Nice review - thanks. Always good to hear about products that punch above their price line - the KTE sounds like its one of them. The LCR type phonostages work better with low impedance cartridges.
New Phono Stage - KTE LCR-1 Mk5 Very Impressive!
I recently bought the phono preamp listed in the subject line and wanted to share my findings.
KTE stands for "Kitsune Tuned Edition", which is associated with the Holo Audio brand of electronics. For mine (and others') impressions of their May DAC check out the Digital forum. That DAC is currently making waves in the digital world for it's amazing build and sound quality.
Based on my total satisfaction with their May DAC I looked around on their website and noticed that they also make the phono stage in question. I strongly considered ordering one last year, but two things caused me to hesitate: 1. There were no reviews on it to speak of; 2. The price seemed too low to be taken seriously. At that time the pricing varied between $1200 and $1500 U.S. Certainly, I figured, this could only be an entry lever preamp at best. I'd been using my trusty Parasound JC-3+ for a few years and the JC-3 prior to that for several years, and really didn't want to consider trying another brand unless the upgrade was significant.
In May of this year, Herb Reichert wrote about the LCR-1 in his Stereophile column, and wrote very nice things about it. I respect Herb's opinion a lot, so I decided to write to KTE to find out when their newest version would be available. After about one month I received a response from Tim Connor, who runs the company from the North America side of things. He excitedly told me of a brand new version that was vastly improved over the version that Herb had written about. The price for this edition was a bit higher than the other ones ($2298), but I went ahead and ordered one as they had just come back in stock and I was very curious. About one week later the shipment arrived via USPS priority mail. I believe that it shipped directly from China or Hong Kong, so I was impressed by how quickly it arrived.
Set up: It was very easy to plug everything in, but I knew that I would need to set the impedance and gain to get everything dialed in. My cartridge is a Lyra Kleos, which is not extremely difficult to load properly, but no doubt the low output of its design requires some work to get the most out of it. After several hours of listening, changing settings, listening some more, changing back to previous settings, and finally settling on the ones I liked the best, I felt satisfied to the point that the settings have not been changed in the past three weeks and approximately 40 hours of listening. BTW, settings are changed using dip switches. The switches are located on the underside of the chassis, and other than their small size, are easy to adjust.
Listening impressions: I intentionally waited a few weeks to write about what I'm hearing. During this time I have noticed some improvements in sound quality. I won't automatically assume that break-in is to credit for this, but I have a feeling that it is. I have also left the unit turned on continuously since I get it dialed in, which probably makes more difference than break-in. One side note here is that I really don't understand the technical side of the design of this device. It's what is classified as a RIAA phono preamp, and what I have heard is that it is very difficult and expensive to make this type of design, which is why there are not many companies using this design. I would love to hear from those who might have the technical expertise to describe the advantages of this circuitry. The more I learn the more I enjoy this hobby.
What I'm hearing with this unit is something I've never heard before. The KTE is very detailed, has a very low noise floor, and pulls more musical information from the grooves than any other phono stage I have heard. I'm hearing deeper into the music than I'd ever thought possible. While listening to Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Sundazed pressing from 2002), the noisy overdubs that blend with the songs can very easily be separated from the music playing underneath. This was not the case with the JC-3+, but I had never known what I was missing until I bought the KTE. The KTE also has a smoother sound presentation than the Parasound. The easiest way to describe it is it sounds like the music has been lubricated, allowing it to flow effortlessly from the speakers. The Parasound, by comparison, sounds more analytical and crunchy. Some might prefer the crunch, especially those who listen to hard rock, but I've grown to love the illusion of hearing deep into the studio space and being surrounded by the musicians. At one point the realism of the KTE was almost spooky, as it sounded like noises in the recording studio were coming from behind me.
I can not recommend this piece of kit more highly. For those who have heard the Holo Audio DACs and are looking for a game changer of a phono stage for a very reasonable price, get the LCR-1 and see what you think. It's the best I've ever heard.
Associated gear: Hegel H590 amp, Harbeth 40.2 Anniversary speakers, SME 20/2 turntable, Tri-Planar tonearm, Lyra Kleos cartridge, LFD interconnects, Clear Day Cables Double Shotgun speaker wire, Niagara 7000 power conditioner
KTE stands for "Kitsune Tuned Edition", which is associated with the Holo Audio brand of electronics. For mine (and others') impressions of their May DAC check out the Digital forum. That DAC is currently making waves in the digital world for it's amazing build and sound quality.
Based on my total satisfaction with their May DAC I looked around on their website and noticed that they also make the phono stage in question. I strongly considered ordering one last year, but two things caused me to hesitate: 1. There were no reviews on it to speak of; 2. The price seemed too low to be taken seriously. At that time the pricing varied between $1200 and $1500 U.S. Certainly, I figured, this could only be an entry lever preamp at best. I'd been using my trusty Parasound JC-3+ for a few years and the JC-3 prior to that for several years, and really didn't want to consider trying another brand unless the upgrade was significant.
In May of this year, Herb Reichert wrote about the LCR-1 in his Stereophile column, and wrote very nice things about it. I respect Herb's opinion a lot, so I decided to write to KTE to find out when their newest version would be available. After about one month I received a response from Tim Connor, who runs the company from the North America side of things. He excitedly told me of a brand new version that was vastly improved over the version that Herb had written about. The price for this edition was a bit higher than the other ones ($2298), but I went ahead and ordered one as they had just come back in stock and I was very curious. About one week later the shipment arrived via USPS priority mail. I believe that it shipped directly from China or Hong Kong, so I was impressed by how quickly it arrived.
