Is a Lyra Kleos good with a current-mode phono preamp?


Does anyone know whether the Kleos, or Lyra's in general, work well with current-mode phono preamps?  

MF "highly recommends the $2500 Channel D Lino C2.0 phono preamplifier", but only if, "your cartridge has a super-low internal impedance."     I have a Lyra Kleos, which has an "internal Impedance: 5.4 ohms." Is that in the ballpark of, "super-low internal impedance?" What is?    

I might be tempted to try one, given the glowing reviews, which you rarely see at this price point. On the other hand, I have not had good luck paying attention to MF's reviews, educational though they sometimes are. His taste and mine do not often seem to coincide, but then, I like tubes, and don't have $100K amps or turntables or $50K preamps. Never will!  
Are there less expensive cartridges with low output impedance?   The Kleos is terrific, and dealing with Lyra was a delight, but it isn't likely I'll ever be spending over $3.7K on a cartridge again.   In a review of the Little Loco by Sutherland, also touted as a great bargain (although $4K is far from trivial, to me) I recall that one of those guys was surprised that it didn't work very well with a Lyra Delos, which has an input impedance of 8.2 ohms.  Is that not considered, "low output impedance", or was something else going on?  

What is the downside (unavoidable, given the art of trade-offs, a/k/a/ engineering) of current-mode preamps, compared to "normal" voltage amp phono preamps?  

for reference, I'm currently (hah!) using an AR PH3 SE ungraded by Great Northern with teflon caps.  Hard to improve on at a reasonable cost. 
128x128lloydc

Showing 2 responses by jperry

Google is your friend.

Compatible Phono CartridgesTransimpedance preamplifiers require a low impedance MC cartridge. A certain few MC cartridges may have trouble driving a transimpedance phono stage, and a closed-down upper octave response will result. The general rule of thumb in choosing a compatible cartridge is: the manufacturer's suggested load resistance is 100 ohms or less (e.g., 100, 50, 25, 10 ohms, etc.). Another specification is the cartridge internal impedance (which is related to, but different than the load resistance): 10 ohms or less, and the lower (e.g., 5 ohms, 2 ohms) the better. If either or both of these are true, it's likely that the cartridge will be an optimal match. If you have any questions feel free to contact us via email or phone and we'll be able to tell you if your cartridge is suitable. 
Raul,

The information I posted from Channel D has a clickable link so you you can contact Channel D, as they suggest, and ask about the compatibility of a cartridge with their phono preamp.

Best Regards,

Jim Perry