A built-to-order mono version of Lyra's Etna Lambda, for lower-noise playback of mono LPs.
The Etna Lambda Mono pairs Lyra's dedicated mono generator with the Etna's multi-material body. On a mono record the music is all in the side-to-side groove motion, and the vertical axis carries only noise. So Lyra lays the square iron coil former parallel to the record surface, instead of at the 45° angle used in stereo cartridges, and winds two separate, isolated coils that respond only to horizontal movement. The body starts with a solid titanium core with non-parallel surfaces, locked inside an asymmetric anodized duralumin shell, with bronze and stainless-steel rods pressure-fitted into a pre-stressed, constrained-layer structure. The diamond-coated solid boron cantilever mounts directly into the body so vibration drains into the headshell and tonearm. It is designed by Jonathan Carr and hand-built in Japan, with final assembly and testing by Yoshinori Mishima.
Because it ignores the vertical axis, Lyra says the Etna Lambda Mono gives a much better signal-to-noise ratio on mono records, with no downside. The isolated coils can run in parallel into a stereo system without tying the channels together (which helps avoid hum), feed one amplifier and speaker on their own, or be wired in series through a headshell lead for more output in a single-amp mono system. At 0.25 mV and 3.0 Ω it needs a high-gain, low-noise MC phono stage or a step-up transformer designed for low-impedance cartridges, plus a rigid, medium to medium-high mass tonearm with adjustable anti-skate. In Stereophile, Michael Fremer called the stereo Atlas SL and Etna SL two of the world's great cartridges, and gave the Etna SL the edge in the midrange.
| Type | Mono low-output, low-impedance moving coil (MC), medium compliance; built to order |
| Output | 0.25 mV (5 cm/s) |
| Internal impedance | 3.0 Ω |
| Coils | Two isolated mono 6N copper coils on a square high-purity iron former, parallel to the record surface |
| Recommended load | Direct into MC input: per Lyra's manual, finalize by listening; via step-up transformer: one designed for 1–3 Ω cartridges, into a 10–47 kΩ MM input |
| Tracking force | 1.62–1.72 g |
| Compliance | Approx. 12 × 10⁻⁶ cm/dyne at 100 Hz |
| Weight | 9.2 g |
| Stylus | Lyra long-footprint variable-radius line contact, nude diamond (3 × 70 µm), slot-mounted |
| Cantilever | Diamond-coated solid boron rod, short one-point wire suspension, knife-edge direct mount |
| Frequency range | 10 Hz – 50 kHz |
| Body | Multi-material (titanium, duralumin, bronze, stainless steel), self-clamping, threaded mounting holes (2.6 mm) |
| Recommended tonearm | Medium to medium-high mass |
| Also available | Etna Lambda (stereo, 0.56 mV) and Etna Lambda SL (stereo, 0.25 mV) |
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.
