KR Audio 45

khonfused · May 15, 2016

Tonight I had the time to do a comparison.

With the national union 45 my 7er Lampizator is a whole new dac compared to the Kron 45. But not in a good way.

It degrades the 7er to just an ordinary dac. Resolution, soundstage, precision, airiness, tonal timbre everything is worse. The fun is gone.
It cannot even add any midrange glory, something the 7er comes short a bit imho.

The Kron 45 wins this shootout by a big margin.

bonzo75 · May 15, 2016

KR 300b will be even different and 242 for those who could use it even better in some ways.

Zero000 · May 15, 2016

khonfused said:
Tonight I had the time do a comparison.

With the national union 45 my 7er Lampizator is a whole new dac compared to the Kron 45. But not in a good way.

It degrades the 7er to just an ordinary dac. Resolution, soundstage, precision, airiness, tonal timbre everything is worse. The fun is gone.
It cannot even add any midrange glory, something the 7er comes short a bit imho.

The Kron 45 wins this shootout by a big margin.

The KR 300B Ked had in my B7 were well "up there" in my opinion. Better, probably, than anything I have. More time needed than I had to be really sure but I am pretty damned sure as it is. Not surprised the 45 is great.

When I feel the time is right some KRs will be the next addition to my triode collection.

Audiophile Bill · May 16, 2016

khonfused said:
Tonight I had the time to do a comparison.

With the national union 45 my 7er Lampizator is a whole new dac compared to the Kron 45. But not in a good way.

It degrades the 7er to just an ordinary dac. Resolution, soundstage, precision, airiness, tonal timbre everything is worse. The fun is gone.
It cannot even add any midrange glory, something the 7er comes short a bit imho.

The Kron 45 wins this shootout by a big margin.

Hi,

It doesn't surprise me as I own the Kr 45 and I think it is very good indeed.

If you want that extra midrange magic, I would strongly recommend the 300b route for you. I own the Kr 300b balloons also and their midrange is just a nice tick up from the Kr45.

khonfused · May 16, 2016

Thanks guys,

300B seems the way to go. I am also considering going for Gold as in GG before embarking on more tube rolling.

What's your take on the Fullmusic 300B? Is it on par with the KR 300 B?

Lampizator doesn't supply a 300 B with any of their DACs. Maybe a cost factor?

Audiophile Bill · May 16, 2016

khonfused said:
Thanks guys,

300B seems the way to go. I am also considering going for Gold as in GG before embarking on more tube rolling.

What's your take on the Fullmusic 300B? Is it on par with the KR 300 B?

Lampizator doesn't supply a 300 B with any of their DACs. Maybe a cost factor?

Never heard the full music in the Lampi although heard in amps before and it is very good. They did have reliability issues a while back so not sure if they are ironed out. I don't think it is a cost factor because they could supply a jj 300b or something like that for cheap - incidentally that is meant to be a good budget 300b. My mate enjoys the Gold Lions in his lite 7 - that is cheap(er).

In terms of GG - go for it

On another note, having owned a GG for a while now (and a big 7), I would say that one should not forget system balance and personal taste. One system might have full and juicy mids but lacks speed - inserting 300b would not be the ticket - here a 101d would be the answer or 242. Other systems have lots of dynamics and speed but yearn for tone, here one would seek out 300b or 45. Lastly don't forget the recti! The recti really does change the sound more than people give credit for cos it isn't the sexy tube.

bonzo75 · May 16, 2016

The JJ and Electroharmonix though they sound sweet on vocals do not have the control, detail and top to bottom extension of the KR 300s which is very evident on choral and orchestra. They do have a sweeter tone, KR more neutral.

I understand why some might prefer 300 for tone, but I disagree with substituting 300 for 242 to make up for lack of tone of a system imbalance. 300 might have a better tone than 101, but if one cannot get a decent tone out of 101, the system's broke, and he needs to change his speakers, not his valves

Ten years later I will have Apogee Grands and Spectrals with 242 and do interval cardio to full symphony

Audiophile Bill · May 16, 2016

bonzo75 said:
The JJ and Electroharmonix though they sound sweet on vocals do not have the control, detail and top to bottom extension of the KR 300s which is very evident on choral and orchestra. They do have a sweeter tone, KR more neutral.

I understand why some might prefer 300 for tone, but I disagree with substituting 300 for 242 to make up for lack of tone of a system imbalance. 300 might have a better tone than 101, but if one cannot get a decent tone out of 101, the system's broke, and he needs to change his speakers, not his valves

Ten years later I will have Apogee Grands and Spectrals with 242 and do interval cardio to full symphony

Lol. I think you make a fair point Ked although I don't see it as absolute / black and white as you. The tone is there with 101d's but they are no 300b's that is for sure - well in my system anyway. This valve substitution is no different to changing out a cart or phonostage. Most owners of TTs are happy to "voice" their system in this manner and let's be frank - a Lyra Titan sounds nothing like a Koetsu Black and a Bolder 1008 sounds nothing like a Nagra VPS and so on. That being said I agree if the system tone is totally broken then potentially the speaker / room interface is the issue 9 times out of 10. Finally depending on amps - driving speakers with high output impedance SET amps into anything less than a benign load will 95% of time change tonal characteristics of the speaker.

