Lyra Kleos SL Moving Coil Cartridge
The Kleos SL is a high-end, custom-built version of the Kleos moving coil cartridge designed for audio experts with powerful phono preamps. It utilises Lyra's "New Angle" technology to optimise coil alignment for superior sound quality and boasts a robust, multi-material chassis to minimize resonance. The Kleos SL features a hand-crafted line contact stylus and premium components for exceptional detail, clarity, and natural tonal balance.
Category Cartridges
Country Japan
Manufacturer Lyra
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Designer
Jonathan CarrBuilder
Yoshinori Mishima (final build, testing), Akiko Ishiyama (primary build)Type
Medium weight, medium compliance, low-impedance moving coil cartridgeStylus
Lyra-designed long-footprint variable-radius line-contact nude diamond (3um x 70um), slot-mountedCantilever system
Solid boron rod with short one-point wire suspension, directly mounted into cartridge bodyBody
Nickel-plated duraluminumCoils
Single layer, 6N high-purity copper, square-shaped chemically-purified high-purity iron former, 2.7ohms self-impedanceOutput voltage
0.5mV@5cm/sec., zero to peak, 45 degrees (CBS test record, other test records may alter results)Frequency range
10Hz ~ 50kHzChannel separation
Greater than 30dB at 1kHzCompliance Approx.
12×10-6cm/dyne at 100HzCartridge 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 screwsCartridge mounting screws
2.6mm 0.45 pitch JIS standardDistance from mounting holes to stylus tip
9.5mmCartridge weight (without stylus cover)
8.8gTracking force
1.65g – 1.75g (1.72g recommended)Recommended load directly into MC phono input
Detailed guidelines in instruction manual, finalise by listeningRecommended 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 -
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Kleos SL Moving Coil Cartridge
The Kleos SL is a special, built-to-order, version of Kleos for expert users with very high-gain, extra low noise phono stages, or alternatively a step-up transformer designed for phono cartridges of 2 – 3 ohms or less.
Description
Although many MC cartridges have good performance, their sound is held back by how they are designed. The problem is, the signal coils should have the same angle as the magnetic circuit during playback, but MC cartridges are typically designed so that the opposite happens – applying normal tracking force pushes the coils out of alignment. This impairs coil sensitivity and linearity, and reduces sound quality.
Lyra’s “New Angle” technology solves this fundamental problem by compensating for how the signal coils are affected by vertical tracking forces, and optimally aligning the coils when it matters most – during playback. Introduced on our entry-level Delos, the New Angle technology enables the Delos to perform well above its pricepoint.
But being audiophiles, we wanted to achieve the next higher level – which is the new Kleos. Building on New Angle technology, the Kleos innovates with a stronger chassis machined from aircraft-grade alloys, narrowed mounting area to improve energy transfer, and pre-stressed construction combining multiple materials with non-parallel surfaces to inhibit internal body resonances. The fully hand-made Kleos also has a Lyra-designed line contact stylus and platinum-plated output pins, achieving an exceptionally quiet noise-floor with superior immediacy, resolution and tracking, wide dynamic range and explosive transients, plus a warmer and natural tonal balance. The Kleos is a high-value cartridge that surpasses the sound quality of substantially more expensive cartridges.
