Stageline E - Kleos?

I demoed a LP12 with Ittok LVII arm and Kleos into a Stageline E. Sounded pretty good and seems like a match. I’ve been trying to find a good match for the Nova in a second system. I was thinking of a P6/P8 but just love the Linn sound in my main system. Hard to deviate, plus always upgrades to be had! Anything I should be thinking about? Thanks!

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On paper, the Stageline E would be the correct version to use with the Kleos. But I tried it with my Lyra Argo (similar design and output as the Kleos) and ended up replacing it with a Stageline K, which was a better match output-wise and sound quality-wise.

Can the Nova power the Stageline or do you need an external powersupply?

Thanks, i’m going to give it another good listen on Monday and make sure my ears don’t hear anything off.

The Nova can’t power the Stageline, I’ll need a separate power supply. I have one on hand, an older hi-cap ready to go! I feel as though I’m buying more than I need but also don’t want to think “what if” all the time in playing records in my room. I have been nothing but pleased over the years with my current LP12.

Go for the LP 12 it’s so much better than a Rega ,in my opinion.
Try to find a Naim Prefix for the LP12 a big step up from the Stageline ,in my opinion.
I would choose a rebuilt Linn Troika for the Ittok.

Yeah, I would agree on the prefix. I had one a while back before I picked up a superline. It was smooth. Look forward to my demo tomorrow!

Yes correctly installed Prefix has some advantages over Superline’s I have had.
Had a Lyra Delos on a LP12 /Ekos for a while but didn’t think it was so fun.

Can’t comment on the stageline, but one key to getting the best out of a Kleos (my current cartridge of choice) is eliminating as much capacitance as you can between cartridge and phono stage - low capacitance cables, etc. Jonathan Carr is very adamant about this - his position is the more capacitance, the more you need to load down the cartridge and, perforce, the more you s@ck some of the life out of it. I know I’m old school, but my best results with the Kleos involve silver (or part silver) phono cables and a step up transformer into a phono stage set up for mm with minimum capacitance.

VTA and VTF are also even more critical than usual, due to the angled magnet structure, which is one of the key elements of the design.

YMMV, etc.

PS - Seriously?! You can’t use the word ‘s-u-c-k’ in any context on this forum? To paraphrase Sigmund Freud: Sometimes a cigar is just a smoke. :disguised_face:

I have the same set up… the K goes well with the Argo

Personally I think the Kleos is well too much for a Stageline. I have this cart on a P10 tt. I would at least pair it with a Superline bare. Mine is paired with an Ear Yoshino 912 pre/ phono, which was a considerable upgrade over the Stageline / Hicap 2 I was using before with a Koetsu black, already not at the level of the Kleos.
If a dealer sells the package ( lp12/ itok / Kleos / Stageline), then I would consider an hicap dr for the Stageline.

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I agree. The Kleos is good enough it deserves a Superline spec phono stage, although the standard Kleos (0.5mV) may or may not be better with a Superline E, with the Kleos SL (0.25mV) better suited for the standard Superline, which is recommended for cartridges up to 0.5mV. @Cymbiosis would probably have good advice in that regard, since it’s right on the line between standard and E for recommended gain.

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I see there’s a superline in the maim 500 series system, and a Linn to go with it.

for a second system another deck to check out is the Well Tempered Simplex, not as plug and play as the Rega but more amenable to DIY setup than another Linn, assuming you don’t already do this yourself on the main deck. Otherwise a replinthed idler, perhaps a PTP Lenco, could be fun.

With a Nova the input from the phonostage will be digitised upon entry, how much investment is appropriate for it is something to audition but if there’s a spare hicap hanging around the Naim stages make sense. A superline E certainly but the stagelines have a bit less gain than the superlines so maybe an S or K would work.
The net can spread a bit wider if there’s no ps available and maybe include ADC output phonostages too.

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