But there was a fly in the ointment. My system wasn't state-of-the-art by any stretch, but it was reasonably transparent. With the AR remote in the circuit, it…
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About a decade ago, I read in Stereophile about the SRC, an add-on remote-control unit manufactured by Acoustic Research. I bought one the next day ('swhat happens when you work across the street from a hi-fi shop). Suddenly I was able to make incremental changes in volume and balance from my listening position—and let me tell you that that's the way to do it. What a phenomenal difference in realistic dynamics and soundstaging.
Are the changes revelatory? For the most part, no. It has become an audio truism that we can have profound experiences with poorly reproduced performances precisely because we don't require ultimate resolution in order to emotionally connect. But all things being equal, the closer you get to actually being there, the less you have to work at experiencing the musical gestalt. Listening to the Krell gets you mighty close indeed.
Speaking of getting close, couldn't I get even closer if I eliminated all of the KRC-HR's circuitry and went direct from a high-quality variable output source like…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Specifications: Solid-state, remote-controlled, full-function line-level preamplifier with seven inputs, including one tape-loop, two balanced XLR, and four single-ended RCA. Gain: Switchable, 6 or 12dB. S/N ratio: 96dB unweighted. THD: <0.01% at 1kHz, <0.01% at 20kHz. Input impedance: 47k ohms. Output impedance: 5 ohms. Maximum output: 14V.
Dimensions: 19" W by 14.5" D by 2.5" H, preamplifier; 11" W by 9" D by 2.5" H, power supply.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 23-85964.
Price: $6900; Standard Phono Module adds $650, Reference Phono Module…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Front-End: KPS-20i/l, Theta Data Basic II/Theta DS Pro Basic IIIa.
Analog Front-End: Linn Sondek LP12 w/Naim Armageddon power supply/Naim ARO tonearm/Naim Prefix/HiCap phono section; Well Tempered Reference Turntable/van den Hul Grasshopper cartridge.
Power Amplifiers: Ayre V3, Conrad-Johnson Premier Eleven A, Conrad-Johnson Premier Twelve, Krell KSA-300S; Krell Audio Standard.
Speakers: Aerial Acoustics 10T, Martin-Logan SL-3, Wilson WATT/Puppy 5.1.
Cables: Kimber KCAG interconnect, XLO Type 3.1 Signature balanced interconnect, MIT…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Unless otherwise noted, the measurements presented are for balanced operation. Unless otherwise stated, the line-level gain switch was set at normal.
Line-stage voltage gain measured a sensible 11dB, balanced, and 4.9dB, unbalanced (16.9dB and 10.8dB, respectively, with the high gain switch engaged). The output impedance of the Krell KRC-HR measured an extremely low 3.2 ohms balanced, 1.7 ohms unbalanced in the left channel (3.5 ohms and 2.0 ohms, respectively, in the right). The input impedance measured 101.6kohms, left and 97.4kohms, right, balanced (47.…
Sidebar 4: The Krell Audio Standard power amplifier
The scene: Larry Archibald's last New Year's Eve party. Larry was mixing records and CDs into a set orchestrated to take his guests from smoldering tension to full-blown dancing frenzy just as the year changed. His living room is huge, and his speakers are the power-hungry Thiel CS-5is, powered on this occasion by the Krell Audio Standards. By 11:30, Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" had packed the dance floor. JA and I stood atop the three stairs that lead down to the living room, watching while Larry tweaked the volume just a leetle…
WP wrote again about the KRC-HR in December 1996 (Vol.19 No.12):
Comparing Conrad-Johnson's Premier Fourteen to the superb Krell KRC-HR that I reviewed in October, a preamplifier that costs nearly $3000 more, I was struck by how close the best solid-state and tube products now sound to one another. The Krell was certainly as silent and as dynamic as the C-J, but the Premier 14 was a soundstaging wonder—an area where I felt the Krell fell short in comparison. Surprisingly—to me, anyway—the C-J conceded nothing to the Krell in HF or low-end extension, areas where the best solid-state…
I've recently been rereading Mark Lane's and Donald Freed's 1970s screenplay cum novel, Executive Action, which develops the theory that John F. Kennedy was assassinated by a conspiracy between organized crime, expatriate Cuban Batistists, and Eisenhower's "military-industrial complex." Long predating Oliver Stone's JFK, the book is fascinating, convincing stuff, from authors who had done considerable research into what really happened in November 1963. But, like all conspiracy theories, it falls down on the hard rock of reality: the more people and organizations are involved in a conspiracy…
The spirit moved upon the earth.
The rocks cra'ked asunder,
Darkness smote the light,
Seas boiled away with a thought,
And all life was extinguished.
The rocks cra'ked asunder,
Darkness smote the light,
Seas boiled away with a thought,
And all life was extinguished.
[Scattered applause, mild mumbling; a disembodied (see below) voice calls out.]
Voice: So what are you going to do for an encore?
Tough crowd—but that's nothing compared to the pickiness of audiophiles. Ask anyone who's ever designed and marketed a preamplifier to end all preamplifiers.
Ask Conrad-Johnson, who designed and delivered the Anniversary Reference Triode (ART) for their 20th anniversary back in 1998…
"Polypropylene caps have about [1%] the dielectric absorption of cheap capacitors. Polystyrene caps are two or three times better than that—and the Teflon parts we use in the ACT2 are fractionally better than polystyrene, although at a substantial increase in cost. The same is true with resistors—the off-the-shelf models used in mass-manufactured products cost fractions of a cent, whereas the Vishay resistors we use cost several dollars each. We use 24 in the volume control alone, and another 40 throughout the circuits. That adds up. But they're worth the price, because we haven't found…