Set up: It was very easy to plug everything in, but I knew that I would need to set the impedance and gain to get everything dialed in. My cartridge is a Lyra Kleos, which is not extremely difficult to load properly, but no doubt the low output of its design requires some work to get the most out of it. After several hours of listening, changing settings, listening some more, changing back to previous settings, and finally settling on the ones I liked the best, I felt satisfied to the point that the settings have not been changed in the past three weeks and approximately 40 hours of listening. BTW, settings are changed using dip switches. The switches are located on the underside of the chassis, and other than their small size, are easy to adjust.
Listening impressions: I intentionally waited a few weeks to write about what I'm hearing. During this time I have noticed some improvements in sound quality. I won't automatically assume that break-in is to credit for this, but I have a feeling that it is. I have also left the unit turned on continuously since I get it dialed in, which probably makes more difference than break-in. One side note here is that I really don't understand the technical side of the design of this device. It's what is classified as a RIAA phono preamp, and what I have heard is that it is very difficult and expensive to make this type of design, which is why there are not many companies using this design. I would love to hear from those who might have the technical expertise to describe the advantages of this circuitry. The more I learn the more I enjoy this hobby.
What I'm hearing with this unit is something I've never heard before. The KTE is very detailed, has a very low noise floor, and pulls more musical information from the grooves than any other phono stage I have heard. I'm hearing deeper into the music than I'd ever thought possible. While listening to Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Sundazed pressing from 2002), the noisy overdubs that blend with the songs can very easily be separated from the music playing underneath. This was not the case with the JC-3+, but I had never known what I was missing until I bought the KTE. The KTE also has a smoother sound presentation than the Parasound. The easiest way to describe it is it sounds like the music has been lubricated, allowing it to flow effortlessly from the speakers. The Parasound, by comparison, sounds more analytical and crunchy. Some might prefer the crunch, especially those who listen to hard rock, but I've grown to love the illusion of hearing deep into the studio space and being surrounded by the musicians. At one point the realism of the KTE was almost spooky, as it sounded like noises in the recording studio were coming from behind me.
I can not recommend this piece of kit more highly. For those who have heard the Holo Audio DACs and are looking for a game changer of a phono stage for a very reasonable price, get the LCR-1 and see what you think. It's the best I've ever heard.
Associated gear: Hegel H590 amp, Harbeth 40.2 Anniversary speakers, SME 20/2 turntable, Tri-Planar tonearm, Lyra Kleos cartridge, LFD interconnects, Clear Day Cables Double Shotgun speaker wire, Niagara 7000 power conditioner
17 responses Add your response
| Post removed |
The acronym "LCR" simply means that the RIAA phono correction is performed using one or more inductors (L), in addition to capacitors and resistors. Classic phono stages use only C and R to create the RIAA filter network. Personally, I have always wondered why using an inductor in the filter would necessarily be "better". On the other hand, the LCR type phono stages I have heard do generally sound great. I would leave it to real experts like Intact Audio to explain the advantages of using inductors in the RIAA. There are a few even more esoteric phono stages that achieve RIAA correction using only inductors and resistors, known as "LR" types. Never heard one of those. |
How does it compare with the the best tube unit you have heard in your setup? Minus the tube rush, of course.It sounds much better than the BAT tube stage that I had a couple of years back. In hind sight, that phono stage may very well have benefitted from using an SUT with it. I didn't know that then and just assumed it sounded a bit bland and lacking excitement. On the topic of an SUT, Herb Reichert in his review of the KTE used an SUT with some of the cartridges he tested it with, and reported very good results. I suppose one might conclude that any phono stage could sound better with an SUT and the best cartridge match as such. I would like to buy an SUT to experiment with. |
wish it had additional balanced output. I thought so too. My JC-3+ has balanced outputs and I really like that feature. But after comparing using the unbalanced outputs I really don't hear any difference other than the 6dB extra gain from balanced plugs, which can be accounted for in the gain settings. I have not had balanced inputs on any phono stage I've owned, but that's OK since most tonearm wiring uses RCA plugs. My question on this topic is, if the signal from the cartridge to the phono stage is unbalanced, is there anything gained by running balanced out to the amp? I think I read somewhere that there is no merit in this but I can't recall. |
To build an LCR type phono with a true balanced circuit would require lots of parts that would have to be extremely well matched. Easiest to do with solid state phono gain stages. If you run the single-ended signal from a phono stage into a balanced linestage driving a balanced in and out amplifier, then you would benefit from the latter connection but no you would not benefit vis a vis the cartridge and noise therefrom. |
@snackeyp
I reached out to Tim at Kitsune. But they always take forever to respond. |
@themollusk79 I do not notice any hiss or background noise at all with my unit. They do say that you should keep the power supply as far from the main unit as possible to avoid noise, but mine are pretty close together and I still don't hear any noise. You might have a bad unit, or perhaps something related to the gain settings. Something is definitely not right. |
Thanks for confirming what I suspected. The noise isn’t any sort of interference. It is just typical background hiss at a level that would be associated with a cheap phono stage. With a capable stage, that should not be audible unless the volume is cranked to an unlistenable level. I have contacted Tim a few times bringing up the issue - so I just hope he is reasonable about it. Are you still enjoying your unit? |
Dear @snackeyp : " I suppose one might conclude that any phono stage could sound better with an SUT and the best cartridge match as such. I would like to buy an SUT to experiment with. " The review in STPH that you are taking as a reference to buy a SUT does not means that your Kleos ( that I own. ) will sounds better with a SUT in your KTE because is a way different cartridge that the MSL used for the reviewer where that cartridge has a 0.6 ohms impedance. You can buy the SUT but with the Kleos is useless do that your KTE is very good match for it. Of course that your MUSIC/sound targets and priorities are unique and perhaps the SUT goes more with those targets/priorities.
Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONs, R. |
