If you are wondering if a Krell product is truly balanced, you need to forget this hobby, and take up gardening or golf. My CD50 is much better balanced into my Krell, than single ended. Perhaps it is the Wadia that isn't truly balanced. Also, I tried SR Kaleidoscope Phase 2 XLR, and compared to my MIT 330 SG Proline, was like comparing a rustly nail to the perfect superconductor. And NO, I'm not biased against Synergistic Research, either. I love their Reference Coupler power cord...it has beaten all the Shunyata cords (haven't tried Viper or King Cobra yet, but will) with both my Rogue and Krell amps.
Balanced vs unbalanced interconnects
I have a Wadia 830 feeding a Krell KAV-300i. This setup allows for the use of balanced and unbalanced connections simultaneously. I figured when I bought the Wadia I could finally run a balanced system. The dilemma is the single-ended connection always seems to sound better. The single-ended cable is a well worn SR Alpha Sterling. The balanced cables have been the SR Phase 2 Luminescence, Phase 2 Looking Glass, Alpha-core Micro Purl, and most recently a Kimber KCAG. Part of me says why fight it but… I have begun to wonder if the Krell is truly balanced throughout. Any ideas or suggestions out there? All cables are 1 meter in length.
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Balanced offers a better connector: XLR is better than any RCA. But if KCAG is your most recent cable choice, let me share my experience of having this cable completely eclipsed by ALL of the Stealth models I've tried. AGSS, the wire used in KCAG is multistranded, with uninsulated wires all touching, a bad thing in itself, and the individual wires are too thick to avoid skin effect, another bad thing. The silver offers a sort of spurious excitement and illusion of good detail, but your opinion of balanced will go up if you try some real contender among balanced cables. I'd go with Stealth, with its 30-day money-back guarantee. The problem isn't with Wadia or Krell, IMHO. |
Provocative comments Carl, posting is a bad meduim for a wry sense of humor. Being a musician for the last 20 years as well as having a EE, I seriously doubt gardening is in my future. The Krell literature is non-specific and simply states a balanced input stage which should be and is quieter even if it stops there. It is the leading edge dynamics that seem consisitently better in the single-ended connection. I have have owned MIT products in the past, perhaps based on your enthusiam I will audition the Proline. Thanks. |
Well, I guess I could have figured as much. I sent a note Krell a couple of days ago and I am waiting for a response. Meanwhile I have contacted The Cable Company, to start comparing cables, assuming Krell will tell me everything is balanced throughout. Send me an e-mail, I do get to the Atlanta, Nashville, and Birmingham areas a couple of times a year ([email protected]). |