After plugging the Komris in and turning them on, then lighting up the Klimax amps on their cut-to-size and amazingly effective Silent Running stands, Morris tweaked the speakers' positions with music. They wound up about a foot farther back…
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With four sets of binding posts, the possibility exists for one connection plus the supplied jumpers, or quadwiring, which I used. You can also biamp/biwire with one amp driving the upper base and midrange units, the other the tweeter and supertweeter. And last, you could run a quad-amped setup with one amp for each driver. Ah, da life o' Reilly!
I was a little wrung out from that listening session. I'd not heard vinyl offer so much speed and energy, so much get-up'n'go, while retaining the resonating beauty of a lightly stroked cello playing Boccherini on Virtuoses Cello to the synth riffs on Autobahn.
Time for a little CD. How about upsampling The Timekeepers: Count Basie Meets Oscar Peterson (JVC JVCXR-0206-2)? When I play this disc, I automatically head for track 3, "Rent Party." I love to listen to it so much I can't stand it! Akira Taguchi and Alan Yoshida have been doing wonders with their XRCDs, but I've never heard this…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Five-way, sealed-box, floorstanding loudspeaker with "Active Bass Servo" powered woofers. Drive-units: ¾" polymer-dome supertweeter, 1" polymer-dome tweeter, 5" polymer-dome midrange unit, 4" polymer-cone upper-bass driver, two 10" polypropylene-cone woofers powered by dedicated 1500W amplifiers. Frequency response: 20Hz-28kHz, ±3dB, 10Hz-40kHz, -6dB. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Sensitivity: 87dB/m.
Dimensions: 45.8" (1163.5mm) H by 16.5" (420mm) W by 20.5" (520mm) D. Weight: 176 lbs (80kg) each.
Finishes: maple, black, cherry.
Serial…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Forsell Air Force One turntable and tonearm, van den Hul Grasshopper Gold IV cartridge.
Digital source: Accuphase DP-100 transport and DC-101 D/A converter, dCS Purcell D/D converter, dCS Elgar Plus D/A converter, Linn CD12 CD player.
Preamplifiers: Lamm L2, Mark Levinson No.32 Reference.
Power amplifiers: Krell FPB 350mc and Linn Klimax Mono 500 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: JMlab Utopia.
Cables: Interconnect: Synergistic Research Designer's Reference Discrete and Active Shielding, TARA The One ISM Onboard, Cardas Golden…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Like the massive Snell XA Reference loudspeaker, also reviewed in this issue, the Linn Komri was too bulky to lift off the ground for the usual set of quasi-anechoic measurements I take with the DRA Labs MLSSA system. The presence of a floor reflection will therefore limit the farfield measurements' resolution in the midrange. However, I was able to lift the 176-lb Komri (but not the 210-lb Snell!) onto my Outline speaker turntable, so I could examine its off-axis behavior in detail.
I estimated the Komri's voltage sensitivity to be just under 87dB(B)/2.…
Sidebar 4: Manufacturer's Comment
Editor: Thanks for a most professional review. Yes, the Komri is a very difficult load. This is a side effect of the 4k array being operated as a four-way passive system. It requires a power amplifier capable of operating into a low impedance. The cabinet was engineered to be extremely dead, as measured, hence some of the weight. The upper bass driver has a first-order crossover so, as measured, it slightly overlaps the bass-system rolloff. Any more than a first-order high-pass on this driver introduces an excessive rate of phase change, and this slight…
The French-made Kora line has been in and out of American distribution over the past decade. It's currently imported by Norman AV of Aventura, Florida. With the window of opportunity open again, I decided to listen to Kora's modestly priced hybrid integrated amplifier, the Explorer 150SB ($2030).
Two grand gets you a microprocessor-controlled, remote-controlled integrated amp featuring two tubes, a 6922 and a 12BH7, coupled to a MOSFET output rated at 100Wpc into 8 ohms and 150Wpc into 3 ohms. The 150SB offers four line-level inputs, a tape-monitor loop, and direct access to the…
The Explorer 150SB avoided the mediocrity trap by committing a few minor, well-chosen acts of omission along with its many good deeds, the latter including rhythmic agility, soundstage organization, and three-dimensional imaging. The Kora's shortcomings were a minor hollowed-out midband coloration that actually contributed to the sound's focus even as it shortchanged the overall harmonic palette, and cut bloom off at the stem—sort of like the sound you get if you make a shallow spectral V with a graphic equalizer. The Kora's dynamic expression was somewhat muted, but while it couldn't scale…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Remote-controlled hybrid integrated amplifier with a tubed preamplifier section and MOSFET power section. Tube complement: one 6922 dual triode, one 12BH7 dual triode. Output power: 100Wpc into 8 ohms (20dBW), 150Wpc into 4 ohms (18.75dBW). Maximum preamplifier gain: 20dB. Measured power amplifier gain: 21.5dB. Input impedance: 100k ohms. Frequency range: 0.2Hz–200kHz (no limits given). Distortion: <0.3% at full power, 3dB feedback.
Dimensions: 18" (460mm) W by 5.2" (130mm) H by 14.4" (370mm) D. Weight: 28.6 lbs (13kg).
Serial number of…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Simon Yorke S7, Brinkmann Balance turntables; Immedia RPM, Graham 2.2, Brinkmann 10.5 tonearms; Lyra Titan & Helikon mono, London Jubilee cartridges.
Digital Sources: Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista SACD/CD player, Alesis Masterlink CD recorder.
Preamplification: Manley Steelhead, Whest PhonoStage .20, Musical Fidelity kW phono preamplifiers; Musical Fidelity kWp preamplifier.
Power Amplifier: Musical Fidelity kW monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson WATT/Puppy 7, MAXX Series 2.
Cables: Phono: Cardas Neutral Reference, Audience…