Lyra's flagship moving coil: a solid titanium, asymmetrical body and a refined Lambda suspension that combine full-scale dynamics with very fine resolution.
The Atlas sits at the top of Lyra's range, and almost everything about it is aimed at controlling resonance. The body is machined from a single billet of solid titanium. Its surfaces are deliberately non-parallel and asymmetrical, so vibration from the groove isn't stored and reflected back into the signal. Inside, a yokeless dual-magnet system drives coils set to Lyra's "New Angle" geometry. The coils are pre-angled so that they line up exactly with the magnetic field once tracking force is applied. The Lambda update, introduced in 2020, adds a redesigned suspension and damper system that Lyra says improves clarity and resolution. A diamond-coated solid boron cantilever carries Lyra's own variable-radius line-contact nude diamond.
Stereophile's reviewer found the Lambda cleaner and more resolving in the treble than the original Atlas, with the same bass power and slam. He also noted a more natural beauty to its sound, without any softening or added color. Stereophile's earlier review of the Atlas SL also singled out its bass impact, grip, speed and slam. It needs a rigid, high-quality tonearm with adjustable anti-skate (VTA adjustment is a plus). At 11.6 g it is a heavier cartridge, so check your arm's counterweight range. It also needs a quiet MC phono stage with about 60 dB of gain or more, or a step-up transformer. The Atlas Lambda SL halves the output for very high-gain, low-noise systems. The Atlas Lambda Mono is built for mono LPs.
| Type | Low-output moving coil (MC), medium compliance |
| Output | 0.56 mV (5 cm/s, 45°) |
| Internal impedance | 4.2 Ω |
| Recommended load | 104–887 Ω direct into MC input; 5–15 Ω via step-up transformer |
| Tracking force | 1.65–1.75 g (1.72 g recommended) |
| Compliance | Approx. 12 × 10⁻⁶ cm/dyne at 100 Hz |
| Weight | 11.6 g |
| Stylus | Lyra variable-radius line contact, nude diamond (3 × 70 µm), slot-mounted |
| Cantilever | Diamond-coated solid boron rod |
| Frequency range | 10 Hz – 50 kHz |
| Channel separation | 35 dB or better at 1 kHz |
| Body | One-piece machined solid titanium, asymmetrical; threaded mounting holes (2.6 mm) |
| Also available | Atlas Lambda SL (lower output) and Atlas Lambda Mono |
Pearl Audio is an authorized Lyra dealer. Call or visit our Portland showroom to talk about matching a cartridge to your tonearm and phono stage.
