| New (no trade-in) | $4,395.00 |
|---|---|
| Upgrade (with trade-in) | $3,515.00 |
| Retip/exchange | $2,635.00 |
This product can only be shipped to U.S. addresses.
The Kleos MC Mono Cartridge is available by special order only.
Trade instructions: If you purchase this cartridge with a trade-in, please note when you check out your total will show the normal sale price of this item and NOT the trade-in price. However, when we process your order, you will be charged ONLY the trade-in price. When you have received your new Lyra cartridge, please carefully pack and ship your trade-in cartridge to us (see our website for address).
The Lyra Kleos takes over the proud position as Lyra's mainstay model in the heritage of Tsurugi (ca.1976), Clavis (ca.1991), Clavis D.C. (ca.1995), and Helikon (ca. 1999). Jonathan Carr's new design builds further on 'The New Angle' concept as introduced by the Lyra Delos Cartridge. The advantages are better tracking ability and a fuller, more capable, very natural sound. The Lyra Kleos main body is more massive, and the aluminum alloy used is an advanced aircraft-grade aluminum alloy with a beautiful plated finish normally only seen on expensive camera equipment.
Viewing the Lyra Kleos from the rear reveals two cylindrical elements, of a particular heavy metal, that are press-fit into the main cartridge structure. Numerous prototypes and continuous testing produced a final result where the total sonic effect of combining the two material components produced the desired results.
The Lyra Kleos also employs Lyra's latest damping system which tilts the cantilever in the rest position, but facilitates that the geometrical relation between cantilever, coils, and the main cartridge structure is perfectly aligned during play without the common playback error that most cartridges suffer from.
The Lyra Kleos is the lowest-cost Lyra cartridge to feature the full-fledged Ogura manufactured boron cantilever and coil system with the Lyra original line-contact (3x70um) stylus. This is similar to what is employed on even the most expensive Lyra models.
Nevertheless, the most important element of the Lyra Kleos is its sound. Lyra firmly believes that the Kleos is capable of extracting more information from the vinyl grooves than its predecessors, and that the reproduction of music is both more dynamic, more detailed, and more natural than the models preceding it. The Lyra Kleos will set a new standard for sonic performance at its price point.
Today there are only a small handful of master cartridge builders in the world, and Lyra's Yoshinori Michima belongs to this elite group of individuals who are capable of crafting the highest level MC transducers on the planet. His assistant Akiko Ishiyama, who has undergone several years of apprenticeship, is also involved in the building process leading to each Kleos. The Lyra Kleos is not only handmade, but each cartridge is listened to extensively and "voiced" by the master cartridge builder, like the finest musical instruments.
Lyra offers a unique combination of capable, advanced cartridge design by Jonathan Carr and complete handmade execution by the above-mentioned individuals. Investing in a Lyra Kleos will offer you an unparalleled analog experience from your stereo microgroove vinyl records!
Lyra's new Kleos cartridge is billed as a replacement for their Helikon. The Kleos is a much better-sounding cartridge in every way, including its resolution of detail, while borrowing the smoothness and midband warmth of the Skala.
The Lyra Kleos may be designer Jonathan Carr's best effort yet. Highly recommended, and without reservation.
Technical Specifications
| Designer | Jonathan Carr |
|---|---|
| Builder | Yoshinori Mishima (final build, testing), Akiko Ishiyama (preliminary build) |
| Type | Medium weight, medium compliance, low-impedance moving coil cartridge |
| Stylus | Lyra-designed long-footprint variable-radius line-contact nude diamond (3um x 70um), slot-mounted |
| Body | Nickel-plated duraluminum |
| Cantilever system | Solid boron rod with short one-point wire suspension, directly mounted into cartridge body |
| Coils | 2-layer deep, 6N high-purity copper, square-shaped chemically-purified high-purity iron former, 5.4ohm self-impedance, 9.0uH inductance |
| Output voltage | 0.25mV@5cm/sec., zero to peak, 45 degrees (CBS test record, other test records may alter results) |
| Frequency range | 10Hz ~ 50kHz |
| Compliance | Approx. 12×10-6cm/dyne at 100Hz |
| Cartridge body | One-piece machining from solid 7075 alloy billet, with reduced-surface higher-pressure headshell contact area, partially non-parallel shaping, phase-interference resonance-controlling mechanism, and body threaded directly for mounting screws |
| Cartridge mounting screws | 2.6mm 0.45 pitch JIS standard |
| Distance from mounting holes to stylus tip | 9.5mm |
| Cartridge weight (without stylus cover) | 8.8g |
| Tracking force | 1.65 ~ 1.75g (1.72g recommended) |
| Recommended load directly into MC phono input | 95.3ohm ~ 816ohm (detailed guidelines in instruction manual, finalize by listening) |
| Recommended load via step-up transformer | Use a step-up transformer designed for 1 - 3 ohms cartridge impedance (step-up transformer's output must be connected to 10kohm ~ 47kohm MM-level RIAA input, preferably via short, low-capacitance cable) |
| Recommended tonearms | Medium to Medium-High mass arms recommended, which is bulk of tonearm market |
