We glanced into Oracle's room to see what was new. We'd seen the Delphi, we'd seen the CD 1500 and CD 2500 before. "Nothing new?" we asked.

Actually, yes: the Thalia moving coil cartridge ($1500). It was voiced to be used in a Delphi Mk V turntable, fitted with an Oracle/SME 345 tonearm feeding an Oracle Temple phono section.

The Thalia's body is ebony, the cantilever is boron, and the output 2.5mV. "We voiced it to be warm and have lots of body without sacrificing Oracle's traditional speed and detail," said Rusty Taub.

Based on what we heard coming out of the Usher B-10s, they succeeded.