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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 4 responses by mikelavigne

mikelavigne
2,129 posts
 

congrats on the Atlas. i hope to hear one soon.
From everything i have read I am sure that the Telos is a better arm. But at this level, I suspect, the improvements are miniscule. Telos owners will rightly disagree.

the Talea 2 is a fantastic arm. i have one sitting on my NVS right next to my Telos. although right now i have the Miyajima Premium Mono Be on the Talea 2, i have had identical A90's in my system with both arms at once.

the differences between the 2 arms are not miniscule. at this level of performance it is degrees of wonderful we are speaking about. unless you had the 2 arms side by side it might be challenging to quantitate the degree of difference in an objective way, although the difference musically is significant. in my system i use my RTR master dubs as a reference; the Telos looks it in the eye and even spits on it sometimes (especially with the Ortofon Anna); the Talea 2 not quite.

in many ways they are cut from the same cloth; but then the Telos goes to a higher level at things.....and has a way of sounding real in a unique way which needs to be heard, words fail me.
mikelavigne
2,129 posts
 
Mike
You are obviously right about the Telos. My intent was not to belittle a great arm, but a narrow and somewhat theoretical curiosity :if this is soo good,can it /does it get any better than this? Fortunately I may never find out as I don't have enough real estate on my wall mounted TT rack to accommodate a 12" arm.
Pradeep,

it sounds like you need a new wall mounted TT rack. :-))

i did not take your comment as belittlement in any way, i realize that until one hears the Telos it is hard to imagine things getting much better than the Talea 2. when Joel initiially brought over the prototype of the Telos i was skeptical too......but not for very long.

cheers,
mikelavigne
2,129 posts
 
Mike, how does the Anna compare to the A90?

this is an Atlas thread. you can read this post and following posts from my system page speaking to your question.
mikelavigne
2,129 posts
 
Smoffatt,

i've not heard the Atlas, neither do i have a feel for the Phantom II compared to the Supreme.

i do think strongly that getting the best tonearm is highest on my list as an overall system building approach. and the Talea 2 would likely end up the bigger overall step up compared to a cartridge upgrade. i know what stepping up to the Talea 2 was from the Reed's, Triplaner, and even the Talea 1. i view the Atlas in the similar catagory as the Anna, and i'd rather go to Talea 2 from the Phantom II, than from the A90 to the Anna....especially if you already enjoy the A90. i lived with the A90/Talea 2 combo very happily for awhile.

i also agree with Downunder that you are at a pretty high level and no great need for a change. if you like where you are then enjoy.
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