Lyra • Atlas MC Cartridge
There’s an old adage from the IT world (which is usually expressed as the acronym GIGO), which is, “garbage in, garbage out”. The idea behind this phrase is straight forward: if the data you feed into your program have errors, the output will be similarly errornous. Although not everyone subscribes to it, I think this mindset is particularly applicable to audio because even the best amp and speakers in the world can’t reproduce information that the front end (be it analogue or digital) doesn’t retrieve from the source (or messes up after it has been retrieved). In other words, the theoretically perfect speaker and amplifiers can do no more than faithfully reproduce an (at best) inaccurate signal. Ergo, GIGO.
If you subscribe to the notion that the source is the most important part of the audio reproduction chain under our control (after all, most of us have no input into the care that goes into the actual recording, mastering, or pressing of a record), the next logical question would be, “what are the relative importance of the turntable, tone arm, and cartridge?”. I’m inclined to think that they’re more or less equally important, but if pressed I would probably agree that the turntable itself is the most important—with the proviso that the arm and cartridge are very close behind.
As a transducer, the cartridge’s job is deceptively simple: it just has to extract all the information encoded within the record’s groove, without adding any signal of its own. Of course, if the task were that easy in practice all cartridges would be perfect!
Through a happy quirk of fate quite a few years ago, I was in the position of being able to purchase an example of the then recently released Lyra Parnassus. Understandably held in very high esteem by the hi-fi press at the time (both on this side of the Atlantic and in the UK, where I lived at the time), the Parnassus was the successor to the Clavis as Lyra’s top-of-the-line cartridge. Mounted on my Forsell Air Reference air bearing turntable and arm, I enjoyed my Parnassus for a very long period of time, until about 18 months ago when the suspension on my beloved Parnassus failed and I had to investigate a replacement. I strongly considered acquiring a Lyra Olympos SL (an option that was—and still is—open to me because one must supply a Parnassus when ordering an Olympos so that the former’s rare earth neodymium magnets can be used in the construction of the latter), but their extreme rarity led me to look at Lyra’s new flagship model, the Atlas, instead. Rather than replacing the then-current flagship Titan i, the Atlas fits into Lyra’s model lineup above the Titan i.
Technical Details
Designed by Jonathan Carr, the Atlas is claimed to be the world’s first asymmetric MC cartridge. This asymmetry manifests itself in two important ways. The first is that standing waves inside the cartridge body are suppressed by the use of differently-shaped internal structures. This reduction in standing waves is said to create a cartridge body that is less resonant and more neutral than would otherwise be possible. The second way the asymmetry manifests itself is that the front magnet carrier and its associated mounting system is not in line with the cantilever assembly. Lyra claims that this opens up a direct path between latter and the tonearm so that vibrations from the cantilever can be quickly drained away once they’ve been converted into electrical signals, further suppressing resonances.
Lyra is still the only cartridge manufacturer to mount the cantilever assembly directly into the body. In this manner, they are able to achieve a seamless, rigid connection between the cantilever assembly and the tonearm, the effectiveness of which is claimed to have been improved by the Atlas’ asymmetric structure. Spurious resonances are further controlled by the use of a narrow mounting area, which engenders a tighter coupling to the headshell and facilitates the transfer of vibrational energy into the tonearm.
The Atlas inherits several design features from the Titan i, specifically the latter’s yokeless dual-magnet system, diamond-coated boron rod cantilever, and its variable-radius line-contact stylus. On the other hand, the Atlas’ double knife-edge cantilever assembly mounting structure has been revised for greater rigidity, and the signal coil system is all-new. Where the Titan i uses a square coil former, the Atlas uses an X-shaped one. This allows each channel to operate with greater independence from the other, which engenders better tracking, tighter channel matching, improved separation, and lower distortion due to crosstalk.
At 0.56 mV, the Atlas’ output is 12% higher than that of the Titan i, despite the amount of wire in the coils being reduced by 22% (which further improves tracking performance). This is attributed to generator coils’ increased performance and efficiency.
One of the problems with most MC cartridges is that the coils are aligned such that they are in the neutral position with respect to the magnets when the cartridge is not being used. The trouble with this approach is that the alignment will stray from neutral the minute pressure is applied to the stylus—for example, when playing a record. Lyra solved this problem when they introduced their New Angle technology with the Delos a few years ago. This New Angle technology, which is also used in the Atlas, mechanically pre-biases the coils so that they are perfectly aligned to the front and rear magnets when a record is being played. This is claimed to equalise out discrepancies in vertical and horizontal compliances, and enable the coils to move with equal ease in all directions.
