Soundsmith Optimized Contour Contact Line Stylus for Rebuild

Dave, Can SS optionally install a boron cantilever with the OCL stylus?  Or was that possible only because your Lyra already had a boron cantilever?

Dear @williewonka : Have you idea of the quality level performance or owned the Lyra Clavis DC?

You are speaking of the 103 that no matter what is a cartridge that belongs to the mediocrity area against the Lyra the OP is mentioned.

Same for you lewm. Grace is no challenge against that Lyra one.

R.

Raul - I was not comparing the cartridges - simply commenting on the stylus type and cantilever.

The style type in the original post is the same as the one I have on my 103.

I found it to be an excellent upgrade - it should sound amazing on the Lyros

But it MUST be setup correctly

Apologies for any misunderstanding.

I was able to read the substance and context of the comments, raul.  No misunderstanding from my perspective.  I was not necessarily asking about the Lyra cart, but the question was of a more general nature.  It's one thing to read marketing info, it's another to hear directly from those with first hand experience.

I understand the critical need for a precise setup particularly with a fine line stylus.  I have been living with that for a long time, not necessarily with the Clavis DC.  I have the protractors and VTA-on-the-fly.  

If the boron cantilever would have been offered with an OCL by Soundsmith, I would have gone that route.

Disclosure:

I have no experience with any Lyra cartridges.

However, from what I can see, the Lyra Clavis DC came with a "ceralloy cantilever" and I have no clue as to what that is but chances are it is not boron, sapphire or ruby.

I do, however, have considerable experience with the Soundsmith OCL on ruby cantilever, as well as the Soundsmith regular line contact on ruby cantilever, both on heavily modified Denon 103R’s (potted and in ebony and aluminum bodies). I’ve also had retips done by Andy at phonocartridgeretipping.com on Ortofon MC 20 Supers using microridge styli on both boron and sapphire cantilevers. No, they’re not Lyras, but both are pretty capable cartridges-the rebodied/retipped Denons were IMO easily competitive with many cartridges up into the $1000 range and a bit beyond and my retipped MC 20 Supers I would say would go head to head with anything in the $1500 or slightly more price range these days.

As has been stated, the OCL is extremely demanding in terms of setup. When setup precisely (I have Mint protractors for a couple of arms in use here), the stylus is very capable. But it requires really, really precise setup, not just in terms of alignment but also in terms of SRA/VTA and VTF. It is more demanding and less forgiving than any other stylus I have personally setup, including Fritz Geiger and the Microridge options available from Andy.

After having had a couple of them, I have moved in a different direction (with more standard microridge styli, which I prefer and find to be almost-if not really close to equally as detailed, and much less finicky in terms of overall setup) and would not go back to that stylus.

Cantilever material is also important. Generally speaking I would say that boron is a better choice for those that prefer more of a mid hall to back of the ball presentation; ruby is more a choice for guys who want to sit in the front row and be dazzled a bit more. A generalization, but a valid one in my experience over the years. Sapphire, which is supposed to be similar (or the same as) to ruby, I find to be a bit of a compromise between ruby and boron, possibly just a bit more toward the boron presentation than the ruby.

Peter was advertising a boron line contact combo if you opt for the less expensive option of cantilever and stylus vs. placing a new stylus on original cantilever, so that might be an option as well. And he has a Sapphire/laser mounted line contact as well that looks very appealing based on price the last time I looked at his website. I would choose either of those options over the OCL ruby because of my subjective listening preferences and ease of setup.

All IMO. YMMV.