[ACHiPo]

I found a Lyra Titan with a broken cantilever (it broke when he was trying to install it).  It's priced attractively IF it can be repaired.  I've got emails in to the cartridge repair shops I'm aware of (Soundsmith, Needle Exchange, van den hul), but thought I'd ask the community if anyone has experience with cartridges that couldn't be repaired.


I've been looking for a back-up/upgrade for my Lyra Delos cartridge.  The Delos is my second Lyra and I really like a) the sound, b) the fact it has a stylus guard, and c) the relatively high 0.5 mV output doesn't require a huge amount of gain, thus has a very nice low noise floor.  As a result I'm leaning toward getting a used Lyra higher up the food chain.


Thanks!

[JackD201]

I suppose all carts can be repaired. Policy differs from company to company however. Some will send you a new one for the old one plus a fee, some will do a thorough rebuild also for a fee, some will just do what's needed...you guessed it...for a fee....then there are the third party folks. A lot of people I've spoken to that have third party work done say the sound is different. I suppose that is to be expected. Some like the hybridised sound and well, others don't. It's a bit of a mixed bag.

I do recommend that you try and get in touch with Lyra to see what their policy is in this instance just to see what the costs would be. I'm guessing your idea of getting something slightly used up the Lyra ladder would be the direction you'll end up heading but I think you already knew that.   

[neobop]

Not all MC's are repairable.  It depends on how and where it was broken.  If there's still a stub of a cantilever, chances are it can be repaired.

If the Titan had a boron/ML it might be hard to find the same replacement.  You might want to search for opinions about a substitute (like ruby/OLC) for the original, or get in touch with Lyra or a dealer for amount of trade in allowance.
neo

[ACHiPo]

Jack, Neo,
Thanks for the responses. 

One of the things I don't like about Lyra is that they give a fairly meager trade-in value depending on the level of the old cartridge.  If I were to buy the Titan and not be able to fix it, it would be worth $1k on the purchase of a $7k Aetna cartridge, which is too rich for my blood.

I've gotten an answer from Andy at Needle Clinic and it sounds like about a 70% chance it could be rebuilt for less than $800 including a boron cantilever, and over 90% that it can be done for <$1100 but it would require non-Lyra parts (coil replacement), which kinda defeats the purpose of buying a Lyra Titan to begin with.  I'll see what Soundsmith comes back with.

Here's the most recent price list I found from 2013:
Delos New (no trade-in) 1,650.00
Upgrade (with trade-in) 1,300.00

Kleos New (no trade-in) 2,995.00
Upgrade (with trade-in) 2,360.00
Rebuild 2,100.00

Kleos SL
Low output special limited edition
Available by special order only
New (no trade-in) 3,500.00
Upgrade (with trade-in) 2,800.00
Rebuild 2,500.00

Kleos Mono
Available by special order only
New (no trade-in) 3,500.00
Upgrade (with trade-in) 2,800.00
Rebuild 2,500.00

Skala
New (no trade-in) 3,995.00
Upgrade (with trade-in) 3,150.00
Rebuild 2,800.00

Etna
New (no trade-in) 6,995.00
Upgrade (with ‘Top Tier’ trade-in)1 5,595.00
Upgrade (with ‘2nd Tier’ trade-in)2 5,945.00
Rebuild 4,200.00

Atlas
New (no trade-in) 9,500.00
Upgrade (with ‘Top Tier’ trade-in)1 7,885.00
Upgrade (with ‘2nd Tier’ trade-in)2 8,550.00
Rebuild 5,700.00
1
 ‘Top Tier’ trade-in means Atlas, Titan, Olympos & Parnassus.
2
 ‘2nd Tier’ trade-in means all other Lyra models.

[neobop]

If the cantilever is broken above the joint pipe Soundsmith can replace the cantilever and tip with a ruby/micro for $350.   That's what I meant by asking around.  It will change the sound of the cart.
The joint pipe is the piece the cantilever is plugged into, like the black piece near the magnets in the photo:



I have no experience with Needle Clinic.  Can't he replace the cantilever/tip without the whole shebang?

People seem to like Kleos.....
Buying a broken MC is chancy.  Maybe you should consider it from a trade-in viewpoint. 

Here's a .5mV MC that you should consider.  Much better value IMO, but detail without all the romance?  and it doesn't look like a Lyra. 
http://www.lpgear.com/product/ATART9.html
neo

[ACHiPo]

Thanks.  Took a chance on SFox's Kleos instead of the risk on the Titan.