Description: Two-chassis preamplifier (with psu transformers in third box). Frequency range: DC–1.5MHz. Maximum output: 15V. Output impedance: 6 ohms.
Dimensions: 19" W x 12" D x 2.25" H (preamp and psu), 3.5" W x 13" D x 2" H (transformers).
Price: $4500 (1987); no longer available (2012).
Manufacturer: Krell Industries, Milford, CT 06460 (1987); Krell Industries, 45 Connair Road, Orange, CT 06477-3650 (2012). Tel: (203) 298-4010. Fax: (203) 891-2028. Web: www.krellonline.
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Sidebar: Specifications
It’s like that t-shirt you were always jealous of your friend for having. You know the one I’m talking about. It’s the one that said “Famous Guitars”, and it had drawings of Eddie Van Halen’s Frankenstein or Rick Nielsen’s multi-necked Hamer. There was also a “Famous Drumkits” one with Kreutzmann and Hart’s two-man kit or Terry Bozzio’s tom-tom explosion. Gosh, those were cool.
Well now you can be that guy but with the famous hi-fis.
At Hi-Fi Posters.com, a UK company is selling two posters: “A Visual Hi-Fi History of Turntables” and “Loudspeakers: A Visual Hi-Fi History”. Each…
It began when I reviewed the MartinLogan Montis loudspeaker (September 2012). The amplifiers I had to drive the pair of them were the PrimaLuna ProLogue Premier integrated ($2999), the Audiopax Mk.II (no longer available; the Mk.III costs $22,000), and the Simaudio Moon Evolution W-7 ($9000). The first two are tubed, with power in the 30–40Wpc range; the solid-state Simaudio puts out 150Wpc. The Audiopax, which sounds great with my Avantgarde Uno Nanos, turned out to be not such a good match for the Montises: weak in dynamics, and too soft sounding. The PrimaLuna and the Simaudio were better…
I'm in favor of saving energy, and I'm all for reducing the unnecessary wear on tubes that occurs when an amp is left on without music being played. The MC275LE's Power Save feature, which turns off the power when there's been no input signal for 30 minutes, addresses these concerns. However, like most tube electronics, the MC275LE needs to warm up before it sounds its best, and the automatic turn-off interrupts the warm-up process. After about an hour of warm-up the sound was more open and dynamic, with a better sense of space. So, unfortunately, Power Save, while good for the environment…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Two-channel, tubed stereo (switchable to parallel mono operation) power amplifier. Tube complement: four KT88, three 12AX7A, four 12AT7. Inputs: 1 pair single-ended (RCA), 1 pair balanced (XLR). Loudspeaker outputs: separate gold-plated, 5-way binding posts for 4, 8, and 16 ohms. Preamp output: 1 pair single-ended (RCA). Inputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), 1 pair single-ended (RCA). Output power: 75Wpc (18.8dBW) into 4, 8, or 16 ohms (stereo), 150W into (21.8dBW) 2, 4, or 8 ohms (mono). Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, +0/–0.5dB; 10Hz–70kHz, +0/–3dB. Signal…
John Atkinson reviewed the CEntrance DACport LX in October 2012 (Vol.35 No.10):
When I reviewed the original CEntrance DACport USB headphone amplifier in June 2010, I was impressed by what I heard. Driving Sennheiser HD-650 headphones, the DACport's high frequencies sounded silky, with plenty of air apparent and an impressive sense of space. I had used the bus-powered DACport exclusively as a headphone amplifier, but with a suitable adapter cable, the DACport could be used to drive the power amplifier in a regular speaker-based system.
Erick Lichte wrote about using the DACport in…
After filling my speaker stands with kitty litter, the bass warble tones on Stereophile’s Editor’s Choice CD were less boomy from start to finish with greater depth within each warble tone and lower frequencies not heard previously were now audible thanks to a quieter noise floor, but after weeks of warble tones, I needed some real music.
First on the platter was Bob Dylan’s John Wesley Harding which features 3-piece band orchestrations, punchy yet meandering bass lines, and anguished harmonica playing from Mr. Zimmerman. While listening, the bass player’s melodic fills on “All Along the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Single-box digital-to-analog converter with iPod dock. Formats supported: all PCM-output audio codecs (AIFF, WAV, MP3, etc.). Digital inputs: supports up to 24-bit/96kHz via USB input (galvanically isolated to reduce ground noise from computer's switching power supply); up to 24/192 via optical (2) and coax (2); iPod dock. iPod dock compatibility: iPod Touch (generations 1–2), iPod Classic (80, 120, 160GB only), iPod Nano (generations 2–5). Analog output jacks: left & right RCA. Video outputs: S-video, component (from iPod dock). Output…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Apple MacBook Pro computer (2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD) running OS 10.6.7, iTunes 10.2.2, Sonic Studio's Amarra Computer Music Player 2.2, Songbird 1.9.3, or XLD; Oppo Digital BDP-83 universal Blu-ray player; Sooloos Music Server (Control 15, 3 TwinStores); Apple iPod Touch (first generation); Benchmark DAC1 USB, Rega DAC digital processors.
Preamplifier: Marantz AV7005 (Pure Direct Mode).
Power Amplifiers: Classé CAM 350 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: MartinLogan Prodigy & Descent subwoofer (2).
Cables:…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system to measure the Peachtree iDac (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"); for some tests, I also used my vintage Audio Precision System One Dual Domain and the Miller Audio Research Jitter Analyzer. As well as driving the iDac with S/PDIF data from the Audio Precision analyzers, I used my iPod Classic 160GB, and a MacBook running Mac OS10.6.8 and Pure Music 1.8, to play test-signal files. I indicate in the text where I found significant measured differences between the…