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Home » Analog Playback» The K&K SE hybrid phono stage: a report (56 posts, 3 pages)

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09-11-2015

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Paul S
San Diego, California, USA
Posts 2,657
Joined on 10-12-2006

Post #:	51
Post ID:	21973
Reply to:	21960

At This Stage

Yesterday I listened for a few hours again, including Bruckner 7 and a new-to-me, (old) East German, "Chamber" rendition of Ein deutsches Requiem. It has been hot (for here) for several days and electricity was not so good. There were some nice musical moments, but mostly the parts were forward of the whole. There are signs that the "soundstage" will be very nice. The channel separation is more defined now, and the consequence in this case is that everything is better - if my ears are set just right. The "parts forward" thing also made it easy to do some tweaking of my tonearm, since it was fairly easy to differentiate between the cartridge and the arm. To the extent that experience can guide me through this, I will try to be patient and not make too many adjustments to "compensate" for the "raw" new parts. Back to the "soundstage"/ambience, although this has never been way up on my list of things to strive for, it is very nice to have it, especialy for "big" music. However, I still maintain that poorly done sounstage is worse than none. In the case of the K & K, every LP sounds different, and poorly done "ambience" is well noted as such, but it generally gets "separated out" of the music, like surface ticks and pops.

Paul S

11-15-2015

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Paul S
San Diego, California, USA
Posts 2,657
Joined on 10-12-2006

Post #:	52
Post ID:	22229
Reply to:	21973

Benefits from "Upgrades"

It's been some time since I've listened to my hi-fi. Today I started out with my DAC because I wanted to hear a new (to me) CD. After about 2 hours I switched to the K&K, listening first to Verde, then Brahms PCs 1 & 2. By the time I got to the 3rd movement of PC 2 the unit was warmed up and I had done some more tonearm tuning. The sound was very nice ("musical") despite not great electricity, and the musicians and the Music swept me away, to the end of the concerto. Pieces and parts, including ambience, stayed in their rightful/relative places, and the electricity noise was pretty much "separated out" of the Music. This is all I ask.

I noticed again today that can hear more (including "greater dynamic range") at lower volumes. I'll try to think about this more when I'm not caught up in the Music.

Paul S

01-07-2016

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Paul S
San Diego, California, USA
Posts 2,657
Joined on 10-12-2006

Post #:	53
Post ID:	22388
Reply to:	22229

Pay Day!

Today was dark and rainy, and the electricity was much better than I have heard it for some time. Though I have not listened a lot since I did the recent changes, the parts seem to be breaking in nicely. Today I listened first to some Brahms Intermezzos (Gould), then I put on a nice copy of the Richter/Leinsdorf version of Brahms PC2 that I love so much (last PC2 session was Cliburn). Mark M had cleaned this LP with his ultra-sonic cleaner thing-ee, and noise was pretty much limited to tape hiss. The cartridge was dialed in and I noted no mis-tracking. The K&K has definitely "gained dynamics", with bigger swings, and the soundfield is very big. All musical lines are clear without being highlighted, according to the recording. This LP is very satisfying to me, even when clearly heard as a recording, and the changes are so far all for the good of good Music. Parts at all frequencies and dynamic ranges are well balanced and available for special attention, only if desired. With the system performing as it does now, my biggest "problem" is that my room could be bigger. Unless there is some sort of unexpected reversal, I heartily recommend the full palette of "upgrades" offered by K&K as worth the effort, and certainly they are worth the minimal cost.

Paul S

05-01-2021

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Paul S
San Diego, California, USA
Posts 2,657
Joined on 10-12-2006

Post #:	54
Post ID:	26144
Reply to:	22388

V-Caps

What’s with audiophiles and their fancy, expensive capacitors, anyway? You might think I have an answer to that question, since I recently (a couple of months ago) swapped fancy new V-Caps into the output positions in my K&K phono stage. However, the only “reason” I had to do it was curiosity. In this case, I used 4.7 uF ODAM caps “bypassed” by .1 uF CU/Teflon caps. Although this resulted in fewer uFs than I had before, yet I now get more, more articulate, and lower LF, including more under tones, and the sound field is “more realistic”, with more and generally quieter “space”, especially “depth”, and better focused and localized sound in that space. And that’s about it. Was it “worth it"? I guess. I’m not switching the old (SoniCap) caps back in, that’s for sure.>>

Paul S

08-20-2021

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Paul S
San Diego, California, USA
Posts 2,657
Joined on 10-12-2006

Post #:	55
Post ID:	26285
Reply to:	26144

Less "Splashy"

I've noticed for a while now that my phono stage sounds less "splashy" since I swapped in the V-Caps, and the truth is, I kind of miss the splash, as it carried through to tonal colors, and it was low enough that it mostly made the Music "more colorful". Massed violins and other massed high frequency instruments are more coherent and they are clearer now, and less trouble telling instruments apart, but... I did like that "splash" sometimes.

Paul S

05-15-2024

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Paul S
San Diego, California, USA
Posts 2,657
Joined on 10-12-2006

Post #:	56
Post ID:	27381
Reply to:	26285

RIP, Kevin Carter

I just saw a post in memory of Kevin Carter, who passed away early February this year. I guess I was not the only person who enjoyed talking with him and doing audio business with him. I think quite a few people who visit this forum got Luhndal transformers from him. I have had his Maxxed SE phono stage for many years, and I will probably keep it for the rest of my life. Strange-But-True Trivia: Kevin completed his PhD at Oregon State Univ. during a time that I lived with my family in Corvallis, OR, while my wife was getting her MA in education at OSU. Even weirder, Kevin got his BS at UC Riverside, where my wife went for her first 2 years of college.

Sorry to hear this news.

Paul S

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