Hello John, Well, the boys might be taking a short vacation, but all is not lost, as the boys have left tons of valuable information in thier wake.
Although I don't personally know him, I believe Mr Carr to be a great guy, and willing to share his expertise, to give you some good pointers. I suggest if you can, to email him, with some specific questions, and I know he will help you.
My eternally good buddy, and Optical Designer extrordinare who is now recently deceased at age 50, Thomas M. Back, used the Lyra Titan, and loved it.
Seems all these high end MC's will change, and metamorphize as the hours go by. Some MC's sound horrible when new, some less so, but I believe all will improve, with better Bass authority, and slam, and won't sound recessed, the Mids, and Highs will begin to smooth, the Highs will begin to display better extension, things like Cymbals will begin to shimmer, and come to life. You'll note certain areas of the frequency spectrum begin coming to life, a little at a time, then a little more, and more, and the overall balance will start to even out.
While I have never owned a Lyra Cartridge, I'd think probably 50-80 hours (and perhaps more?) for full break in to fully realize what the potential of this world class Cartridge has to offer. Funny how these MC Cartridges can be sometimes. One day, you'll perhaps put on an LP, and all of a sudden, bang, the sound just magically opens up, with glorious sound, that just draws you in, and places a big smile on your face!
That's what the Lyra Titan-Steelhead will do, I have no doubt, once all comes together.
I would adjust VTA at, or very near the high end of the suggested VTF range for the first 40 hours, and then start making critical checks, and adjustments to both VTF, VTA, Antiskate, and double check every other setting as well.(alignment-Azimuth-etc)
Then, you will better recogize the difference the Loading settings will make, and once this Cartridge really begins to come to force, you can of course again experiment with even different gain settings again if you like?
Don't assume nothing's going to change, and that your initial thought to be optimum settings will be all that is needed. As time is accumilated, do go back, and tweak to achieve the best performance you can each time.
Thank you moderators for letting me help! I'm starting to sort of feel like one of the big league players here! Best of luck John! Mark
Although I don't personally know him, I believe Mr Carr to be a great guy, and willing to share his expertise, to give you some good pointers. I suggest if you can, to email him, with some specific questions, and I know he will help you.
My eternally good buddy, and Optical Designer extrordinare who is now recently deceased at age 50, Thomas M. Back, used the Lyra Titan, and loved it.
Seems all these high end MC's will change, and metamorphize as the hours go by. Some MC's sound horrible when new, some less so, but I believe all will improve, with better Bass authority, and slam, and won't sound recessed, the Mids, and Highs will begin to smooth, the Highs will begin to display better extension, things like Cymbals will begin to shimmer, and come to life. You'll note certain areas of the frequency spectrum begin coming to life, a little at a time, then a little more, and more, and the overall balance will start to even out.
While I have never owned a Lyra Cartridge, I'd think probably 50-80 hours (and perhaps more?) for full break in to fully realize what the potential of this world class Cartridge has to offer. Funny how these MC Cartridges can be sometimes. One day, you'll perhaps put on an LP, and all of a sudden, bang, the sound just magically opens up, with glorious sound, that just draws you in, and places a big smile on your face!
That's what the Lyra Titan-Steelhead will do, I have no doubt, once all comes together.
I would adjust VTA at, or very near the high end of the suggested VTF range for the first 40 hours, and then start making critical checks, and adjustments to both VTF, VTA, Antiskate, and double check every other setting as well.(alignment-Azimuth-etc)
Then, you will better recogize the difference the Loading settings will make, and once this Cartridge really begins to come to force, you can of course again experiment with even different gain settings again if you like?
Don't assume nothing's going to change, and that your initial thought to be optimum settings will be all that is needed. As time is accumilated, do go back, and tweak to achieve the best performance you can each time.
Thank you moderators for letting me help! I'm starting to sort of feel like one of the big league players here! Best of luck John! Mark