LYRA DELOS CARTRIDGE TOO BRIGHT, THIN AND SHRILL SOUNDING

For reference I just learned something about my Delos the other night-
A new recording was sounding especially bad- edgy and not fun to listen to.
I experimented with everything.  
I made a nice improvement by lowering the gain on my phono preamp for the Delos to 52db down from 58db.
58db is just a touch too much for the .6mv Delos.
52 db is usually too little gain for a .6mv cartridge but it sounds fantastic, much better.  Did not lose any dynamics either which was a surprise.    

So it appears that the Delos likes gain on the low side for its output. 
Try it if you haven't already.  

I enjoyed one for years. Great synergy with the Well Tempered Amadeus. 

Finally nailed the Delos after months of tuning.
learned previously- 
*likes lower gain than usual
*alignment is critical
*level the top of the headshell, tonearm level is not relevant.  

today i finally tried a low capacitance phono cable (50pf per meter). 
this allowed me to set the loading at 475 ohms, per the manual cable capacitance and loading are very much related.  
my previous cable was 110 pf which liked 200 ohms loading.  
the cartridge sounds better, its best actually, with 50pf cables and 475 ohm loading.  sound is cleaner, no trace of ringing, more neutral and natural.  
a very complicated cartridge that may not sound good with typical MC cartridge settings.  

I have been using Lyra Delos and Kleos over the last decade to my entire satisfaction. They were my favourite cartridges. 1 year ago I bought a new turntable / tonearm combination. Unfortunately I could not get the Kleos to perform in the new setup, it sounded flat and thin. In my opinion the Lyras are outstanding cartridges in the right setup and when tuned in carefully. They will extract everything from good recordimgs and comp,ex orchesteas. With lesser recordings I find warmer sounding cartidges more pleasant. Highly recommended in the right setup.

I changed to a Benz Micro Gullwing which is easier to setup and has a bit more flesh on the bone. 

Last time I had a Lyra, it was the Parnassus, years ago, TOTL at the time. "If you want the best, this is it," the Dealer told me. Sold it fast.

I find myself agreeing with Chakster’s view – I’ve had MM and MI languishing in my drawer for years, while I was MC-only. Now I enjoy them more than my MCs. I still have a couple I have tried yet, but current favorites are:

AKG P8ES (old model)
Pickering XSV/3000
Stanton 881S
Empire 2000Z (very exciting)

I just installed a NOS AT ML150-OCC, and liking it so far.

And this one is a "Franken-cartridge" – a Grace F8 body with a Shure V-15 VMR stylus. The F8 is identical internally to the more lauded F9E, so it brings that sensuous full sound – while the Shure stylus is far more advanced than any of Grace styli I had – I had 5 Grace carts at one time, different models, but a burglary ended that chapter.

I didn’t like Shure carts at all – their watchword was "flat" but they just sounded dead to me. But give them credit: they had far more resources for R&D, and it showed in their late stylus design. So the Grace + VMR is pretty spectacular. It’s very fortuitous the stylus fits perfectly, though the plastic holder needs some Dremeling. (And it has that little damping brush too – I haven’t made my mind up on that yet.)

All of them are NOS, so with some TLC I have a lot of years with them left to enjoy.

Maybe I’ll try an MC again soon, and switch loyalties again. I don’t think of myself as "fickle" but who knows. I’m having my Rosewood Signature retipped, and I’ll have to at least try it – so maybe that’ll start a renewed MC "phase"...