Lyra Kleos arrives after eight months. . Worth the wait? First impressions

Raul, thank you, and I’ll keep listening for further improvement as the Lyra Kleos moves towards the fifty hour mark. Something to look forward to.

Vinylzone, hopefully the dealer who set up the cartridge achieved the "hyper-critical" setup you mentioned. He worked on setting the Lyra up for about three hours utilizing computerized and other electonic equipment to meticulously do so. It sounds like he suceeded admirably. At fifty hours I’m instructed to adjust the VTA a bit as the Lyra’s boron cantilever is supposed to flex a bit as it breaks in. Luckily the VPI Classic 2 has the "on the fly" VTA adjustment feature so that shouldn’t be too hard.

P.S. please pardon a couple typos in the initial post to this thread. I wish Audiogon would enable posts to be corrected ongoing so we don’t appear to be illiterate. 

Mike

Solypsa, you’re no doubt correct and I misremembered the reason to make the VTA adjustment. Appreciate the clarification.

Mike

Bigkidz, I wouldn’t mind upgrading the current phono-stage iin my Luxman L-507uX Mk2 integrated amp, but will likely have to wait until hitting the lottery. the Kleos plus VPI Fatboy purchase has tapped me out on equipment purcases. Its’ phono stage is set at 100 ohms for MC cartridges with no adjustments possibe. It would be interesting to be able to adjust it to the 475 ohms you prefer. Maybe someday.

Baylinor, you seem spot on identifying the types music the Kleos does best with. I’ve yet to try it on any Classical yet, so willl give it a shot straight away. It did well with some later Joni Mitchell and Laura Nyro, both Miles Davi’s "Big Fun" and "Steamin’" albums, as well as an old Deutsche Gramophine pressing of Debussy’s "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun" playing now. Some old Sam Cooke and King Crimson’s "Starless and Bible Black" weren’t anything exceptional, but some later Roxy Music material was. An old Charlie Musselwhite Chicago blues recording on Vanguard sounded great. I’ve been sampling a little of everythng as you might surmise.

Czarivey, I guess so, The Lyra Kleos seems to be opening up more over time, but not as dramatically as after the first several hours. That’s kind of how it went with my Magico A3 speakers too. We'll see how this proceeds as the fifty hour mark Raul mentioned is apprached.

Mike

Daveyf, thanks. I hope the Fatboy arm works well with the Lyra. The dealer that sold the VPI Fatboy and installed the Lyra on it certainly thought it would. VPI’s owner has used them on demos too. The dealer certainly took the time to accomplish a precise setup and thought the installation met Lyras specs in eacch regard.

I’ve tried to purchase components that all deliver a neutral, clean, uncolored and detailed sound, so hopefully synergy will be there. It would be interesting to be able to substitute some other equipment in to see if there would be more or less synergy. Out here in the boonies that’s unlikely to be able to accomplish though.

Jim, since I’ve always tried to acquire neutral components, so what you are saying seems to apply, although I wonder why that would be so. Wonder how long it might take to get your Delos back too. Might pay to contact the new Lyra rep to get an idea.

Mwiinkc, there have been multiple reports online of individuals waiting eight months or more for their Lyras to arrive, There was even a thread on one on Audiogon just a few days ago, where I advised the OP to contact the new American distribution rep for Lyra. My Lyra arrived not long after contacting that rep, perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not. At least one dealer I’m aware of announced discontinuing their line due to this issue.

Mike

Fsonicsmith I wish I’d have the same capabilitites on my Luxman integrated amp’s phono stage to make the adjustments you have tried. For better or worse those settings are fixed for either a mm or mc cartridge on my integrated amp, but that’s it.. There are no adjustments possible. Truthfully I hardly know what most of these or other specs mean anyway. I think I correctly figured out prior to purchase the 100 ohm impedance spec preset for a mc cartridge significantly limited my choice of cartridges. Glad you’re in a better situation.

Mike

Mike

Fsonicsmith, I looked up the Luxman EQ-500. It looked interesting until discovering it cost as much as the Fatboy and Lyra Kleos combined. Mind you, Audiogon folks already convinced me to double my budget to obtain a new tonearm for the Lyra, so please temper your suggestions. I’m not poor, but do have to live within my means. Of course with Christmas coming up I’d be happy to forward my address if any of you’d like to send one. Gift wrapping would be optional.

I’m curious about what they’d do to modify my integrated amp in Luxman’s service department to optimize it’s performance for the Lyra Kleos. Do you or anyone know? I did speak to someone named Jeff there right after purchasing the Luxman integrated amp. He was quite helpful as you indicate they were to you. Their products do seem to be very well engineered too, as you say, which factored heavily into purchasing one of their amps in the first place.

Dover and Karl, it would be nice to acquire a new phono stage, but honestly not in the cards right now. Maybe if the economy ever recovers it might be time to reconsider.

Mike

Dover, the Luxman 507uX MK2 has only the one Phono (MC) setting which is100 ohms. Lyra specs indicate you can go as low as 95.8 ohm with the Kleos, so at least I’m in the ballpark, albeit barely.

Mike

Thanks Jim, I have been enjoying the Kleos the way it’s set up now. No further equipment upgrades are in the offing to be able to change the load. There’s always a potential equipent uprade you can make, but at some point we all need to know when it’s time to close the wallet and enjoy what we have. That’s the current plan. 

Willy-T hopefully my current system will work well for years to come, as is as I’m tapped out far as audio expenses go, short of pan-handling on the street or the stock market starts booming. Sounds like you did well with your trans impedance phono pre though.

Mike

Nice to hear from you mijostyn, but don't think you're going to get me spend any more money on any more equipment. You've already overachieved in that department. I do like the Kleos so far and my dealer did a nice job of setting it up using all sorts of specialized equpment.

Jaco Pastorius did play on Joni Mitchells Mingus album. It's a shame he self destructed the way he did, but that's so often the case with people with mental illnesses, especially with those who self medicate with street drugs. It's a sad story and I'm glad to have retired from having to deal with it on a professional basis. 

Lewm, if I knew what I was doing I'd try opening up the Luxman integrated and make the change you suggest. Things are hopefully fine the way they are. 

Mike