Review - Lyra Etna SL - Low Output Moving Coil Cartridge ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Purchasing this cartridge as an upgrade from a Linn Kandid was a big jump for me, not just in financial terms but in sonics too. At twice the price I had to be sure that it would be cost effective but from past experience I had little doubt it would be!

I've had a few Lyra cartridges in the past and have always enjoyed them so I was fairly confident that this one would be no exception. In fact, despite only having had it for barely a week it is already displaying qualities that the Linn Kandid could only dream of. In fact it is in a completely different league!

I could have installed it myself but Peter at Cymbiosis insisted that he fitted it to my Naim Aro arm and that we tested it first before I left. He seemed as eager to listen to it as I was. He dropped my Aro on to one of his many LP 12's fitted with Aro arms and connected up to Naim amps and a pair of Kudos Titan speakers. We played just one side of an album that I'm quite fond of - Truth is a Beautiful Thing by London Grammar. Within minutes of lowering the stylus the sound transformed itself from pretty good to amazing! I'm sure that if I had suggested playing some more tracks he would have been up for it but I wanted to get it home as soon as possible to play it in my own system.

Having listened to it now for what must be about 15 hours I am completely smitten! Everything about this cartridge, every aspect of how it releases music from the vinyl and every parameter that you can use to describe musical prowess is here in bucket loads! Sophisticated, highly capable, competent and above all completely mesmerizing are just some of the words I can use! When it's playing I can't leave the room! I must remain still and concentrating, listening to all the nuances that I hadn't heard before and enjoying that feeling of 'being there in the studio or concert hall'!

The Etna moving coil cartridge is probably one of the finest cartridges ever made (not just my words but those of one or two highly acclaimed Hi-Fi critics)! It has total control over the sound it produces, breaking each second down into millions of mini frequencies, extracting the absolute maximum from a vinyl record and presenting a sound that is perfectly balanced in both tone and soundstage. The detail that it presents is mind blowing! But even more surprising is that not only does it extract every detail possible but it does it with little or no surface noise! Close your eyes and vocals seem to be there in the room with you completely separate from the rest of the music. All the instruments are firmly placed and separated too. Dynamics are to die for! Put a track on and all seems delicately quiet and controlled, beautifully presented with precision and clarity but then the drums kick in or a powerful bass and the contrast is incredible! Extreme modulations don't seem to worry this cartridge in the slightest! All the time it's saying to me 'I'm in control here, just sit back and enjoy'!

So it's still early days but how can I sum up?

Well it's hard for me to explain but let's put it like this - all I want to do, night after night, is listen to my music. I want to hear lots of sounds that I haven't heard before; I want to experience the atmosphere of the studio; feel the resonances; lose myself in the moment and above all get unparalleled pleasure from my amazing vinyl collection and my now complete audio system! Bliss!