New from Naim – Solstice Special Edition turntable

One thing I need to figure out is if the Lyra Etna is right for my Superline/Supercap or if a Etna SL is that much better (for an extra grand). I emailed Peter at Cymbiosis several weeks ago about what loading I would need with a Lyra (compared to the DRT XV-1s I have now) for the Airplug I bought from him, but that email has gone unanswered/unacknowledged.

If you have the standard Superline the SL sounds best. It likes a low output cartridge.

“sounds best” but how much better is it really. Are we talking better, but with diminishing returns? Is it $1000 better? I’m not sure I’ll even have the budget for either. I have to count on the market coming back before I do anything (I havean AAPL position I use for such discretionary spending).

I tried a standard Kleos with my Superline but did not like the sound. The SL version was a much better match for the Superline’s high gain.

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I haven’t heard any of the Lyra cartridges but they obviously are worth an audition .

Like Dunc I have owned 2 x DV’s. In my case both in the two variants of the ARO. As arm/ cartridge paring is so influence all I can say is that they are obviously a great match.

Not that long ago the ARO 1/ XV1t was the combo that Peter Swain was using on his home LP12. Could still be. Don’t know.

Cartridge preference is obviously subjective ( I was a big Linn Troika fan for example) but I can say with total confidence that the Solstice/ ARO 2 is good enough to justify the outlay required to fund one of these top cartridges.

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This just popped up on FB from Naim.

“Solstice and Equinox – superlative information retrieval from vinyl discs across and beyond all audio frequencies.
Equinox MC cartridge’s features an exclusive boron cantilever – a stiff but light design. Made from an advanced material that is known for its highly specific rigidity and sound transfer, the boron cantilever faithfully transfers the stylus movements to the moving coils.
Discover More: Solstice | Naim Audio

What is exclusive about the boron cantilever? As a material it’s a pretty common choice for a MC cartridge with pretensions.

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That’ll be useful. A completely silent system.

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Depends on what the adjective “exclusive” modifies. It could refer to the cantilever itself; i.e., the cantilever itself is unique to this cartridge.

Versus the material from which said cantilever is fabricated, which as you note obviously is not “exclusive” to this cartridge or its cantilever.

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That’s why I used the rather than a in my question.

Most (all) Clearaudio cartridges in the range from the Talisman up use a boron cantilever. My Dynavector XV-1s also uses a boron cantilever.

I can’t speak to sound differences, but I can say boron cantilevers seem more impervious to accidental abuse than other materials (alum) I have had on phono cartridges. There have been a few times I thought for sure I accidently damaged one while cleaning, etc. and it held up just fine.

They break, wheres aluminum will bend. They can take some abuse, though, and would likely be removed from the cartridge altogether before actually snapping.

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I’m amazed with what I’ve got away with when handling, and mishandling a 17D Dynavector. Now that’s an exclusive cantilever, no one else uses a diamond rod that short.

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Boron - interesting stuff… Not your average Element…

Well worth a read… IMO… YMMV, as… always.

Boron on Wikipedia

bruss: That’ll be useful. A completely silent system.

Yes I wondered about this when I saw the Facebook post. A bit of marketing input here methinks.

From what I know Peter runs a Javelin top/XV1t combo, same here btw :wink:

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Shame that the ARO 2 is too heavy for your LP12 then Charlie. It’s just lovely with and XV1t bolted onto it :wink:

Worth the wait.


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Chris show and tell us more…!

Congratulations Chris………it sounds so Naim😁

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Again Congrats Chris and great photos btw!!!

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