LYRA Instructions for proper installation and use of Lyra Helikon
Thank you for purchasing the Lyra Helikon moving coil phono cartridge, made by Scan-Tech of Tokyo, Japan. The Helikon is a delicate, precision instrument. Faithfully observe all the following instructions to extract its full performance and keep it in good operating condition. Use separately available cartridge set-up tools like precision stylus force gauges, alignment templates that allow direct visual alignment of the cantilever and stylus (not just the cartridge body), and follow the set-up instructions included with your tonearm, as well as this manual.
The Helikon is a medium-weight, medium-compliance cartridge, and was designed for use with high-quality tonearms that allow the cartridge/tonearm low-frequency resonant point to fall between 8 - 12Hz. Avoid tonearms with loose or overly tight bearings, and avoid those with undamped lift mechanisms, since these can "drop" the cartridge onto the record and shorten the lifespan of the suspension. The tonearm output cables should be connected to a dedicated phono preamplifier or phono input on a preamplifier designed for direct use by a low-output MC cartridge (0.5mV output voltage or less). The phono preamplifier should also have an RIAA curve that is accurate to at least +/- 0.1dB, from 20Hz - 20kHz.
As much as possible, keep the Helikon's stylus cover on during cartridge installation. The threaded mounting screw holes of the Helikon are M2.6 (metric) size and should only be used with one of the three different sizes of stainless steel screws (and matching hexagonal wrench) supplied. Don't use other screws unless they are confirmed usable by Scan-Tech or its distributor, as they can damage the Helikon's screw threads. Also note that because of the Helikon's threaded screwholes, the tonearm headshell must have non-threaded holes or slots (for the mounting screws) that are accessible from above the headshell.
Connect the white (+) and blue (-) as well as the red (+) and green (-) output pins on the rear of the Helikon to the tonearm (or headshell) lead-wires, matching each colored tonearm lead-wire to the correspondingly colored cartridge output pin. The Helikon's white-blue signal coil corresponds to the Left channel, and the red-green signal coil corresponds to the Right. If you are unsure where to connect the tonearm headshell wires (because they lack color coding or use different coding than the Helikon), please contact your tonearm distributor.
Remove the Helikon's stylus cover only after the cartridge has been provisionally installed in the tonearm (or headshell). Grasp the sides of the stylus cover and slowly pull it straight forward towards the front of the cartridge and move it away while watching the cantilever assembly closely to avoid any contact between the cantilever and stylus cover, or between the cantilever and your fingers.
All adjustments involving the stylus and cantilever should be done with stylus cover removed. For the tracking force, use a separately available gauge that can measure to better than 0.05gram precision. The tracking force range for the Helikon is 1.6 - 1.75g, with the lower figure recommended if it works well with your tonearm. The sound of the Helikon will change substantially depending on how well it is aligned. Fine adjustments to the overhang, offset angle, azimuth, vertical tracking angle (VTA), stylus-rake angle (SRA), anti-skating and tracking force should be made through careful experimentation and listening. Note that it is common for the tracking force to change as the height of the tonearm bearing changes, so do recheck the tracking force after making any VTA adjustments. Periodical "fluxbusting" with a commercially available phono cartridge demagnetizer will also yield sonic benefits.
When adjusting anti-skating force, observe the stylus and cantilever directly (as seen from the front of the cartridge) at the instant the stylus is lowered into a record groove with a fair amount of cutting modulation. Any pulling of the cantilever toward the left or right means the setting is wrong. Readjust and observe again, and repeat until the antiskating force is right. As the antiskating depends on the tonearm geometry, tracking force, groove modulation, linear velocity and other factors, it is better executed visually as described above, rather than relying on the number-scales built into your tonearm or blank-groove test records.
If you followed the electrical connection instruction outlined above, plugging the tonearm output cables into your preamp's MC phono inputs should connect the Helikon's white-blue signal coil to the Left channel of your phono preamp, and the red-green signal coil to the Right channel.
As long as your phono preamplifier uses normal non-inverting circuitry and has no MC stepup transformer, the input impedance can be any value from 10ohms to 47kohms. Normally the higher values result in a more open, spacious sound, and are therefore recommended. However, please feel free to experiment. The Helikon can also be connected to a phono preamplifier with a standard 47kohm MM-level input if you add an intermediary step-up transformer (like the Lyra Arion) or head-amp (also called pre-preamplifier). These devices will typically amplify the cartridge signal by 20 - 30dB without any RIAA equalization. In the case of a head-amp, experiment with the head-amp's input impedance (as described above) if such adjustment facilities are provided. When using a step-up transformer, the input impedance of the transformer must closely match the cartridge impedance (5.5ohms for the Helikon), and it must be designed for use with the input impedance value of the phono stage that it will work into. A transformer is an impedance-matching device, and will only work properly if terminated between the output and input impedances it was designed for, otherwise audible and measurable frequency aberrations can occur.
NEVER ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE PROTECTIVE DUST COVER FROM YOUR LYRA CARTRIDGE!!!
Every Lyra phono cartridge is equipped with a protective, permanently attached dust cover surrounding the delicate and sensitive moving coil mechanism. This is made of a particular kind of Japanese "Washi" paper chosen for sonic reasons, but it is also a lot more sturdy and lasting than it looks. This dust cover will get dirty during normal use. However, this is normal and nothing to be concerned about. If you remove the dust cover because it looks dirty, this will expose the moving coil mechanism to dirt and dust, leading to deterioration of the performance, and possibly to damage and malfunction. Any forceful removal of dirt and dust from the dust cover should be avoided as much as possible, and if ever attempted must NOT involve any use of liquids, stiff brushes or solid objects.
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