Anyway - I look forward to your Grands and Spectrals and 242. Put me down as first to audition. I expect to receive a fine glass of champagne with a side of caviar if / when this day occurs

wisnon · May 16, 2016

khonfused said:
Tonight I had the time to do a comparison.

With the national union 45 my 7er Lampizator is a whole new dac compared to the Kron 45. But not in a good way.

It degrades the 7er to just an ordinary dac. Resolution, soundstage, precision, airiness, tonal timbre everything is worse. The fun is gone.
It cannot even add any midrange glory, something the 7er comes short a bit imho.

The Kron 45 wins this shootout by a big margin.

Not what I expected.
Wow, it was totally different on a Lite 7. That is why you have to try...direct experience is king. Siebner is quite different then.

Audiophile Bill · May 16, 2016

wisnon said:
Not what I expected.
Wow, it was totally different on a Lite 7. That is why you have to try...direct experience is king. Siebner is quite different then.

Hi Norman,

Those Kr45's are really darned good IMHO. I know I was extolling their virtues on the other thread but I wasn't surprised that they did well. They are quieter, faster and more resolving than my eml 45 mesh.

wisnon · May 16, 2016

Audiophile Bill said:
Hi Norman,

Those Kr45's are really darned good IMHO. I know I was extolling their virtues on the other thread but I wasn't surprised that they did well. They are quieter, faster and more resolving than my eml 45 mesh.

Yes, but these are the vintage NU 45!

Lukasz has a price list for tubes here:

http://www.lampizator.eu/Fikus/DHT_TUBES.html

Audiophile Bill · May 16, 2016

wisnon said:
Yes, but these are the vintage NU 45!

Ha - maybe he got wrong vintage

wisnon · May 16, 2016

Audiophile Bill said:
Ha - maybe he got wrong vintage

LoL

I only ever heard the 242 in Kron.

Audiocrack · May 16, 2016

khonfused said:
Thanks guys,

300B seems the way to go. I am also considering going for Gold as in GG before embarking on more tube rolling.

What's your take on the Fullmusic 300B? Is it on par with the KR 300 B?

Lampizator doesn't supply a 300 B with any of their DACs. Maybe a cost factor?

Maybe you shoukd take the Elrog 300b also into account. I really love what these tubes are doing with the GG dac in my Tidal LA set up. They are not cheap but really good and so far I am lucky as they have been functioning flawlessly. Maybe - as rumor has it - the latest batches Elrob 300b tubes are indeed (more) reliable.

Mike Lavigne · May 16, 2016

Audiocrack said:
Maybe you shoukd take the Elrog 300b also into account. I really love what these tubes are doing with the GG dac in my Tidal LA set up. They are not cheap but really good and so far I am lucky as they have been functioning flawlessly. Maybe - as rumor has it - the latest batches Elrob 300b tubes are indeed (more) reliable.

+1.

Rudolf, great to hear that the Elrog's are working for you. are you using the Takatsuki 274b as the recti?

Zero000 · May 16, 2016

khonfused said:
Thanks guys,

300B seems the way to go. I am also considering going for Gold as in GG before embarking on more tube rolling.

What's your take on the Fullmusic 300B? Is it on par with the KR 300 B?

Lampizator doesn't supply a 300 B with any of their DACs. Maybe a cost factor?

FWIW I have the TJ Full Music 2A3 which has a really clear and open mid range. It possibly unravels complex passages better than anything else I have. And it is cheap. I am referring to the mesh plate NOT the carbon plates that seem to be new. Spanking value for money I think.

Their 274B is also cheap - I prefer to the EML 274B - indeed I sold my EMLs. I may well buy the huge TJ 274B/n/+. Be aware I have 2 274Bs in my preamp - not in my hardwired Lampi B7. None of this PCB fangled nonsense for me LOL. Well, as little as possible, that is

Bear in mind the only real judge is YOU and your system when it comes down to it. Not what we say.

bonzo75 · May 16, 2016

User211 said:
FWIW I have the TJ Full Music 2A3 which has a really clear and open mid range. It possibly unravels complex passages better than anything else I have. And it is cheap. I am referring to the mesh plate NOT the carbon plates that seem to be new. Spanking value for money I think.

Their 274B is also cheap - I prefer to the EML 274B - indeed I sold my EMLs. I may well buy the huge TJ 274B/n/+. Be aware I have 2 274Bs in my preamp - not in my hardwired Lampi B7. None of this PCB fangled nonsense for me LOL. Well, as little as possible, that is

Bear in mind the only real judge is YOU and your system when it comes down to it. Not what we say.

Sorry, I disagree. I had TJ mesh 300b and they were really poor. Just buy KR 274b Justin they will be 100 times better.

khonfused · May 16, 2016

Audiophile Bill said:
Ha - maybe he got wrong vintage

These are the ones.

Anyone interested in exchange for a warm meal?

Audiophile Bill · May 16, 2016

khonfused said:
View attachment 27031
These are the ones.

Anyone interested in exchange for a warm meal?

Lol. Nah - will keep my dinner

wisnon · May 16, 2016

You guys are full of jokes.

I am current enjoying the Psvane UK design300b with the RCA Jan 1944 5r4gy recti.

KR Audio 45

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