Lyra's entry-level moving coil, with the brand's pre-angled coil design and a fast, clean, transparent sound that punches well above its price.
The Delos brings Lyra's main engineering idea down to a more accessible price. In most moving-coil cartridges, tracking force pushes the coils out of line with the magnetic field. The Delos uses a pre-angled damping system and body geometry so that the coils come into proper alignment when the stylus is in the groove. A yokeless neodymium magnet drives 6N high-purity copper coils. The body is machined from a single billet of aluminum with partly non-parallel surfaces to reduce resonance, and the nude construction keeps parts to a minimum. A solid boron cantilever carries a Namiki microridge line-contact stylus for good tracking.
Reviewers describe the Delos as fast, detailed and clean, but with enough midrange body that it never sounds thin or analytical. Michael Fremer singled out its microdynamics and three-dimensional soundstage for the money. Stereophile's Gramophone Dreams column praised its bass focus and transparency, and its ability to make even ordinary recordings engaging. The line-contact stylus is sensitive to VTA, so a tonearm with height adjustment is strongly recommended. Its 7.3 g weight and medium compliance suit most medium-mass arms. It needs an MC phono stage with about 60 dB of gain, or a step-up transformer. Loading around 100 Ω is a common starting point, but it's worth adjusting by ear.
| Type | Low-output moving coil (MC), medium compliance |
| Output | 0.6 mV (5 cm/s, 45°) |
| Internal impedance | 8.2 Ω (9.5 µH) |
| Recommended load | 91 Ω – 47 kΩ direct into MC input, set by listening; 5–15 Ω via step-up transformer |
| Tracking force | 1.7–1.8 g (1.75 g preferred) |
| Compliance | Approx. 12 × 10⁻⁶ cm/dyne at 100 Hz |
| Weight | 7.3 g |
| Stylus | Namiki microridge line contact, nude diamond (2.5 × 75 µm) |
| Cantilever | Solid boron rod |
| Frequency range | 10 Hz – 50 kHz |
| Channel separation | 30 dB or better at 1 kHz |
| Vertical tracking angle | 20° |
| Body | One-piece machined aluminum |
Pearl Audio is an authorized Lyra dealer. Call or visit our Portland showroom to talk about matching a cartridge to your tonearm and phono stage.
