Lyra Atlas experiences

O-holter.....just reading the thread again.   I got rid of my SME V because it didn't have the ability to adjust for azimuth.  Sure you can shim the cartridge, but that is really unworkable.  When azimuth is set correctly, the soundstage widens, yet the instruments become smaller...life like and in their proper space in the sound envelope.  Depth is increased as is dynamic shadings.  These attributes are much too valuable to give away on an arm that can not accomadate for it.  These are the exact abilities that make the Lyra Atlas so special. I've head the Atlas on a few arms, and on mine - a VPI 3D.  All the top arms sound a bit different, but to my ears, none was better than on my VPI 3D.  I understand Harry is working on the addition of another pivot to make the arm even better....the mod is easily incorporated into all 3D arms, and has a modest price tag.

Rereading the thread:

Thanks Stingreen - I very much appreciate your contributions, and will do a new check. So far, however, the azimuth seems ok. Like Mmakshak commented above, it can be hard to judge, what is the cartridge, what is the speaker positioning, and so on - you need to sleep on it, and use your subconscious to get the whole system fully tuned to the room. This is an endless task. Happily it is also filled with joy - just listen to the music!
 
Ninetynine - the SME arm should be heavier, to be optimal for the Atlas. I am not sure. I tried some damping/heavier stuff but went back to the original. As often happens when I try to tweak the SME V.

Nandric - stylus shape is important - I did not get how this would translate to anti-skate and weight.

Some of the debate turned to mistracking - although not the main issue in my case. It seems that most users, including me, thinks the Atlas sounds great and seldom mistracks. As stated before, this thread is about getting optimal sound.

Raul has argued that the Atlas needs a solid state (or hybrid) phono preamp / riaa solution to sound its best. Too many tubes will not do. The debate - here as elsewhere - has turned to solid state vs. tubes. I agree that phono preamps are not the main subject of this thread, but a little discussion will not hurt. After all, the phono is a main part of making the cartridge sound good. But we should restrict this to phono stages actually listened to using the Atlas. Raul, have you heard solid state phono stages that serve the Atlas in a superior way?

All in all, with 3851 views on Audiogon and 98 posts so far (one of them calling our discussion "erudite"), I think the thread has been succesful. The group of Atlas owners / users is fairly small, but our discoveries and debates have a more general interest. Each of us are likely to be sometimes wrong, but together, we may be right.  So I look forward to more comments.

My Atlas plays very well. Recently I have bought a Spin clean washer, because I want to listen to music when I clean my records (my noisy vacuum record cleaner is in the basement, for now). Not surprisingly, the record washing results in better-sounding records. Also, for Atlas best sound and maintenance, I use the Zerodust, a light carbon brush now and then, each week, and the Lyra stylus treatment once a month or so. Demag ca every second month.

0_hotter....when you say demag every second month....you only use the Cardas (or similar) disc???    I certainly would check with Lyra if it is wise to do this.  Some high end cartridges have internal wiring that could be melted with some demag treatments.

Stingreen - sorry, did not see your post before - i use the Aesthetix Benz MC Demagnetizer. The Lyra Atlas manual says periodic fluxbusting is ok provided one follows the instructions (I do).