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Lyra Skala Cartridge
The Internet buzz about the Lyra Skala has some claiming it superior or at least equal to Lyra's top-of-the-line Titan i, which costs $4500. -Stereophile
Stereophile 2007 'Joint Analog Source Component' of the Year Award Winner! Stereophile Class A recommended component!
The Skala has exceptional control over the micro-sized vibrations picked up by the stylus, has reduced resonances while tracking an LP and will unmask more fine, micro-detail from the pits of the groove. In other words, Lyra has really advanced the art of cartridge technology once again.
For many years Audiophiles the World over have prized the wonderful cartridges from Scan-Tech. Open, vibrant and fast, the Lyra line of moving coil phono cartridges made by Scantech are certainly some of the best you can buy.
Lyra cartridges are designed and manufactured by Scan-Tech of Tokyo, Japan. Each Lyra model is conceived by Jonathan Carr in collaboration with Yoshinori Mishima, the artisan who also hand-crafts each piece. The ultimate goal of all Lyra cartridge designs is to accurately reproduce the exact the full content contained in the record grooves, without adding any signature of its own.
Every Lyra cartridge uses an extremely low-mass Ogura PA micro line-contact stylus. Though tiny, the meticulously shaped and polished diamond offers exceptionally good groove-wall contact, insuring excellent tracking and great detail resolution, with minimal groove wear. The superior profile insures the stylus is in contact with more of the groove wall, making it less likely to be disturbed by localized groove damage. Additionally the stylus plays deeper in the groove at a depth not normally reached - or damaged - by other styli. The result is less surface noise and better fidelity on used records.
The Skala is the latest design from Lyra and is the first to employ Scan-Tech's fifth-generation design architecture.
The Skala uses what Lyra terms a “knife edge” design concept. The goal is to transfer vibrational energy from the cartridge to the tonearm as efficiently as possible. Lyra optimizes transmission through the use of material selection and mechanical design. The result is increased dynamic contrasts and greater clarity. As with all Scan-Tech designs, the cantilever assembly connected directly to the main (one-piece) structure of the cartridge. This improves transfer of energy while preventing vibrational energy from being reflected back into the coils, cantilever and stylus.
The Skala employs Scan-Tech's balanced symmetrical field system, where the signal coils operate in a magnetic field created by two powerful, precisely shaped disc magnets. Unlike conventional cartridges, there is no offset magnet to distort the field within the gap, and no pole pieces to affect the transfer of energy from magnet to coils, compress dynamics, or add unwanted distortions and sonic colorations. The lack of conductive material around the generator insures that no stray magnetic fields will be created via inductive effects, improving the ability to accurately convert mechanical groove energy into electrical signal.
Lyra Skala Cartridge Specifications:
Type: Moving Coil, low-impedance, low-output, medium compliance
Output voltage using CBS STR-100 standard @5.0cm/sec: 0.5mV
Frequency response: 10Hz - 50kHz
Channel separation @ 1kHz: >35dB
Diamond stylus: 3 x 70μm Ogura PA line contact
Magnet(s): Dual disk neodymium
Square bobbin: 5N iron core & 6N copper coils
Cantilever: Solid boron circular rod
Recommended tracking force: 1.65 - 1.75 grams
Dynamic compliance @100 Hz: 12 x 10-6 cm/dyn
Internal impedance: 5.5 ohms
Recommended load impedance Preamp direct: 100 ohms - 47 k ohms
Via MC transformer: < 10 ohms
Weight: 9g
click picture for Stereophile Lyra Skala Phono Cartridge Review
Even Lyra critics agree that the line's strongest suit is timbral neutrality. If you're looking for warmth, romance, a golden glow, or a "fat" bottom, look elsewhere. Like ruthlessly revealing studio monitors, Lyra cartridges tend to give you all the news, good and bad, and in great detail. As you move up the line, the more the cartridges reveal about inner detail, harmonic structure, and space. When you get to the Titan i, you also get a well-controlled lushness, particularly in the lower octaves, that the less expensive Lyras lack. You also get unrivaled micro- and macrodynamic expression.
The Internet buzz about the Lyra Skala has some claiming it superior or at least equal to Lyra's top-of-the-line Titan i, which costs $4500. A direct comparison demonstrated that that wasn't quite the case—the Titan i scaled greater dynamic heights, produced even greater textural suppleness, and revealed even more detail and spatial glory. However, it's easy to understand why some might say the Skala rivals the Titan i. In terms of tone and, especially, texture and harmonics, the Skala has more in common with the Titan i than with the Helikon—and it's better than the Helikon in every way, particularly in the midrange, where it fully fleshes out richness and color that the Helikon only suggests.
click picture for Audiogone Lyra Skala Phono Cartridge Review
About a month ago I took the plunge and traded in my beloved Lyra Helicon that I'd owned for over 3 years. Nothing really seemed wrong. In fact, the Helicon has wonderful bass, endless detail, great imaging. It's the curse in this hobby to try something new huh !
Enter the Lyra Skala. Litteraly almost a drop in upgrade. Changed the overhang less that .5 mm. Adjusted the VTF to mfg recommendations. Have been changing VTF some due to the cartridge breaking in. All be ear adjustments. Anti-skating set by eye per lyra's instructions. The simpliest set up I've ever done. It's almost like Lyra did this on purpose for Helicon owners.
Other system details not listed in the link. I run a din to xlr tonearm cable (Purist Venstas) in to a fully balanced phono stage (BAT VKP10SE superpak)
If you're familar with the Helicon, at first listen, you'll hear several things with the Skala...sweeter, more detail, more quiet background. Even though I loved my Helicon, my system, was a little on the nuetral side sometimes. The Skala goes a long way to warm things up ever so slightly. It's a not a huge voicing difference-but just enough for me. Helicon owners with a quick listen will here an improvement-not overwhelming. Sit down, spin a few lp's...you'll change your mind. There's a lot "more" there now.
Ok-the big changes. DETAIL. DEAD QUEIT backgroud. DEPTH & HEIGHT. DYNAMICS in the midrange. I put those in caps for a reason. The Helicon was no slouch in any area, but the Skala is a significant improvment in these areas. Oh my, I've never heard so much from my vinyl set up. It's not so much that the Skala is spotlighting, it's the super low noise floor allows this to emerge. The images are bigger, rounder, and more distinct from one another. Stage is wider and much deeper.
Some other improvements from the Helicon are deeper bass, tigher and a sweeter more extended top end.
With trade in, the Skala cost me $1700. Very much worth the difference, for me, and my system. Music I typically listen to is Jazz (Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderly etc), Light rock (Norah jones, Sarah Maclaughlin), Classical - small string quartets etc. Compared to the Helicon, Nothing goes backwards. A very worthwhile improvement.
Thanks for reading !
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