Lyra Atlas experiences

0_holter....when azimuth is properly set there is great depth ...instrunents are in front of and behind others, the soundstage is very wide...sometimes beyond the side walls, images are sculpted in space with (almost) a black line around them...no bleeding left, and right...especially with the Atlas ( Or Etna which I also think is wonderful) All these elements, are what we audiophiles cherish in presentation. I need an arm that provides for this adjustment....I use the Fozgometer and its accompanying lp as my tool of choice. Providing I use a new battery every time, I find the results accurate, and easy to accomplish.  I personally find that the use of anti/skate is detrimental to the sound.  It may lessen wear of the stylus, but I have no concern about that.  Using a/s on my system knocks some of the polish off of all that proper alignment contribute.  If anyone reading this post disagrees with me, that's fine...I've heard all the arguments....however, I maintain my stand.  Should you want to try to listen without a/s to find the differences, listen to only 1 instrument (I find percussion easiest to hear the differences).  When you can hear what I'm writing about, it will be easier to find that sonic clue on all the other instrument and singers.  My personal take is that a/s prevents the stylus from vibrating freely by exerting that outward force, and so reduces the stylus's ability reproduce those wiggles on the record.  I only write what I hear....I'm not a scientist, or an engineer.....just sayin'

0_holter....If your Atlas is distorting on one side or another, something is wrong with your setup.  I am using an Ortofon which sails through anything ..no sibilants, no distortion, etc....no a/s.

o_holter -- regarding setting azimuth be aware that ensuring that the cartridge is level may have no bearing whatsoever on whether the azimuth is correct. What matters is the orientation of the stylus and many styli are far from accurately attached to their cantilevers. For example I own an Air Tight PC-1 and this brand is quite notorious for some sketchy stylus attachment -- 2 out of 3 of the Air Tight cartridges I observed at the last Newport show were canted visibly off to one side, including a brand new Magnum Opus. There’s no problem with this and if this is the correct setting for azimuth so be it (mine is a good several degrees off level as well)

As far as the right method for setting azimuth by all means try a fozgometer but in my experience setting it by ear using a method such as this gives the best results

Good luck!

ps getting azimuth right has far more impact than any change anti skate, at least in my experience. With my current string/weight A/S set up I simply set it somewhere in the middle and am done, not sure I cam reliably hear any difference one way or another with this parameter

Nandric....I always set my vtf to the manufacuter's recommendation.  They designed the cartridge and know what is best for it.  I don't care at all how the cartridge does with test records...only how it sounds with my records. In my experiences test records that measure tracking ability can be damaged in even 1 play, and ruin any hope of accuracy.

Folkfreak...You're absolutely correct.  Some companies are worse than others, (AirTight is one of the better ones) but that is why an arm has to be able to make all adjustments.