I can't speak for Peter's cred,I can only speak about what I heard, and the latest mod to the Kronos does up the ante in what you get for your money.
I would like to say that what Peter is hearing in his review(which I read AFTER my listening session and,sent to me by the owner of the Kronos )mirrors much of what I heard.
My friend's system is the same as it was before he got the Kronos,if you look at my previous posts, I believe I said that the SME 30 with the V12 arm had the Clearaudio Goldfinger cartridge.
His Kronos has the Black Beauty arm(made in Quebec)but the same Clearaudio Goldfinger cartridge.
He also has the top of the line DCS digital set up, and pre amp and amplification and wiring that are all in the same league.
I should add the system has it share of several Shunyata Triton power conditioners.
It is a system that in my opinion sets a benchmark for clarity and dimensionality.
After listening to this system, it is hard to come back to reality and the artificial sound of my system and most of the systems I've ever heard.
Strong words, yes, but,the Kronos set up compared to the digital set up is about 1/5 the cost, and yet it does so much more to convey a sense of real musicians in the room.
More so than the SME set up.
I also had the pleasure of hearing some direct recorded files of some musicians my friend recorded on his upgraded Nagra P7 I believe,throught he DCS clock and dac.
It was very realistic,as were any of the LP's played on the vinyl set up, and most of those were off the shelf,non audiophile recordings.
I don't have anything to gain from promoting the Kronos, except to spread the word.