Archguy
Official Roiurama Factory Rep
New Krell amplifiers come from Southeast Asia and cost less than $200, right? Just checking
Anyway, the new device discussed here arrived on Saturday. Looking sharp!
Naturally, before hooking it up I had to open it to see if there was any obvious damage, loose connections etc from travelling from the far side of the globe. (It was shipped from Singapore.)
Also to see if it resembled the photos in the listing...
Fortunately everything looked okay. A question about this next photo:
What's the clear plastic gasket-like thing surrounding each Motorola transistor? Transistors get so hot, why would there be plastic? I also note that one is sort of cruddy as though it were used, just as in the listing photo! (See other thread)
This is what I like to see on the back of an amplifier (or even a pre-amp) -- as little as possible. This one doesn't even say which speaker terminals are R/L (although the interior view makes it clear). Fortunately it does say 110v and I say 'fortunate' because they supplied a Euro 240v plug with the thing. That might have had me worried otherwise.
I have a transformer for one of my Japanese amps which cuts my household current from 120 (actually averages 121.6) to 100v and I'd like one which bucks from 120 to 110. Recommendations invited.
It's a neat-looking device, heavy like a brick and seems to be pretty close to the 1969 John Linsley Hood design, if not perfectly so. YouTube vids add little imho, but I've made one anyway. It's not as though you can judge the sound that way.
Oh yeah, the sound. I'm pretty impressed from just a few hours' listening. It's rich and full, yet clean and detailed in the upper registers. Playing it through my Infinity Kappas (in vid) there is nonetheless a bothersome boominess in the mid-bass. It's definitely not the speakers, which I've run with other amps and sound great. Obviously I could hook up a pre-amp and attenuate the bass but this device does include a volume control and I'd like to keep the signal path as clear as possible. Advice welcome.
Definitely not sweating the details here though--the thing cost next to nothing and it's really just a fun toy that also looks cool. We live in amazing times.
Anyway, the new device discussed here arrived on Saturday. Looking sharp!
Naturally, before hooking it up I had to open it to see if there was any obvious damage, loose connections etc from travelling from the far side of the globe. (It was shipped from Singapore.)
Also to see if it resembled the photos in the listing...
Fortunately everything looked okay. A question about this next photo:
What's the clear plastic gasket-like thing surrounding each Motorola transistor? Transistors get so hot, why would there be plastic? I also note that one is sort of cruddy as though it were used, just as in the listing photo! (See other thread)
This is what I like to see on the back of an amplifier (or even a pre-amp) -- as little as possible. This one doesn't even say which speaker terminals are R/L (although the interior view makes it clear). Fortunately it does say 110v and I say 'fortunate' because they supplied a Euro 240v plug with the thing. That might have had me worried otherwise.
I have a transformer for one of my Japanese amps which cuts my household current from 120 (actually averages 121.6) to 100v and I'd like one which bucks from 120 to 110. Recommendations invited.
It's a neat-looking device, heavy like a brick and seems to be pretty close to the 1969 John Linsley Hood design, if not perfectly so. YouTube vids add little imho, but I've made one anyway. It's not as though you can judge the sound that way.
Oh yeah, the sound. I'm pretty impressed from just a few hours' listening. It's rich and full, yet clean and detailed in the upper registers. Playing it through my Infinity Kappas (in vid) there is nonetheless a bothersome boominess in the mid-bass. It's definitely not the speakers, which I've run with other amps and sound great. Obviously I could hook up a pre-amp and attenuate the bass but this device does include a volume control and I'd like to keep the signal path as clear as possible. Advice welcome.
Definitely not sweating the details here though--the thing cost next to nothing and it's really just a fun toy that also looks cool. We live in amazing times.
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