Vinyl Heaven : Lyra Atlas on a Durand Talea 2


I am not usually given to expletives but WOW....this is sooo effing good I can't believe it. The Atlas has less than 6 hours on it.The Atlas replaced a Titan i and initially, I was a wee bit underwhelmed, as the cart loading was at 100 ohms,the same as the Titan. Switching to a 1000 ohmn loading was a revelation.The 1000 ohmn loading resistor on my Nagra VPS phono will presumably require some break in.
My quick and evolving first impressuions of the Atlas vs the Titan i : the Atlas does everything the Titan i does, except it does it a whole lot better. The traditional Lyra agility and speed( the Atlas is my 4th Lyra after the Helikon, Skala and Titan i)is there in loads except there is now an organic wholeness to the music with a longer sustain and decay of notes. In every respect, IMHO, the Atlas is way way better than my previous favorite cart, the Transfiguration Orpheus L.There is so much more detail being extracted from the grooves. Does the Atlas make all recordings sound good ?Far from it. It made me realise how crappy the Pink Floyd reissue of WYWH is.
Should point out that at the time the Atlas joined the party, the TT,a TW AC 1, also benefited from a major upgrade with the Black Night PSU and 3 motor unit.
If you ever contemplate an upgrade to the best, that the state of the art has to offer,you will do yourself a favor by auditioning the Atlas and the Durand Talea 2.
I have no relationship with any manufacturer.
Cheers
Pradeep

128x128sunnyboy1956

Showing 2 responses by downunder

I have had my Atlas for close to 3 months now and it is a wonderful cartridge.

I have mine at 500 ohms with tubes and 320 ohms with SS phono.

JFrech, you know you want one :-)

enjoy
Hi Smoffat

I do not think you should be in any hurry to buy an Atlas if your A90 is still working fine.
That said I believe the Atlas is the better sounding cartridge. imo, the a90 is smooth and slightly relaxed in its delivery. The Atlas is faster with better,dynamics. Both are very pure sounding. You could buy another arm wand and the Atlas. You could swap between then :-)

I guess I should upgrade my v1 phantom to a supreme on day?
anyone on the main sq differences?

Darren, keep your titan and just buy an Atlas when funds permit. Best of both worlds