Hi David:
Regarding suitable gain of a phono stage for the Kleos, I'd normally suggest 63dB or more, although if you have a high-gain preamp, power amp, or quite efficient speakers, 60dB may be enough (as J. Frech has suggested).
For lower-gain phono stages, I'd suggest the higher-output Delos, which is a better-sounding, better-performing cartridge than the more expensive Helikon (now discontinued).
One thing worth mentioning is that the phono stage design is very important to the perception of surface noise - a phono stage designed to have good high-frequency overload margin and linear, low-distortion in the ultrasonic region will usually sound quieter.
As I mentioned to your question in the other thread, I have used or set up the Kleos on various unipivots like Grahams, Audiocrafts, Moerchs, Spiral Grooves and whatnot, but haven't encountered any problems that I could pin down to unipivots as a category.
kind regards, jonathan carr
Regarding suitable gain of a phono stage for the Kleos, I'd normally suggest 63dB or more, although if you have a high-gain preamp, power amp, or quite efficient speakers, 60dB may be enough (as J. Frech has suggested).
For lower-gain phono stages, I'd suggest the higher-output Delos, which is a better-sounding, better-performing cartridge than the more expensive Helikon (now discontinued).
One thing worth mentioning is that the phono stage design is very important to the perception of surface noise - a phono stage designed to have good high-frequency overload margin and linear, low-distortion in the ultrasonic region will usually sound quieter.
As I mentioned to your question in the other thread, I have used or set up the Kleos on various unipivots like Grahams, Audiocrafts, Moerchs, Spiral Grooves and whatnot, but haven't encountered any problems that I could pin down to unipivots as a category.
kind regards, jonathan carr