Season 5, episode 2, starts the new year off with a bang. In these next few weeks, we are taking a deep dive into the world of SOTA analog vinyl playback. Having had 20+ years of experience owning and listening to a multitude of decks, tonearms and cartridges, I have gained the perspective to understand what it takes to design and manufacture reference level analog gear.
In today's first episode of this new series, we take a first look at the SAT LM-09 x Lyra Atlas Lambda cartridge combination, which sells for a whopping $54,000. Just who is Mark Gomez and what's he built here?
00:00 - Intro
02:25 - All analog, a new series!
03:16 - First episode, the mighty SAT LM-09 tonearm + Lyra Atlas Lambda
04:36 - Perspective is the mother of all clarity
06:20 - Vinyl rips for you to hear! Link in description box below!
07:11 - A history of DK’s turntables, arms and cartridges!
08:52 - Analog Academy 101 - get your pencils ready to study!
14:25 - SAT introduction, Marc Gomez!
Don't forget to download and listen to the 2 linked files in my Dropbox, showing off the Kuzma Safir x Lyra Atlas Lambda and the SAT LM-09 x Lyra Atlas Lambda.
🎧 The 2 music selections, in no particular order are:
Flamenco Sketches, off Kind Of Blue, UHQR 45rpm
Way Down Deep, Jennifer Warnes, IMPEX Green vinyl
Each of the 4 files have been created with the Tascam DA-1000 at 24/96 resolution, level matched to -6dbFS and uploaded to Dropbox. Tracking force for both the SAT and Safir mounted Lyra Atlas Lambda is 1.64g, analog phono, Mola Mola Lupe, 62db of gain, 650 Ohm resistance, standard RIAA curve.
Which is which, can you tell? Knock yourself out!
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/nct5m8pkc6d6qllhfd2np/ANABWuh7BJR422mCtYE9ljM?rlkey=629h1uktzs1j4cdmfnu16ye99&st=z6a8jebb&dl=0
Available in North America through Mibs Distro:
https://mibsdistro.com
💰 Suggested retail price:
SAT LM-09 $40,050
Lyra Atlas Lambda $13,195
https://swedishat.com/lm
https://lyraanalog.com
🎻 Equipment currently setup in Studio A:
EMMlabs MTRS, solid state stereo amplifier https://www.emmlabs.com
EMMlabs DS-EQ1, optical cartridge "energizer" x 2
EMMlabs Pre, pre-amplifier
EMMlabs DA2i, Streamer + DAC
Kuzma XL Air + Safir, turntable + arm https://www.kuzma.si
Bergmann Galder Signature + Odin, turntable + arm https://bergmannaudio.com
ReVox H1 Cassette tape deck
Telefunken M15A reel to reel tape machine x 2
Nagra IV-S reel to reel tape machine https://www.nagraaudio.com
Wilson Audio Sasha V https://www.wilsonaudio.com
Wilson Audio Loke x 2
DeVore Fidelity O/96 https://devorefidelity.com
SonoruS Audio proximity bass controller https://sonorusaudio.com
Tascam DA1000, A/D converter + digital recorder
QNAP 8 bay 32TB NAS
Tidal, Apple Music streaming services
Audirvana Studio media playback app https://audirvana.com
eero Pro 6 WiFi network
🎼 Cables used in Studio A:
Black Cat Cable https://blackcatcable.com
Graceline L3, speaker + interconnect
LessLoss C-MARC Classic power cables https://www.lessloss.com
🔈 Music used for evaluation -
Courtney Pine - Journey To The Urge Within
Arooj Aftab - Night Rein
Joaõ Gilberto - Ao Vivo
Amira Medunjanin - Damar
Boris Blank - Resonance
Trevor Horn - Echoes
Eva Cassidy - The Best Of
Fluxion - Traces
Placebo - S/T
David Murray - Plumb
Willie Nelson - The Border
Yosi Horikawa - Spaces
Einstürzende Neubauten - Rampen
📝 About SonicFlare
Danny Kaey has been a published audio and HiFi reviewer for almost 25 years in online and printed publications in the US, Canada and Europe. In the hobby for over 40 years, his tastes have varied through the decades, though now have settled for what music is all about: dynamics, slam, resolving power and tonality. DK believes that like many personally experienced tastes, there are many flavors to HiFi, though in all cases HiFi should aim to replicate music as closely as possible.
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#audio #music #hifi #stereo #records #sonicflare
Thanks so much for watching this episode, Have I finally found my golden super amp? Cheers!