K & K phono pre compasison

I have the K&K Phono SE, the predessor to the Maxxed out and by chance , have compared with quite a few other phono stages.
Firstly I should saty it is by some margin, the best stage I have had in my system. I have used the Pre stage in a Graaf 13.5 pre, a Tome Evans micro groove+ and lastly, a Clearaudio reference. It was better than all of them, particularly better than the Clearaudio, which is quite a bit more expensive. Much more life and dynamics than the Clearaudio, which is lifeless in comparison.
Since then, I did an A/B comparison with the Whest 20, I believe. A Good stage, but I preferred the K&K. I do'nt know if it is the tubes, but it sounds more natural, analogue like, good soundstage depth and imaging. Mine is'nt going anywhere. Kevin has an upgrade at the moment, a change in some Caps and Jfet I believe. The reports say it is a significant improvement.
Of course there are better phono stages, but at the price, I can'nt think of anything that betters it and for a good bit more.
Hope that is helpful. I have to confess that I had mine built by a friend of Kevin's. I am going to do the upgrade myself though.

Oh yeah, I also auditioned the single-ended Einstein phono stage, which is supposed to be not quite up to the balanced version. In my system, it was so aggressive that it gave me a headache. Other people just love it, and I really wanted to love it because I would have gotten a great deal. Same with the ASR I described above--a dealer demo at 40% off. So you really need to listen to as many as you can in your own system. That being said, I did take a chance on the K&K, buying unheard because of its relatively lower price point and solid resale market. I'm very glad I did. Everything else in my system has changed since but the K&K remains.

Wrm57,

Wait until you hear the latest mods in the K&K - frankly, they're amazing, though you'll have to wait 100+ hours of actual playing time for the new JFET to come around and tame itself. If there is any downside, it may be the fact that the unit is now so revealing, immediate and dynamically unleashed, you'll be rechecking and contemplating every weak link in your system; you'll certainly need to revisit some turntable/tonearm settings. Once you get things dialed in however, the real thrills begin. I always felt the K&K was excellent, but it has now become exceptional.

I'm excited! Now if that danged turntable would just arrive...:)

Someone else told me that he had hum problems with the Asr when used in the single ended mode. Mine is the quietest one I have ever had. They have a dip switch which selects balanced or unbalanced operation, I have wondered if it was set in the wrong position, the manual mentions the possibility of this causing hum but is not the clearest written one I have seen and I overlooked it myself and didn't change mine to single ended when I first got it. I still had no hum so whatever the cause it must be system dependent. Cumbersome? Just because it is a 52lb power supply attached to a 20lb phono stage? Remember, this is the company that gave us a 400lb integrated amp in 4 boxes. Makes my MF M3 [95lb in two boxes] seem downright petit.