Four months on. Still totally smitten by the Kleos. Way warmer in the mids than the Delos. Very detailed, and the quietest cartridge I have ever heard in the groove. Silence until the music jumps out. I have never had a Koetsu, maybe the Kleos sounds cool and analytical compared to a Rosewood...
I have the AT ART9XI, have used 2 Lyra Delos and now have the Lyra Kleos. The Kleos is a killer, easily better than the Art9 and the Delos. Resistance is 5 ohms. Bass is great although I would not call this cartridge laid back but totally neutral. Totally blown away by this cartridge……
Since you have pretty much found your end game gear, tweaking could be the way to get that last 5 or 10 percent out of your system. Things like component support/footers, emi reduction, electrical contact enhancement, fuses, etc. The audiophile voodoo dark arts. For me the best have been:
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If you can swing it I think you will be happy. The difference is not night and day, the Delos is a great cartridge. But the Kleos does everything the Delos does just a little better. Totally worth it for me. Hopefully they will have a Lambda version of the Kleos out for my next one, the Etna is...
I never loved the Telefunkens as 12ax7 input tubes for my Rogue amp. So I’ve kind of bad mouthed them for years. But in the first gain stage for my Coincident Statement Phono Stage they are amazing! I now understand why they are so famous and beloved. They are very neutral, add no warmth or...
I believe in after market fuses and use them in various spots in my system. However, the main 5amp fuse for my Rogue Stereo 90 blows every time I try an upgraded ceramic audiophile fuse. Apparently this can happen with some amps, Acme Audio Labs for example, states that “some equipment with no...
This is a very interesting report! I have read similar reports online of people “baking“ tubes to cure gassy tubes that become noisy or have trouble holding bias. Maybe a way to extend NOS tube life.
My Coincident does use step-ups and also has volume controls (no line stage used or needed). Produces 66db of gain, more than enough for .3mv or more cartridges even with my low sensitivity Acoustats. No noise even with your ear pressed against the panels even at loud volume.
86db gain? That seems excessive, no wonder you have noise issues. Very surprising that the Io does not have adjustable gain even with the volume controls. Too much gain inevitably leads to noise.
You should consider 5751 in place of 12ax7 in the first gain stage. Gain (mu) of 70 compared to 100...
As mentioned, the first phono gain stage tubes in a phono based system make the biggest difference of any of the tubes in the system. Given the cost of your gear, the cost of the dedicated room, etc it is almost unimaginable to me that you would settle for Sovtec LPS tubes for this critical...