This is an ex-demonstration Lyra Atlas SL moving coil cartridge. It is in excellent condition and we have the original packaging and accessories. 

We originally purchased this cartridge in January 2019. It is being replaced with a new model so we are selling it. 

The SL is a special, built-to-order, version of Atlas for expert users with very high-gain, extra low noise phono stages, or alternatively a step-up transformer designed for phono cartridges of 2 - 3 ohms or less.

Some users will benefit from the regular Atlas with much higher output and considerably more energy; resulting in a much better signal-to-noise ratio. If you are in doubt about which version of Atlas that will work best in your system, please go with the regular Atlas.

The Atlas SL may provide extra pure and pristine sound from an audio system that is optimized for a low-impedance, low-output cartridge. However, this may be accompanied with a lesser level of energy and power.

Lyra nevertheless has decided to offer SL models, for those who are confident that they can extract the benefits from such a low-output MC phono cartridge.The Atlas is Lyra's flagship phono cartridge.

Why asymmetric? By literally misplacing the “barriers” to great sound that are present in every other cartridge today, a number of important performance benefits are realised.

First, different-shaped structures on the left and right sides of the cartridge body suppress the formation of standing waves within, resulting in a significant reduction of resonance-induced colorations. Second, the asymmetric construction offsets the front magnet carrier and its associated mounting system so that it is no longer in line with the cantilever assembly. This opens up a direct, solid path between the cantilever assembly and tonearm headshell so that vibrations from the cantilever can be quickly drained away once they have been converted into electrical signals, again suppressing induced resonances.

Lyra remains the only cartridge manufacturer to mount the cantilever assembly directly into the cartridge body thereby achieving a seamless, totally rigid connection between the cantilever assembly and headshell. The effectiveness of this system has been enhanced as a result of the asymmetrical structure of the Atlas. Control over spurious resonances is further assisted by the use of a narrowed mounting area, which couples the Atlas more tightly to the headshell and facilitates the transfer of vibrational energy into the tonearm.

While the Atlas retains the yokeless dual magnet system, diamond-coated boron rod cantilever and variable-radius line-contact stylus of the Titan, the rigidity of the double knife-edge cantilever assembly mounting structure has been increased, and the signal coil system is completely new. Rather than a square, the coil former is in the shape of an X, which allows each channel to operate with greater independence from the other. This gives better tracking, tighter channel matching, improved separation, and lower distortion due to crosstalk.

At the same time we were able to increase both the performance and efficiency of the generator coils. The Atlas has 12% higher output voltage than the Titan, but accomplishes this while reducing the amount of wire in the coils by 22%. This reduction in mass further improves tracking performance, while the enhanced output and electrical characteristics allow phono stages to perform more efficiently.

The Atlas uses Lyra’s “New Angle” technology, which mechanically pre-biases the signal coils so that they are perfectly aligned to the front and rear magnets when LP playback takes place. This equalises out discrepancies in vertical and horizontal compliances, and enables the Atlas’ coils to move with equal ease in all directions for optimal performance.

As with the Titan and Olympos, the hand-made Atlas uses a body that is meticulously carved from a solid billet of titanium, through a process that involves both contact (for the exterior) and non-contact machining (for the interior body structures). By making most of the Atlas’ body surfaces non-parallel (avoiding dimensions that are multiples of other dimensions), and adding a pre-stressed phase-interference resonance-controlling system, resonances have been further inhibited.