K&K Phono

Is it as good as Art Audio Ref ? Both were designed by Kevin.

Vleena2, my take is that the major diference between the two is that the AA Ref has a separate power supply (which one CAN also have done with the K&K). Sonically, I find that there is little difference, especially given the past two upgrades to the K&K.

I was a very early user of the K&K stage and was referred to Kevin by John up at Bent Audio several years ago. I had Kevin build mine, too, but I have done a few subsequent tasks myself (i.e. changing out resistors to alter load selections). Mine is the latest 6n1p-based version and it continues to sound as good or better than any other phono stage I've heard upwards to about $4-5K. The only stage I've heard in recent days that has given me the itch to try something else has been a Klyne. But that is quite a bit more dough.

Oh yeah, Mantisory. The Black Cube was my first "real" phono stage after getting back into separates about 6 years or so ago. Though a VERY sound component for the dough, the K&K will perform so as to make you forget all about the Black Cube. The soundstage size, depth, and clarity alone is just so much better that the comparison, in this and almost all other performance areas, is really an exercise in fruitlessness. Buy the K&K with confidence. There was a time when a used K&K would be hard to sell. Now that the word is out, they sell QUICKLY. Thus, any previous concerns with respect to resale seem to have vanished.