Latest new generation Lyra

Hi everyone. Thank you for your patience, and the warm comments (^o^).

We finally got some Atlas information up on our website. With certain browsers I still get the old page, while on others the new Atlas update is visible. I imagine that there may be a need to refresh/purge the cache in your browser.

The core information about the Atlas on our topmost webpage is correct, but the formatting is admittedly still crude. Incidentally, only our topmost webpage contains real information - we haven't yet been able to build the Atlas' own product page or organize all of the necessary file links yet.

A list of specifications for the Atlas will follow in a few days.

I have also been rewriting the specification lists for our other cartridges to bring them in line with how the specifications for the Atlas will be presented. However this is still a work in progress, and although the new specification lists contain far more information than the old versions, we were not able to update the text frame layouts, and I apologize if the specifications pages for some of the present cartridges (Delos, Kleos) appear misshapen.

Since I developed a more detailed electrical model for the Atlas to analyze the phono stage input loading options, I chose to apply similar models to the Delos, Kleos, Skala and Titan, and use the information to reassess our loading recommendations.

So if you look at the loading paragraphs in the specifications for the Delos, Kleos and Titan, you may notice that the recommended loading range is different from that in the user's manual or previous iterations of our web product-pages. The information on the present webpages is the latest and most accurate (since it is based on a more detailed electrical model than what was used previously), and should be regarded as superseding the information presented in the existing user's manuals or previous iterations of our web product-pages.

Note that the loading range on each cartridge specifications page only describe the extremes of phono stage input loading - maximum recommended load resistance with a 50pF capacitive load, and minimum recommended load resistance with a 600pF capacitive load, so they may not be immediately applicable for most Lyra owners.

Creating a list of loading recommendations that properly covers most of the conceivable usage scenarios involves far too much work to accomplish within a few days - literally hundreds of simulations and measurements and graphs are required per cartridge.

Although it will require some more time, I plan to "do the job right" and comprehensively update the phono stage input loading recommendations for the Delos, Kleos, Skala and Titan.

BTW, the section on phono stage input loading inside the Atlas owner's manual has been presented in a more informative yet easier-to-use manner than was the case with the Delos or Kleos. I hope that this will make it quicker and less haphazard to get the Atlas and phono stage working optimally together.

Please feel free to post any comments or questions that you may have.

Hope that everyone had a nice Christmas, and will have a wonderful New Year!

cheers, jonathan carr

Hi Jonathan, thanks I just read everything on your webpage !! Can you post here or send a private message on the retail price? I'm in the USA, so USD's...

Also, any comments on tonearms? I'm using a TriPlanar right now. I'll keep this arm, but curious at what arms you like with the Atlas....

Happy New Year !

Hi John: Hope that you are doing well.

One more day to the end of 2011! What a turbulent year it has been!

Lyra doesn't directly set the retail prices in any country. Those are decided by the local distributor.

That said, judging from how long each set of Atlas components takes to make, the component fabrication costs, how long Mishima spends building each Atlas, and also the present value of the Japanese Yen as opposed to other currencies, we are most likely talking about a retail price that is in or approaches Olympos rather than Titan territory.

My guess as to the US retail price would be $9000~9500 or thereabout.

The Titan will therefore remain in production.

Regarding associated equipment, I envision that the Atlas will be somewhat easier (than the Titan) for the phono stage - at least regarding gain and noise, but suspect that the Atlas could be more demanding of the tonearm (particularly the mechanical build aspects).

Much of the Atlas' design concept revolves around increasing mechanical rigidity and allocating escape paths for vibrational energy that are as wide, fast and unimpeded as possible. This allows the process of draining depleted vibrational energy out of the cartridge and into the tonearm to occur more effectively and efficiently.

The above is good news from the cartridge's perspective, but may turn out to be a stiffer challenge for the tonearm.

OTOH, the irregular shape of the Atlas' body helps minimize resonant peaks at specific frequencies and distributes whatever vibrational energy has been picked up more smoothly and evenly.

FWIW, I also have a TriPlanar. I am not convinced that it can extract the full potential of an Atlas (or even a Titan), but it is a relatively forgiving-sounding arm, and will most likely sound quite pleasing.

Frank Schroeder has a new zero-tracking error arm that should work quite well, and the Spiral Groove Centroid has impressed me with its overall linearity and particularly its clear pitch and note articulation in the lower octaves. I've had good results with the Phantom, but I would have to give the performance nod to the Centroid.

Other arms that I think should work well include (but by no means are limited to) Da Vinci, Basis, Continuum, Brinkmann, Micha Huber, and so on.

kind regards, jonathan

Dear Jonathan,
could you say some words to the matching of an Atlas (but also Kleos, Titan i) with Kuzma 4Point or Air Line tonearms? Maybe comparing to Phantom or Brinkmann/Breuer.
Thanks and all of you a very happy new year!!

Hi Jonathan, if you don't we might as well ask how the Atlas sounds in comparison to your others...maybe to the Skala or Titan i please. Thanks so much.

We really appreciate you taking the time to post here!