Skala or Kleos?

I just did. I had a Nighthawk previously for a year or so, and a Vendetta for many years before that. Time marches on! The Jasmine is really very nice.

I can't offer an opinion in response to your question, but I have been using a Delos for about 5 months now and can't say enough about how good its sounds. Since you have a nicer cartridge than mine, and also a Lyra, I will ask if you use their SPT liquid on it regularly?
I was very skeptical about this tiny bottle of liquid that costs $40, until recently when I had some extra coin in my pocket and wanted to try it.
I can honestly say that the improvement in sound when applying it to the stylus is not small. One thing I had become keenly aware of since buying the Delos is how much surface noise it picks up in comparison to my previous Van den hul cartridge. But when I apply the SPT to it the surface noise is greatly reduced. I also notice an increase in detail and overall "buttery" musical sound. This is not why I bought it though. The real reason was because I was worried about my stylus wearing out (I have 200-300 hours on it by now). The claim from Lyra is that applying this liquid before playing a record extends the life of the stylus. Based on the reduced surface noise I can believe this claim is true. It seems to serve as a lubricant to the stylus to reduce the friction.
I really love my Lyra Delos cartridge. I sometimes think about moving further up their line but for now I am so satisfied with what I have that I just want to make sure it keeps sounding as great as it does.

Snack, yes I do use the SPT. I got a bottle with my Skala. I would guess I use it every other record.

Every Audiophile will have his own kind of rating, what fits for one, doesn't
for the next. I go for performance, to get the most information out of the
groove, others look for a "sound" which fits probably best for their
taste or the System in general. The Kleos is imo not the Highlight in
Performance, instead it is silent in the grooves and a good match for very
analytical sounding Systems. Nice to listen to but hardly the right one when you
want to know what the magic is about with Mercury Living Stereos. It has a
healthy output which is a good match for Phonostages with limited gain or
channel separation. Definitely more silent with noisy reissues than other Lyra
cartridges. I think, it is based on the diamond they use for it.
The Skala is better in overall Performance, based on its Body it is also not so
critical to Tonearms (energy transfer). Today we live in an era, where every new
products gets raves (... best sounding unit ever made, better than 3x so
expensive ones which were the Standard .... endless work inside... and so on). I
know owners which are very happy with it (until the next change is ready to go,
only then you can read what 'problems' the former one had ...). Overall I think,
the Skala is a very good cartridge which works very good in a wide range of Set
Ups.

Hi Syntax:

>Every Audiophile will have his own kind of rating, what fits for one, doesn't for the next.

This is often true.

>I go for performance, to get the most information out of the groove,

So do I.

>Nice to listen to but hardly the right one when you want to know what the magic is about with Mercury Living Stereos.

Perhaps in your system. Not in mine. Nor in other high-quality systems that I have played the Kleos.

>It (Kleos) has a healthy output which is a good match for Phonostages with limited gain or channel separation.

Although the Kleos has a healthy output, it is bit less than the Delos, and benefits more from a higher-quality phono stage.

>Definitely more silent with noisy reissues than other Lyra cartridges. I think, it is based on the diamond they use for it.

The Kleos and Skala use the same stylus shape. The lower noise floor of the Kleos is primarily due to how the body is designed, and the different damping system.

>The Skala is better in overall Performance.

In my experiences, the Skala can be more impressive in certain areas such as transient attack and macro dynamics. OTOH, the Kleos has better timbre, and a wider dynamic range overall.

The Delos, Kleos and Skala can all work very well in many systems, but of the three, I would say that the Kleos is the most versatile. Some listeners may very well prefer the Delos or Skala, but IME this is due to system compatibility and personal preference - not quality.

>Today we live in an era, where every new products gets raves (... best sounding unit ever made, better than 3x so expensive ones which were the Standard .... endless work inside... and so on).

Cynicism may be occasionally justified, but not when pragmatic logic dictates otherwise. Sales of lower-priced products earn a company less than equivalent-volume sales of its higher-priced models. Why would the company promote a cheaper new product unless it honestly feels that the performance is as-good or superior to its higher-priced models?

But if your promotional efforts help sustain Skala sales at a higher volume than Kleos sales, I'm certainly not going to complain! (grin)

hth, jonathan carr