Like the Titan i and Olympos, the Atlas’ body is hewn from a solid billet of titanium, a meticulous process that uses both contact and non-contact machining. Unlike the Titan i and Olympos, however, most of the Atlas’ body surfaces are not parallel, avoiding dimensions that are multiples of others, and by adding a pre-stressed phase-interference resonance-controlling system, resonances have been further inhibited.
From the X-shaped coil former, the signal wires connect to the four platinum-plated output pins.
Setup and Listening
Setting up a cartridge is not necessarily a difficult task, but is an exacting—and often time-consuming—one. One must also consider their fragility: you certainly need a clear head and a calm and relaxed mindset when handling a delicate item that’s smaller than your thumb, especially when said item is worth in the region of $10,000! A word to the wise: find a local analogue expert to set your cartridge up for you; if you feel able to do it yourself, make sure you wear short sleeves! I’ve heard too many stories of cantilevers being broken off and being sent flying across the room because they became snagged on long sleeves (although I have personally managed to avoid this malady so far, fortunately)...
A quick word on packaging, if I may: my Parnassus came mounted on a little slab of granite, in a carved wooden box. I was hoping that the Atlas would be similarly packaged, as befits a $9,500 flagship cartridge, but it was not. Instead the cartridge is mounted in a sheet of foam and placed in a cardboard box. Don’t get me wrong: the packaging is obviously up to the task for which it was designed, but I think a product this special deserves equally special packaging.
Talking of packaging, in addition to the cartridge itself, the Atlas comes with several sets of mounting screws, a stylus guard, a cleaning brush, and a bottle of Stylus Performance Treatment (SPT), Lyra’s water-based, non-alcoholic stylus cleaning fluid.
I installed the Atlas in my Forsell’s air bearing arm, double checked the overhang, VTA, and tracking weight, and started listening to some tunes. After allowing the cartridge to burn in (and, perhaps more importantly, giving the suspension time to loosen up) for 50 hours or so, I re-checked all the settings, and settled on a VTF 1.72 g (the amount recommended by Lyra).
My early listening to the Atlas was performed using the Allnic H-1200 and Simaudio 110LP phono stages. While they are both competent performers, neither of these is sufficient to let the Atlas shine. I was rather fortunate to have Audio Research’s PH8 phono stage and LS17 SE line stage arrive early in the review process; both of these pieces were used for all of my serious listening, with the PH8’s loading set to 100 Ohms.
Listening
Rather than reiterate how the Atlas fared with some of my usual test records (e.g., Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells), descriptions of which can be found in my review of the ARC PH8, I thought I’d play some other favourite records of mine, starting with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons [Fonè 87 F 04].
Recorded live in the presence of an audience (a fact that is clearly audible due to the number of muffled coughs and other related slight audio intrusions associated with live audiences), the Atlas allows the acoustics of the recording venue to shine through. Of course, being written for a small ensemble, the soundstage isn’t vast, but the instrument positioning is precise. For something on a grander scale, I listened to the first two movements of Herbert von Karajan’s (conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra) reading of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony [Deutsche Grammophon 104301/8]. Here the scale was much bigger (as one would expect!).
To get an idea of how well the Atlas handled the lower frequencies, I listened to Jean-Michel Jarre’s Revolutions [Disques Dreyfus 837 098-1]), which features some great subterranean bass that gives the impression of a behemoth-sized steam engine that is grinding to a standstill. As I had hoped, the Atlas managed to handily surpass the Parnassus in this respect, and the Parnassus is no slouch! With the volume cranked up, I could literally feel the bass’ vibration in my music room floor. This in itself wouldn’t be that impressive were it not for the fact that my music room is in my basement: I live on the side of a mountain, so not only is the floor made from a giant slab of reinforced concrete, but the bedrock itself had to be blasted out for the foundation!
As gratifying as the bass was, I couldn’t help but think that the Atlas was delivering more than the rest of my system—specifically my amps and speakers—could take advantage of. The PrimaLuna ProLogue Seven monoblocks that are my current references are no slouches, but I’m starting perceive them as the weak point in my system. Contributing to this is the fact that I don’t have subwoofers in my system, and there’s only so much air one pair of 10” woofers can move. (You could be forgiven—not to mention, not wrong!—for reading the start of my next upgrade justification between those lines!)
Deep bass per se is of no use if it can’t carry a tune, so I listened to Arena from Colourbox’s eponymous debut LP [4AD CAD508]. The tablas and synthesised bass are very satisfyingly musical when the Atlas is near the beginning of the playback chain.
