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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

sunnyboy1956

Showing 3 responses by peterayer

peterayer
1,382 posts
 
Sunny, did you have the opportunity to isolate the performance of the arm and then the cartridge before the turntable change? If not, how can you be sure what is what?

I have just bought a new turntable with a 12" arm and a new cartridge. I'm doing everything to resist the urge to put them all in my system at once. So I'm comparing turntables first, with my old 9" arm and cartridge on the new TT. After a week or so I will switch the arms and listen for another week and finally I will add in the new cartridge. I want to be able to learn about the changes and be sure I understand what is doing what. It's a bit frustrating for sure, because of the time involved, its very educational.

Congratulations on the arm and cartridge. I've heard the Talea II, and it's excellent. Haven't read Fremer's review of the Atlas yet, but it must also be quite good. I did also upgrade my power supply and like many upgrades, it made a big difference.

Lewm makes an excellent point. Are there any arms that are more expensive than the Telos?
peterayer
1,382 posts
 
Fremer writes the same about the Atlas vs. the Titan i. Better in every way. I've never heard either, so can't comment.
peterayer
1,382 posts
 
Unoear, I, too, would be quite interested in this comparison. These are two of the really good arms.
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