[rq1111]

The 25 mV was mainly due to my Kara preamp, not the Nilai amp. The Nilai amp by itself had 7 mV of DC offset when I first got it, which is low enough that it won't damage anything, and that was with the gain set to medium (12.3X) and nothing hooked up to the inputs.

I think the Nilai specs say DC offset should be less than 10 mV (should be at any gain setting), which mine was. So if you don't adjust anything it should be fine. I managed to adjust it down to zero mV, but I still had the 9 mV coming from the preamp when it was reconnected, and with the low gain setting on the Nilai this got turned into 25 mV DC at the speaker (the other speaker had about half that).

I sent an email to Hypex asking what their specs for DC offset were for their Nilai preamp kit, and if there was an adjustment or maybe some circuit to keep it low (servo, capacitor, etc). I haven't heard back from them yet.

Thanks for your reply! Bro. My Kara should be arriving soon. Looking forward to try it soon with my system.

 

[kh6idf]

Thanks for your reply! Bro. My Kara should be arriving soon. Looking forward to try it soon with my system.

Still haven't heard anything from Hypex on their Nilai preamp DC offset specs. But I can say that the Kara + Nilai stereo amp combination sounds very good! Listened for a few hours this morning. Piano is almost like hearing it live. Recordings I heard many times before, on hearing for the first time with the Kara / Nilai just compelled me to listen to the whole album nonstop, couldn't turn it off!

 

[Kristofa]

Since hooking up the Skoll via XLR and using 1x for that chain, I have found that I now use 1x for digital as well and have moved away from the passive mode. I do think that the Kara benefits from leaving it on one gain setting for a while—more than just getting used to a sound. IDK

This weekend I brought in my optical drives back into the main system after just using Roon->Yggdrasil GS2->Kara via XLR. I still use that, but now I take advantage of the Nexus topology in my Loki Max to switch between the XLR input of the Yggy and RCA input of the CD player(s) then XLR out to the Kara.

I must say, I didn’t realize how sweet my Denon DCD-1015 CD player would sound when using the Loki Max to massage the sound with a light touch of EQ. The Denon has its own variable volume control, so there is no risk of clipping when boosting bass a bit with the Loki Max, if I choose to do that, but I usually trim instead of boost frequencies. The Denon’s has a Burr-Brown PCM61P R2R ladder DAC, and while not has fancy as the Yggy multibit DAC, it responds SO well to EQ. I have been playing CDs all weekend and they just sound great. Not as crystal clear as with the Yggy chain, but crystal clear isn’t always the goal.View attachment IMG_9462.jpeg

 

[rq1111]

Still haven't heard anything from Hypex on their Nilai preamp DC offset specs. But I can say that the Kara + Nilai stereo amp combination sounds very good! Listened for a few hours this morning. Piano is almost like hearing it live. Recordings I heard many times before, on hearing for the first time with the Kara / Nilai just compelled me to listen to the whole album nonstop, couldn't turn it off!

Hi! Bro, are you using XLR or RCA from Kara to Nilai amp? Have you tried both? Which is better sounding or subtle difference?

 

[Kristofa]

Hi! Bro, are you using XLR or RCA from Kara to Nilai amp? Have you tried both? Which is better sounding or subtle difference?

Hey! No, my Parasound Halo Integrated, when using as an amp via HT bypass, only accepts RCA inputs. My XLR outs on the Kara go in as a line level input to the Parasound. So if I want to use the Kara as a glorified attenuation switch box, I just select input 5 on my Parasound. If I want to use the Kara as preamp, I hit Bypass on the Parasound. I think it is pretty cool having these options.

 

[rq1111]

Hey! No, my Parasound Halo Integrated, when using as an amp via HT bypass, only accepts RCA inputs. My XLR outs on the Kara go in as a line level input to the Parasound. So if I want to use the Kara as a glorified attenuation switch box, I just select input 5 on my Parasound. If I want to use the Kara as preamp, I hit Bypass on the Parasound. I think it is pretty cool having these options.

I see. I will be using Kara as pure preamplifier.

 

[kh6idf]

Hi! Bro, are you using XLR or RCA from Kara to Nilai amp? Have you tried both? Which is better sounding or subtle difference?

My Nilai stereo amp only has XLR inputs, no RCA.