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Anyone using a Khozmo passive pre amp?

allthingsanalog

allthingsanalog

pfm Member
Anyone using one of these, they look really good.

http://www.khozmo.com/stereo_selector.html

F428CD42-CFB9-4C22-B439-9A00CEA2502B_zpsecmg3rph.jpg
 
I'm thinking of getting one too. My first choice for a passive pre would be a Stereo Coffee LDR (http://stores.ebay.co.uk/stereocoffee/) since it's a non-contact based form of attenuation but I need the balanced version and the seller has not relisted these for a long time. The Tortuga LDR's are way too expensive for my liking.

I might go for the single input balanced Khozmo with the upgraded resistors. :D
 
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I'm rather tempted to buy the dual mono 100k version for my Leak Stereo 20 at some point.
 
JohnW said:
I have one here, REALLY well made, mechanically a piece of fine art :) - hats off to the designer!
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How do you choose what impedance you want?

If for example the power amp has an input impedance of 31k, do you just choose a pre with a lower number, say 10k??
 
misterdog said:
It should have no sound. Transparency is key.
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Indeed. So, is it?

I'd be tempted to try one, but find the arguments for and against somewhat confusing.

One thing for me would be long interconnects to my active speakers, which I understand might be an issue. Oh, and this particulat pre doesn't have balanced XLR outputs as an option I don't believe.
 
allthingsanalog said:
If for example the power amp has an input impedance of 31k, do you just choose a pre with a lower number, say 10k??
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It's a balancing act between the output impedance of the source component and the input impedance of the power amp. No right answers as it is different system to system. I've found quite a few sources (mainly phono stages) that do not like driving a 10k passive, which is what I have. I'm lucky as my power amp (a Leak Stereo 20) has a very high 1 megOhm input impedance, so I can get away with a 100k passive pre, which should make life for the source component upstream a lot easier.
 
Shame about that £1.50 Lorlin selector switch on what is otherwise a nicely made unit...

Personally I would go for a ladder type attenuator instead of a shunt type.
 
G T Audio said:
Shame about that £1.50 Lorlin selector switch on what is otherwise a nicely made unit...

Personally I would go for a ladder type attenuator instead of a shunt type.
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Is the Lorlin a poor switch compared to what other amplifiers use? Other forums and forum members seem to rather like them? Apparently Naim used to use them.
 
allthingsanalog said:
Is the Lorlin a poor switch compared to what other amplifiers use? Other forums and forum members seem to rather like them? Apparently Naim used to use them.
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They are very cheap and nasty.

A decent Elma switch costs about £35+vat each and these will last many years and are designed for several thousand operations. The Lorlin switches have very flimsy spring metal contacts inside and over time these lose tension and then the whole switch becomes noisy, or worse it just fails. I have had to change hundreds of Lorlin switches over the years when I used to do high-end repairs for the industry.

Shame a nice looking product spoilt by a cheap part.
 
G T Audio said:
They are very cheap and nasty.

A decent Elma switch costs about £35+vat each and these will last many years and are designed for several thousand operations. The Lorlin switches have very flimsy spring metal contacts inside and over time these lose tension and then the whole switch becomes noisy, or worse it just fails. I have had to change hundreds of Lorlin switches over the years when I used to do high-end repairs for the industry.

Shame a nice looking product spoilt by a cheap part.
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So can Lorlin switch be easily swapped for an Elma easily without modification to chassis, pcbs etc?
 
allthingsanalog said:
So can Lorlin switch be easily swapped for an Elma easily without modification to chassis, pcbs etc?
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No it can't. The pin out and spacings are different.

You could mount the Elma on the front panel but then you would have to individually wire each connection back to the circuit board, which is going to look very messy. Also this will add additional connections and lengthen the audio circuit within the device.
 
When I bought my Quad 989 ESl's I knew they suffer from adhesive fatigue and less than optimal electronics.

Do they sound good ? yes, better than most speakers.

What in life is perfect ?
 
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