Oracle Audio Thalia Phono Cartridge

The Oracle Audio Thalia is a high-output moving coil cartridge, designed and voiced for Oracle by Albert Lukaschek of Benz Micro in Switzerland. It produces 2.5 mV from a pure iron cross coil and carries a nude line-contact diamond on a 0.28 mm solid boron cantilever, inside a vented, machined ebony body. Oracle recommends a load anywhere from 1,000 to 47,000 ohms.

Oracle has built turntables in Canada since 1979, and the Thalia and its two siblings extend that line to the cartridge. The Thalia is the high-output member of the family, and it shares its body, cantilever, stylus and 9.6 gram weight with the low-output Corinth.

"The Thalia is a high-output moving-coil cartridge while the Corinth is a low-output moving-coil cartridge tuned for higher-end phono stages. They are known for their warmth, precision and their musicality."

Key Features of the Oracle Audio Thalia

• Designed and Voiced in Switzerland: Albert Lukaschek of Benz Micro designed and voiced the Thalia for Oracle
• High Output, 2.5 mV: Measured at 3.54 cm/s from a pure iron cross coil with a 95 ohm internal impedance
• Vented Ebony Body: Machined from ebony wood and vented
• 0.28 mm Solid Boron Cantilever: A solid boron rod carries the stylus, the same specification Oracle uses on all three of its cartridges
• Nude Line-Contact Diamond: Mirror polished, with a 3 x 60 µm tip radius
• Wide Load Range: Oracle recommends anywhere from 1,000 to 47,000 ohms
• Channel Separation Better Than 35 dB: At 1 kHz, with channel balance better than 0.5 dB and a 20 Hz to 20 kHz response within ±1 dB
• Built for Medium to High Mass Tonearms: 15 µm/mN dynamic compliance and 1.7 to 2.0 grams of tracking force
• Two-Year Warranty: Oracle covers manufacturing defects for two years

Who Makes Oracle's Cartridges?

Benz Micro, in Switzerland. Oracle says the Thalia and Corinth were designed and voiced for Oracle by Albert Lukaschek of Benz Micro, and Oracle credits Benz Micro Switzerland with the design of all three of its cartridges. Oracle calls the Thalia a high output, high precision moving coil.

What Makes the Thalia a High-Output Moving Coil?

A 2.5 mV rating. The Thalia's pure iron cross generator produces 2.5 mV at 3.54 cm/s with a 95 ohm internal impedance. The Corinth is built on the same ebony body, boron cantilever and diamond but produces 0.4 mV at 12 ohms, which is why Oracle calls one a high-output and the other a low-output moving coil.

More output lets the phono stage run at a lower gain setting, and Oracle's PH100 manual asks owners to use the lowest gain setting that gives a comfortable level. For a moving coil between 1.0 and 3.0 mV, Oracle's PH100 manual suggests its 52 dB setting, and the manual for the PH200 MkIII suggests 52 dB for 1.5 to 3.0 mV. Both keep their lowest setting (41.5 dB on the PH100, 42 dB on the PH200) for moving magnets. Oracle's recommended load for the Thalia runs from 1,000 ohms up to 47,000 ohms, the value both phono stages use for moving magnet cartridges.

What Is the Thalia Made Of?

Ebony, boron and diamond. The body is vented, machined ebony wood; the cantilever is a solid boron rod 0.28 mm in diameter; and the stylus is a nude line-contact diamond, mirror polished, with a 3 x 60 µm tip radius. The whole cartridge weighs 9.6 grams and sits at a 20 degree vertical tracking angle.

Oracle uses the same cantilever and stylus on all three of its cartridges, the Corinth Reference included. What changes up the line is the body and the generator: the Thalia and Corinth share ebony and a pure iron cross coil, while the Corinth Reference moves to zebrawood and a square ruby jewel coil plate.

Which Tonearms Suit the Thalia?

Medium to high mass arms. Oracle rates the Thalia's dynamic compliance at 15 µm/mN and recommends 1.7 to 2.0 grams of tracking force, with 1.7 to 1.8 grams as the optimum. At a 2 gram tracking force it tracks 80 µm at 315 Hz, and the cartridge weighs 9.6 grams.

Set the vertical tracking angle to 20 degrees. Oracle gives an optimum working temperature of 23°C (73°F) and a break-in period of 40 hours, and rates the frequency response at 20 Hz to 20 kHz within ±1 dB.

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Oracle Audio Thalia Specifications