Is 60dB gain enough for Kleos?


At age 52, after years of technological philandering, I am once again courting my old vinyl flame. I just bought a VPI Classic 3 because it looks like it was built in the fifties, like me. Now I am obsessing over the selection of cartridge and phono-amp. Every man needs his irrational, unsubstantiated religious beliefs, and mine include vacuum tubes (very fifties-ish) and a transformerless signal path.

So let's say that for the moment I am enamored with the Fosgate Signature phono-amp, which having a 60dB gain without any input transformer. Now I have read that this works best with a high-output MC in the 0.8 to 1.0 mV range.

Here's the rub ... I am very intrigued by the Lyra Kleos, my fascination with which is due in no small part to the musings in these pages of J Carr himself. Alas, the Kleos has an output of only 0.5 mV. So I seek the advice of those who might have pertinent experience!

Dave
david_pully

Showing 2 responses by jwpstayman

HI Dave - the phono stage should be fine, BUT - I have tried both the Delos and Kleos in my JMW arm ( SuperScoutmaster) and have not been impressed with either. I have tried the same cartridges in gimbled tonearms and they are excellent, so I have to attribute my results with some sort of incompatibility with a unipivot ( or this particular unipivot) arm. I do know what I am doing with setup and have all the requisite tools to check and recheck the setup. Work with a dealer that offers you some recourse in case you do not care for the results on your Classic, which is an excellent table, by the way.
Bifwynne, like you, I ended up with and am very happy with the Soundsmith VPI Zephyr cartridge. Prior to the Lyra carts, I have been using a Benz Ruby 3 which I really liked but which finally wore out. The Zephyr has the best channel separation and is the least affected by surface noise of any cartridge that I have ever used and is a lot less expensive than the other cartridges as well. Instrument timber and tonality is on par with the very best also.