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Has anyone compared Helikon, Skala and Akiva ?

P

Pani

pfm Member
Thinking of getting one of these Lyra variants. Has anyone compared any of these cartridges against each other ?
 
I would suggest a Delos brand new at £995 or less. Better than a Helikon (I have owner Helikon, Delos, Argo i, Akiva, Arkiv A, Arkiv B, Troika).

CJ
 
Akiva is Linn, not Lyra. Agree with CJ; Delos is good value; even better value if you can pick up a knackered Lyra for peanuts, as the trade in is (I think, still is) 25% off new.

Lots of good cart's at that price point; it's simply down to taste and equipment matching.

NB Currently a one grand Skala advertised here or WW; despite difference in price point, Delos is still a contender, i.m.o.
 
I have heard the Delos on couple of occasions but did not like the way it presents high frequencies, there is a clear rise in that area giving it a hifi sheen IMO. Helikon didnt have it.
 
In my system the Delos was a direct replacement for the Helikon and I found that the presentation was pretty much identical. The difference I heard was the Delos picking out more detail from the music.

CJ
 
Pani said:
I have heard the Delos on couple of occasions but did not like the way it presents high frequencies, there is a clear rise in that area giving it a hifi sheen IMO. Helikon didnt have it.
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So alter the cartridge loading to ameliorate this rise.
 
Pani said:
Thinking of getting one of these Lyra variants. Has anyone compared any of these cartridges against each other ?
Click to expand...

I used a Helikon , and then borrowed a Skala from a dealer......similar voicing, though more refined and could sound a little understated

I went for the Titan - i which is miles better...but also costs more!

laurie
 
For me, this issue of selecting a cartridge has become one of the most problematic issues in analogue. It is, inevitably, a very personal choice. With the best will in the world, no-one can be sure what someone else will choose......but how can anyone hear these cartridges? It's virtually impossible through dealers, who will tend to dem a very narrow range, if they can dem any at all. To be fair, it is a very fiddly and time consuming business.
But cartridges must have very high margins (the more expensive ones anyway). Could not manufacturers and dealers operate a 'try before you buy' scheme. With a deposit for breakages (!). People are expected to spend very large sums on cartridges they cannot properly assess. That must damage the long term business.
 
paskinn said:
For me, this issue of selecting a cartridge has become one of the most problematic issues in analogue. It is, inevitably, a very personal choice. With the best will in the world, no-one can be sure what someone else will choose......but how can anyone hear these cartridges? It's virtually impossible through dealers, who will tend to dem a very narrow range, if they can dem any at all. To be fair, it is a very fiddly and time consuming business.
But cartridges must have very high margins (the more expensive ones anyway). Could not manufacturers and dealers operate a 'try before you buy' scheme. With a deposit for breakages (!). People are expected to spend very large sums on cartridges they cannot properly assess. That must damage the long term business.
Click to expand...

Im always happy to home dem the more expensive carts.
 
paskinn said:
For me, this issue of selecting a cartridge has become one of the most problematic issues in analogue. It is, inevitably, a very personal choice. With the best will in the world, no-one can be sure what someone else will choose......but how can anyone hear these cartridges? It's virtually impossible through dealers, who will tend to dem a very narrow range, if they can dem any at all. To be fair, it is a very fiddly and time consuming business.
But cartridges must have very high margins (the more expensive ones anyway). Could not manufacturers and dealers operate a 'try before you buy' scheme. With a deposit for breakages (!). People are expected to spend very large sums on cartridges they cannot properly assess. That must damage the long term business.
Click to expand...

There's also the question of how they're going to work in the context of your system, arms, TT, phono stage etc. along with of course the overall balance of your system and room.

I know it's heresy for some, but I'm tempted to start collecting some comparative needle drops and linking them to our website so people can start to get an idea of how things compare on the LP12. Power supplies, cartridges and arms etc. Of course it can never replace a proper dem but there are a lot of folk who just cannot get access to dems and have to rely on opinions.
 
TPA said:
There's also the question of how they're going to work in the context of your system, arms, TT, phono stage etc. along with of course the overall balance of your system and room.

I know it's heresy for some, but I'm tempted to start collecting some comparative needle drops and linking them to our website so people can start to get an idea of how things compare on the LP12. Power supplies, cartridges and arms etc. Of course it can never replace a proper dem but there are a lot of folk who just cannot get access to dems and have to rely on opinions.
Click to expand...

Sounds a good idea to me, a lot better than nothing! It would enable people to at least eliminate the cartridges they don't like.
 
Pani said:
Is Skala too warm and mellow ?
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Most definitely not. Its certainly more refined that the Argo I previously had but that's not a bad thing as I thought they were quite crude. Also, Ive not heard the latest mid price offerings from Lyra but the only reason im changing this cart is because I have a chance to jump up the upgrade ladder. I don't think its as euphonic as say a keotsu or quite got that refinement of a Titan or Transfiguration but it gives a very even handed approach to most types of music

And yes, I do swap my gear about quite a lot, hence the reason its for sale. :p
 
paskinn said:
For me, this issue of selecting a cartridge has become one of the most problematic issues in analogue. It is, inevitably, a very personal choice. With the best will in the world, no-one can be sure what someone else will choose......but how can anyone hear these cartridges? It's virtually impossible through dealers, who will tend to dem a very narrow range, if they can dem any at all. To be fair, it is a very fiddly and time consuming business.
But cartridges must have very high margins (the more expensive ones anyway). Could not manufacturers and dealers operate a 'try before you buy' scheme. With a deposit for breakages (!). People are expected to spend very large sums on cartridges they cannot properly assess. That must damage the long term business.
Click to expand...

My dealer (Signals of Ipswich) is quite happy to send several through post for you to try at home for a couple of weeks

laurie
 
The problem is if you can't set up a cartridge yourself you need the dealer to do it. Then the risk is that, after he's demo'd several, and you don't like any of them, just how carefully are they going to put your cartridge back in? You'd be lucky to get it the right way around.
 
Surely that can't be you, Julian :( Anyway, I'm not sure I'd trust a dealer to do as good a job after a friend had a home demo. of 3 expensive cart's from an experienced dealer who didn't bother about the overhang, with predictable results.

Bit unfair, I s'pose, as he was just one, but it colours one's judgement.
 
'Fraid so.

I guess for dealers these days who also have to cope with AV setups and computer audio the last thing they want to do is fiddle around for hours with something that is a pain to do and can be so easily damaged.

Unfortunately we're in a minority these days :(
 
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