Brand new Lyra Delos - skewed cantilever

@chayro   You are not dealing with a set it and forget it type of product when you are getting into upper end analog. There are plenty of out of the box set it and forget it solutions in analog, but all of them are not designed for ultimate performance. The Lyra cartridges are all expected to be utilized on a higher performance platform, if one wants a simple and easy set up, there are any number of MM cartridges ( most with replaceable styluses) that are a lot more in line with your points. The OP decided he wanted a higher level of performance, and is now going to have to learn a little about set up requirements, or have his dealer set up the cartridge for him…in a more accurate manner.

@anthos314  Your stylus is a very small diamond which along with the cantilever tracks barely above the record surface! This is always a little odd looking at first, but the Lyra models exhibit this behavior…which is part of their design.Remember, you bought a Lyra as it is a high performance cartridge, as such it is not going to look or behave like a typical mass produced MM cartridge with a aluminum cantilever.

OP, It is a real shame the problems you have had with this cartridge. Nice that the manufacturer quickly stepped in.

But honestly, I do not like futzing with things like turntables and cartridges. This is why. My dealer loves turntables, and sets them up all the time. He is master certified in Linn and others I am sure. When I bought my last turntable we worked together to determine the sound I wanted and he assembled everything and installed at my home. He verified it sounded like it should. If it had not… he would have fixed it. He came over a couple months later to verify no adjustment was necessary.

While buying a DAC or other electronic (no mechanical components) is ok via the web (I still wouldn’t do it on a high end system). Unless you are a gifted person that loves to play with incredibly tight tolerances… then best left to people that do it all the time and are good at it.

@anthos314 , are you absolutely sure they are skips forward? Skips can be backwards also!

Hi everyone, thank you for you comments and advice. I have taken the Lyra away from the turntable to have a look at the needle under a microscope. I also have a CBS STR100 record, I might use it to assess the state of the needle (if it looks fishy). After dropping the needle from the equation I'll turn to antiskate.