Moving on, the next track I played was Scarborough Fair/Canticle from Simon and Garfunkel’s original sound track recording for The Graduate [Columbia Records OS 3180]. What an audio smorgasbord! The tintinnabulation of bells off to the left, a jangling harpsichord to the right, and layer upon layer of texture: all were laid bare with the Atlas.
Although they are an important—not to mention, fun—part of the musical experience, bass and thunderous dynamics alone do not music make. Sure, bass provides the music’s foundation, but just as important (if not more so) are the mids and the highs, the former especially so. Not only is this the range where our hearing acuity is at its best, but it is also where most of the music will be found. With this in mind, the next record I played was Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade [Classic Records/RCA Victor LSC-2446], as interpreted by Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Even though it is not without its share of dynamic contrasts, there are parts where just a violin and harp are playing. The Atlas handled these with aplomb. Just as it can be like a sledgehammer when the music demands it, the Atlas is also capable of a feather light touch when necessary.
In terms of overall balance, I’d place the Atlas firmly in the neutral camp. To some people, the word neutral is used as a polite euphemism for “slightly lean” or “thin”, but let me assure you that this is emphatically not the case here: lovers of euphonic colouration should look elsewhere!
One of my favourite albums is Dire Straits’ Love Over Gold [Vertigo 25PP-60], especially the first side. Although it is well recorded—the atmospherics on Private Investigations are hair-raisingly eerie when using the Atlas—I can’t use it as one of my formal evaluation records because I find the music just too involving, especially Telegraph Road’s five-minute climactic coda! Listening to the album via the Atlas was even more involving, and more fun, than I expected: I see quite a few more evenings spinning this record in my future!
I could wax lyrical about the Atlas for countless more paragraphs, citing numerous more musical references, but I think you get the picture. The Atlas is capable of resolving deep bass, sweet midranges, and delicate highs, with consummate ease. It is capable of reproducing thunderous dynamics as well as the smallest whisper, and has laser-like imaging. More importantly, it communicates with the listener, imparting all the emotion captured by the recording.
Verdict
I’ve tried to describe the sound of the Lyra Atlas, but if the truth be told I’m not sure I’ve heard it at its best, despite using the excellent PH8 and LS17 SE preamps from Audio Research. Not only can cartridges of the Atlas’ level of achievement benefit from the use of exemplary ancillary components, they demand them. I’m sure that with the Audio Research Reference Phono 2 SE (or their newly-announced Reference Phono 10), or any other upper-echelon amplification, even more performance can be wrought from the Atlas.
If you can afford a cartridge in this elevated price range, and if the rest of your system is up to the task, you really must add the Atlas to your shortlist. I’m not particularly wealthy, so the Atlas’ asking price represents a significant investment for me. But at the end of the day the requisite sacrifices were made and I put my money where my mouth is: I bought the review sample, and I can’t think of any stronger recommendation than that.
Specifications
Description Medium weight, medium compliance, low-impedance MC cartridge.
Frequency response 10 to 50 kHz.
Output voltage 0.56 mV.
Channel separartion 35 dB or better at 1 kHz.
Compliance 12 x 10-6 cm/dyne at 100 Hz.
Stylus size 3 x 70 micrometres.
Recommended loading 47K Ohms.
Tracking force 1.65 to 1.75 g.
Recommended tracking force 1.72 g.
Recommended loading 104 Ohms to 887 Ohms into an MC input, 5 Ohms
to 15 Ohms via step-up transformer.
Weight 11.6 g, excluding stylus guard.
Serial number of unit reviewed AT0042.
Price $9,500.
Warranty One year non-transferable.
Manufacturer
Lyra Co. Ltd.
Tokyo
Japan
www.lyraconnoisseur.com
North American Distributor
AudioQuest
2621 White Road
Irvine, CA 92614
USA
(949) 585-0111
www.lyraaudio.com
Associated Equipment
Analogue source Forsell Air Reference Mk 2 turntable and arm.
Phono cartridge Lyra Atlas.
Phono stage Audio Research PH8, Allnic Audio Labs H-1200.
Preamps Audio Research LS17 SE, Audio Research SP9 Mk 2.
Power amplifiers Allnic Audio Labs M-3000s, PrimaLuna ProLogue Sevens.
Speakers MartinLogan Spires.
Cables Phono: Nordost Frey. Interconnects: Nordost Frey. Speaker: Nordost Frey. AC: stock.
Accessories Target and SolidSteel equipment stands; Mission Isoplat; Furman Elite 15-PFi power conditioner; Audio Physic cartridge demagnetiser; Acoustech carbon fibre brush; Last record and stylus cleaning products; Audio Additives digital stylus force gauge; Spin Clean Record Washer Mk II.