Lyra Kleos Repair


My sweater got hung on the stylus and I bent the cantilever on my Kleos,  It will play through both channels, but it's very distorted and sounds nasty.   Has anyone had repairs done on newer Lyra, and who should do it?


Thanks

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Showing 9 responses by r_f_sayles

Sending a Lyra to ANYONE but J. Carr/Yoshinori Mishima @ Lyra is a fools errand.

Please pardon me, but these are precision, handcrafted, devices that serviced by ANYONE else, will simply not return to you, what you initially, so dearly paid for. You will not have the same sonic performance.

I’m soon to purchase my forth and fifth (mono & stereo) Lyra.

i would wish you good luck, but I don’t believe in luck. I do wish you well.

I'm very sorry to hear that mdb. So, does anyone know, is $1k better than the core trade value?

I’m just curious if anyone in the industry commonly rebuilds a low to mid output moving coil motor and (presumably) replaces a boron cantilever, in this price range for "cost or good will" because if they do, I’m certainly not aware of it.

(If you can’t afford Lamborghini maintenance, perhaps, having one in the garage, and worse yet, one on the road, is a bad idea. Not being happy with the repair bill is only human. Taking it to a fiat dealer is sheer madness.)

Dave, we’ve been down this road... We disagree my friend. I have no issue with someone making whatever choice they wish to choose about what is their property. Yet the simple fact remains that no one, has the replacement parts, nor the knowledge base, possibly even skill level, to replace and rebuild that cart as it originally was. So what you wind up with is a "bastard" at a discount price. We can argue until the sun goes down but until someone can compare an original Lyra, side by side with a "bastard" rebuild and say they are the same, they are not. Now the question becomes, what will one wind up with??? Hard to say. I truly feel for mdb or any of us facing a due bill like the one from Lyra. But the difference between me and you as well is I absolutely refuse to villainize Lyra in this situation, as they did nothing wrong. The fact that their products are expensive is a relative one. IMHO they offer exceptional performance and value and yes, they are bloody expensive! And from my experiences with Lyra I am convinced that I get what I have paid for. My last two have lasted nearly nine years a piece, with a roughly 30% trade value. Everyone has to make choices based on their own economy and sense of value, I just wish to express in this regard that although many folks (including yourself) have chosen to go the SoundSmith route, it needs to be understood that you get what you pay for, and the sonic character of your cart will not necessarily have any resemblance to the original cart that was sent in for rebuilding, nor will there be any guarantee that it’s life expectancy will be that of the original product. I wish mdb the very best in whatever path he may choose and I hope he has a splendid listening experience.

A smoothing can be deceiving. It could be a reduced sense of detail and micro-dynamics, and really be a lose of acoustic space or it could just be a refocusing/rebalancing and could be most pleasing. So subjective, so hard to say. 

Let's not create additional confusion here. Just to be clear, a "retip" = a stylus change, and although often not apples to apples, much less of a character changer and possible performance changer than a "rebuild"= different stylus, cantilever, suspension former, and hand wound coil. The later being what our dear friend mdb is looking at funding. 

With a Lyra made/ Linn branded cart, my understanding is Lyra will not give me the trade value Linn will toward same. Oh, well. 

I do agree with you Dave that we all have to draw the line on cost at some point. I'm not so sure I feel Lyra is mistreating anyone here though. If they had implied or expressed some kind of warranty against user mishap and then fallen short of that, I could understand some resentment, but given the circumstances (as much as it pains us) I have none and would not withhold future investment because of it. 
analogluvr, you are mistaken. Lyra did not quote 2700 USD for a "retip". They have quoted for a "rebuild". I know this explanation will offer little to end the negative tiered though. 

Mdb, it's too bad we couldn't have J. Carr weigh in here with a proper explanation as he has been very forthright and most revealing in the past on A'gon about many things analogue and Lyra.

As I understand it, when replacing a cantilever, you wind up completely rebuilding and tuning the suspension in place, unlike "retipping" which which is merely refitting a stone. The only thing saved is the base housing and the rare earth magnets, though still of value, most of the value lies in the craftsmanship and time. A highly practiced and skilled builder, under a microscope, must rewind the moving coil (thinner than a human hair), and solder in, precisely and tune the whole assembly in place. You wind up getting a new cantilever/stylus (which in a Lyra is custom cut and polished as I understand it, not off the shelf like many, many high end carts), suspension former, hand wound coil, and the dust close out sheet. All this must be tweeked to perfection by a craftsman who understands the results, not a trainee from Walmart or a backyard mechanic. It is a tedious, precision task. 

So I think it is unfair to color this as some have, and underrate what you get for what you pay. Some have brought up the point that there are others that will make a functional facsimile of a MC cart for a hell of a lot less. This will always be the case. I would argue, if it sounded like a Lyra, but it doesn't, than buy it. (Caveat: there are a lot of nice sounding carts in the world, pick your flavor) A customer must decide for themselves what makes sense, and what satisfies their needs. I can't speak for someone's ears or decide with their wallet, but I certainly can with mine. This is a hobby or pastime of discriminating taste, and nuance, and for me, Lyra has proven a level of excellence that is rare these days, rare has a price. 
I can only speculate as I am neither Lyra or the honorable Mr. Carr.

Analogluvr, you and I may never come to see this the same, but I don't feel anyone is being "ripped off" here. If SoundSmith or anyone else is so good, why do my ears keep picking Lyra instead??? And again, what the hell is wrong with someone setting a price based on what they wish to charge for a particular product or service? If you don't a find it a value, don't buy it! That is your  prerogative (and their's). But IMHO it is inappropriate to publicly tirade someone as a rip off.

mdb, I can't say, as I do not know that J. Carr keeps tabs per say, to field issues in this forum, yet I know (and if you explore) he has been very open and helpful here. As the article pointed out, Lyra does not"retip"(replace a stylus in the cantilever. And even if they did, as I understand it, by the very nature of the assembly, it would be a whole rebuild anyway to get the bent cantilever out,  straighten it if possible or just replace it, and reassemble and tune the whole assembly. But again, I don't know this for sure. I think where most folks here are making a big mistake is that they just don't have any concept of how complicated it is to do things right and right is what makes the  subtle differences between one cart product and another. It is not just a name, it is truly a physical thing, that produces a definitive sonic signature.

Mdb, you might try messenging J. Carr directly through A'gon (here, as I think that is still possible).

Again, wish you the best