This is my first. My business is in crop protection. Audio is only my hobby.
Currently I own a Kronos Pro with Black Beauty arm and Airtight Opus1 cart. A few weeks ago I received a new power supply SCPS-1. Before I hook it up to the Pro, I had watched the product review by Peter B. in AVshowrooms. My expectation of this power supply was drawn by halving the positive comments Peter B. made in his review.
The first five seconds I listened to the Pro with SCPS-1, my eyebrown raised. It sound way better than I expected. The improvement was everything Peter B. described in his review. I would like to add that this SCPS-1 is quite sensitive to grounding. Dont connect it to grounding devices. Louis Desjardins even recommends not to plug it to power conditioner. Just plug it to the wall. Normally I ground all my gears to a few Tripoints. This time I have to leave alone the Kronos.
Yesterday Louis Desjardins visited me at my office. Btw my system is at my office. I thought that it was just gonna be a courtesey visit but he was kind enough to fine tuned the arm and cart for me. The result was a big smile on my face. What he did in addition was to replace the metal cup that holds the bearing that attached to the arm wand. This new bearing cup is ceramic coated if I am not mistaken. It is a tiny metal cup that should not cost more than a lunch. You can hear that the sound is more refine. It is noticeable but like all tweaks your ears get used to after a while.
What's next. Louis showed me the prototype of his new arm board. It looks like an aluminum bonded with carbon composite on the surface. Looks good and a lot lighter than the arm base that came with the Pro. He said it improves sound much much more than the bearing cup he installed but not to the SCPS-1 extent. We didnt have time to try it. Given my experience of earlier upgrades, I believe him. Now I hesitate to switch the Black Beauty to my new SAT that will arrive next month.
What I like most about Kronos is Louis business policy. I think the sound improvement his customers get from all upgrades combined is more than significant enough to launch another better model higher up which he could price way higher. But he chose to offer upgrades instead.
Before he left, he also showed me pictures of another proto type. It was a tube phono stage. It looks really good. Polished aluminum with copper accents. He said he works this piece with a company that has a product listed in Stereopile recommended A+. So for Kronos fans, there is more to come.
*** I am an inexperienced listener comparing to many people in this forum. My vocab of sound is very limited. I admire people who can put sounds into words. When I say this sound great or this is sound improvement I can only mean it sounds "closer" to "what I perceived" to be natural and real.
Currently I own a Kronos Pro with Black Beauty arm and Airtight Opus1 cart. A few weeks ago I received a new power supply SCPS-1. Before I hook it up to the Pro, I had watched the product review by Peter B. in AVshowrooms. My expectation of this power supply was drawn by halving the positive comments Peter B. made in his review.
The first five seconds I listened to the Pro with SCPS-1, my eyebrown raised. It sound way better than I expected. The improvement was everything Peter B. described in his review. I would like to add that this SCPS-1 is quite sensitive to grounding. Dont connect it to grounding devices. Louis Desjardins even recommends not to plug it to power conditioner. Just plug it to the wall. Normally I ground all my gears to a few Tripoints. This time I have to leave alone the Kronos.
Yesterday Louis Desjardins visited me at my office. Btw my system is at my office. I thought that it was just gonna be a courtesey visit but he was kind enough to fine tuned the arm and cart for me. The result was a big smile on my face. What he did in addition was to replace the metal cup that holds the bearing that attached to the arm wand. This new bearing cup is ceramic coated if I am not mistaken. It is a tiny metal cup that should not cost more than a lunch. You can hear that the sound is more refine. It is noticeable but like all tweaks your ears get used to after a while.
What's next. Louis showed me the prototype of his new arm board. It looks like an aluminum bonded with carbon composite on the surface. Looks good and a lot lighter than the arm base that came with the Pro. He said it improves sound much much more than the bearing cup he installed but not to the SCPS-1 extent. We didnt have time to try it. Given my experience of earlier upgrades, I believe him. Now I hesitate to switch the Black Beauty to my new SAT that will arrive next month.
What I like most about Kronos is Louis business policy. I think the sound improvement his customers get from all upgrades combined is more than significant enough to launch another better model higher up which he could price way higher. But he chose to offer upgrades instead.
Before he left, he also showed me pictures of another proto type. It was a tube phono stage. It looks really good. Polished aluminum with copper accents. He said he works this piece with a company that has a product listed in Stereopile recommended A+. So for Kronos fans, there is more to come.
*** I am an inexperienced listener comparing to many people in this forum. My vocab of sound is very limited. I admire people who can put sounds into words. When I say this sound great or this is sound improvement I can only mean it sounds "closer" to "what I perceived" to be natural and real.