Finally some more time to focus on upcoming reviews of the cartridges. Right now the spotlight is taken by the latest Lyra Etna SL cartridge installed on Schröder CB tonearm and Audio Union Döhmann Helix 1 turntable. I’ve just installed its get some hours of brake in and being served with favorite and precious records.
Impressively even through the first few songs I’ve noticed two instant fortes. First most positive attribute is ability to render music with fuller bloom at much lover volume! Not pushing forward the movement artificially like many cartridges do, but Etna SL convey much more information and layers with distinctive natural easiness.
And second thing is holly trinity of timbre tone and color. Even from the first notes of piano, saxophone, vocals, guitar and more complex orchestral material it feels not just right but spot on!
I’m more then happy to have finally chance to personally dive into the legendary Lyra universe. Of course I did encounter Lyra cartridges at the shows and in few friends setups. Still… You really cannot be fully objective until you explore such precise device in your own intimate conditions and set up. Phono cartridges more then any other device in high-end audio closely relate to the precision and art of high-end mechanical watches manufacturing. Everything counts and makes the difference. You could call me a watch aficionado and analogy comes more then handy when it comes to cartridges. I guess also the appreciation for such gems are closely correlated with that my interesest and fascination about the fine mechanical machines.
Vinyl reproduction still holds a throne and represents a fascinating way of transcribing music from this so often named archaic medium. Digital Audio reproduction progressed amazingly in past few years, but so did turntables and at the moment there seems to be no stopping of advancements on both sides. On the ultimate scale state of the art analog reproducing chain can create one of the kind aural experience, that is really not easy to match on the digital counterpart.
I could already grasp quite a grand portion of what makes these cartridges so special. Being always mesmerized by the Japanese products, Lyra team encapsulated very unique spirit that both follows the tradition and steps forward into the 21st century. I’ve had luxury of spending some time with Stig Bjorge in Granada this year and what I’ve learned only deepened my respect and appreciation of the brand and persons closely related with the company.
Stay tuned for more coming soon including Q & A with Jonathan Carr.
