
Against the Vocals-First brief, the Ortofon MC Quintet Black S keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Lyra Delos MC is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
1 lost · BBC Sound
Against the BBC Sound brief, the Linn Koil MC keeps the slot by a whisker.
With the ProJect Tonearm 8.6 Carbon (Debut PRO), the pairing gives up most on bass control.
On its own merits the Lyra Delos MC is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the ProJect Tonearm 8.6 Carbon (Debut PRO) gives up bass control under the BBC Sound weighting.
taut, deep, and musicalDaily Audiophile review
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the van den Hul MC One Special keeps the slot decisively.
On its own merits the Lyra Delos MC is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.
It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
0 lost· 1 won · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Lyra Delos MC takes the slot decisively.
On its own merits the Lyra Delos MC is the stronger cartridge for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
0 lost· 1 won · Silent Path
Against the Silent Path brief, the Lyra Delos MC takes the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Lyra Delos MC is the stronger cartridge for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
speed, neutrality and high resolution over warming up Analog Planet (Fremer, Aug 2012)· Tonal body
ultra-fast detailed and pristine transients Stereophile Gramophone Dreams #96 (Herb Reichert, 2024)· Transient attack
staging is wide, deep, and dimensional Positive Feedback Audio Circular #17· Spatial resolution
dynamic expression beyond what is usually attained Analog Planet (Fremer, Aug 2012)· Micro-dynamic resolution
somewhat dry and analytical, depending on material Daily Audiophile review· Harmonic texture
taut, deep, and musical Daily Audiophile review· Bass control
30dB channel separation at 1kHz SPEC: channel separation 30dB @1kHz (manufacturer)· Spatial naturalness
| cartridge type | MC |
|---|---|
| output mv | 0.6 |
| internal impedance ohm | 8.2 |
| recommended load ohm | 91 |
| tracking force g | 1.7/1.8 |
| compliance dynamic um per mn | 20 |
| weight g | 7.3 |
| stylus profile | Namiki Microridge |
| cantilever material | solid boron rod |
| body material | aluminium 6063 |
| frequency response hz | 10/50000 |
| channel separation db | 30.0 |
| notes |