Rycote Single Lyres vs. Duo-Lyre Stiffness / Compliance

[voltronic]

After purchasing a Rycote Duo-Lyre 68 to hold a stereo mounting bar, I was surprised to find how much stiffer / less compliant it is than the individual lyres even though the shore rating is rather close to the 62-shore single lyres I was using.  I reached out to Simon Davies at Rycote, and he gave me a detailed reply and also agreed to let me post his responses here.

Here is Simon's explanation for the difference between the single and duo lyres (emphasis mine):

The single Lyre & Duo-Lyres have many different parameters within their design that allow us to control the overall compliance of the suspension. Shore-hardness is one, and probably the easiest to measure given that it's the material used that sets the hardness. However the difference between the single Lyre & Duo-Lyre isn't just the shore hardness, it's the overall thickness of the Lyres used on the Duo version. As their primary role is for a cantilevered shock-mount, the Duo-Lyres are much thicker than the single Lyre at key points. This means the point at which the Lyre "swings" to allow the compliance up & down becomes much stiffer. This is needed if there is front loading (ie a foam or slip-on windshield). The front/back compliance of the 68-shore Duo-Lyre (the critical compliance for a shotgun or cardioid mic) is actually very close to that of the 72-shore single Lyre - so will indeed feel much stiffer than the softer 62-shore singles.

And from a later reply:

I'm glad that helped. I'm more than happy for you to share anything I've written. If anyone has any questions, on of my small team will be able to help (here's a link: http://rycote.com/support-form/)

[ArchivalAudio]

Thanks that's interesting and goo d to know.
So far I really like my DIY Rycote lyre shock mount w/ rapid release
Some day I may try a duo lyre..

[F.O.Bean]

I IMMEDIATELY noticed the difference in stiffness between the single vs. Duo Lyre's, since I switched from the Grey 82 Shore Single Lyre's, to the Black & Grey Duo Lyre's!

After owning both the INV6 & INV6HG's [first], and now the INV-HG mkiii's & SRS Duo Lyre Bases with the Grey & Black Duo Lyre's, I MUCH prefer the stiffer Duo Lyre setups! BUT, I ONLY use my Duo Lyre's to mount 2 & 4 channel setups, and NOT individual mics. So it depends on what you're running to determine which setup you need IMO!

If you're running stereo & 4 channel setups like me, I would just get the INV-HG mkiii or SRS Duo Lyre Base from the get-go, and be 100% DONE with it However, if you're running individual mics, I'd definitely consider the 72 Shore Black or 82 Shore Grey SINGLE Lyre's for each mic. Or a single Black/Grey Duo Lyre setup for each individual mic, depending on it's weight capacity! Naks are heavy as shit with their internal batteries, so they might need a Duo Lyre for EACH mic FWIW

[voltronic]

Taking Mr. Davies' explanation and looking at the range of Lyres, it would seem that they progress as follows from softest / most compliant > stiffest / least compliant:

Single Lyre 62 > Single Lyre 72 > Duo-Lyre 68 > Single Lyre 82 > Duo-Lyre 72




NOTE: The URL in the image no longer takes you to this info after the terrible website redesign.  You may find the Lyre info here.

[waltmon]

Their LD shock mounts look pretty interesting as well.

[F.O.Bean]

Taking Mr. Davies' explanation and looking at the range of Lyres, it would seem that they progress as follows from softest / most compliant > stiffest / least compliant:

Single Lyre 62 > Single Lyre 72 > Duo-Lyre 68 > Single Lyre 82 > Duo-Lyre 72




NOTE: The URL in the image no longer takes you to this info after the terrible website redesign.  You may find the Lyre info here.

I know that is the shore ratings, but IMO the Black Duo Lyre is stiffer than the 82 shore lyres I just went from the 82 shore Grey Single Lyre's, to the Black & Grey Duo Lyres, and the Black Duo Lyre's are DEF stiffer than the 82 shore Grey single lyre's Also, the Black & Grey Duo Lyre's seem about the SAME stiffness to me and in my hands. I know the Grey Duo Lyre is supposed to be stiffer, but if it is, I sure don't notice it!

Their LD shock mounts look pretty interesting as well.

I wouldn't run ANYTHING but those for LD's if I owned them

[jmitchell]

The light grey dual lyre seems to on backorder from a number of places.  I'm waiting on another for my SRS ORTF Nak mount

[voltronic]

The light grey dual lyre seems to on backorder from a number of places.  I'm waiting on another for my SRS ORTF Nak mount

The separate lyres are often a special order item.  The 62 Lyres were for me, and it looks like the 82 are most places.  72 is what comes standard with the INV-6 and INV-7.

Back before I ordered the 62 lyres, I contacted Redding Audio, who are the US distributor for Rycote.  They said that it is possible to purchase a set of INV series mounts with whatever Lyres you want; just contact them and let them know which retailer you'd like to purchase from and they would special order it.

[dactylus]

Their LD shock mounts look pretty interesting as well.

I have a pair of the LD shock mounts that I used for a pair of AKG 414's and l still use with my Gefell UM-70's...

[John Willett]

Their LD shock mounts look pretty interesting as well.

I have a pair of the LD shock mounts that I used for a pair of AKG 414's and l still use with my Gefell UM-70's...

There is also a special Gefell version of the USM and USM-L available - thay have green Gefell buttons instead of the red Rycote ones and the L version has black lyres instead of red ones.  Price is about the same as the Rycote one and available from Gefell distributors.

This is the G-USM-L



For the Gefell UM 70, UMT 70S etc., the Rycote INV-7HG III is an excellent option - Håkan now do a special Pop Killer for this combination:-



This picture is the pre-production version of the Håkan P110 INV-7HG-V pop killer - the production version will be black.

[rocksuitcase]

Thanks that's interesting and goo d to know.
So far I really like my DIY Rycote lyre shock mount w/ rapid release
Some day I may try a duo lyre..

Archival- do you have  a thread link or pictures of your single Lyre DIY? Thanks

[rigpimp]

This thread just reminded me that my dual lyres are too rigid.  Ugh, I still have to come up with a solution. 

[voltronic]

This thread just reminded me that my dual lyres are too rigid.  Ugh, I still have to come up with a solution.

What are you running?  I now have one pair of 72 lyres to run my stereo bar with the CM3s and it's the perfect amount of compliance.  This is replacing the Duo-Lyre which was much too stiff as I mentioned earlier.

[voltronic]

I know that is the shore ratings, but IMO the Black Duo Lyre is stiffer than the 82 shore lyres I just went from the 82 shore Grey Single Lyre's, to the Black & Grey Duo Lyres, and the Black Duo Lyre's are DEF stiffer than the 82 shore Grey single lyre's Also, the Black & Grey Duo Lyre's seem about the SAME stiffness to me and in my hands. I know the Grey Duo Lyre is supposed to be stiffer, but if it is, I sure don't notice it!

Hey there Bean - coming back to this thread for my own reference after a long time and I am just seeing your comment here.  Are you saying that the progression of stiffness really is like this?
Single Lyre 62 > Single Lyre 72 > Single Lyre 82 > Duo-Lyre 68 > Duo-Lyre 72

...rather than what I previously reasoned?
Single Lyre 62 > Single Lyre 72 > Duo-Lyre 68 > Single Lyre 82 > Duo-Lyre 72

[vanark]

I'd be pretty surprised if he sees your response.