sunneebear
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2002
- Posts
- 1,626
- Likes
- 161
I was not going to do a review on this amp but I figured that there must be someone out there that wondered about the mysterious and elusive Krell KSA 5.
Ever since I started to get serious about headphones, the top of my own/listen list was the Krell KSA 5 and McCormack MID Headphone Amp. I say "was" because nowadays I've settled down, cleared my extra inventory and settled on just the Alpha Dog and a Emotiva a-100 mini X. I have found so much enjoyment in this set up that it has cured me from all upgrade illnesses and made my wallet very happy. Being happy did not stop me from Googling these two amps once or half dozen times a year to see if anything was being said about them. So if you have searched like me, you know that not much is said at all. A few years ago I came across the reversed engineered board of the KSA 5 by Kevin Gilmore, one of our celebrity members. I wanted so much to jump on that project but I was too busy then and did not want to take on a DIY from scratch. From a kit yes but not if I had to etch my own board and gather all the components. About two months ago a search resulted in a completed board on ebay.
It was based off the KSA 5. The components were close together and not spread out like the original or Kevin's. The power supply was also on the same board, not like the others. It was from China and only $79 shipped fully completed and tested. I figure for $80 I may finally be able to catch a glimpse of what the original may sound like. So after a few messages back and forth with the seller who claims to be a audiophile and only populate his board with name brand components, I opted to go for the complete amp in 110v for just $232 DHL to my house. While I waited for my amp I found other sellers listing the same thing for the boards but their amps came out to be under $400. I started to worry if the seller may back out because his price was so low. I did however received my clone in about a month and boy was it a clone.
Clone yes it was, or forgery. The board was based off the KSA 5 schematic but the case is of the much later Evolution or S series Krell products as you can see. With multiple Chinese ebay sellers I guess there is a factory or shop somewhere in China building these. The seller may be truthful in populating the board though because components are labeled Dale, Vishay, Elna, Alps... but they may be fakes too. Or not who knows but I will give him the benefit of the doubt. Off the bat I saw problems, major and minor.
Major problems:
1. Neutrik knock-off locking TRS jack was kind of cheap and did not have a ground lift so the protection relay was triggered upon connecting or disconnecting headphones. I don't know if the real Neutrik has a ground lift but this was stupid and I replaced the TRS with a Neutrik 4 pin XLR to fix the short but I would have done so anyway because my main headphone cable was a 4 pin XLR.
2. The power switch was also a knock-off of a red AB of Philmore switch. The click was hard while the lever was loose. It failed to make contact most of the time when flip on. On the second day it stuck in the on position without making contact. I replaced that too.
3. The Krell knock-off volume knob was nice but floppy on the shaft while detents of the Alps pot was harder then others that I've seen before. I hate step pots anyway because I always find myself wanting a position in between two steds. I replaced the pot with a regular Alps pot.
All the replacement parts are extra stuff I have on hand from past projects. The pot I put in made a improvement in sound so the stock might be a knock-off which was why the detents were so hard.
Minor problems:
1. Chassis cover was arched. Maybe from the vent holes being punched into it. The rows of vent hole were also not aligned but not something that you noticed right away. I put it on wood strips and stepped on it till it was flat.
2. Power supply has a blue led inside that is one of those super bright numbers for people that like glowing internals. It was a visual annoyance to me so I put a black heat sink over it.
3. Two chassis screws missing from under side. Didn't care.
4. Cheap RCA input connectors. Both are undersized so they were loose for every RCA plug I have. The left RCA was even smaller than the right there is absolutely no grip at all. I might replace these in the future.
5. I have no intention of using this amp for speakers so I took the binding posts off. Yes they are cheap also.
Changing the pot made a clear difference in sound so I went ahead and replaced all the wires with copper OCC wire. With the elimination of the binding post, the output was now routed directly to the headphone jack instead of going back and forth in the amp. Sound changes will be in the following section.
Sound:
Day one sound was actually pretty good. The treble seemed a bit shelved while the mid bass seem to have more body, thicker sounding (good for the Alpha Dog). This is all in comparison to the Emotiva. The Emotiva to me has a analytical sound because it is neutral and plays what ever is in the recording with out adding or taking. Although the treble was a bit shelved, it was not flat. The Higher frequencies like cymbals and triangles sound tinnier and colder than the rest of the treble. The bass while sounding thick was slightly blurred and muddy. Changing of the pot fixed lows of both the frequencies. The rewiring improved the clarity, separation and headroom to have a slight edge over Emotiva. It now sounded more like the Emotiva now with the exception of the vocals being a tiny less forward and a tad smoother making the Emotiva sound even more analytical. Some songs are sometimes holographic sounding and more out of head than the Emotiva. One thing I discovered was some details that are on the Emotiva but not as apparent on first listen, are easily noticed on the clone. Details like recording noise, background noise, instrument noises and band members talking to each other. Down stream component are also easily heard. Especially cables. I had to build a whole new set of interconnects and cables because the the differences in my other cables and how they effect the sound was so apparent.
I am keeping this clone because I got a good deal at $232 but at $400, I would be happy with the Emotiva. I have it connected to my ipod in the living room and its great for relaxing and drifting away to the music. I don't know if you can buy this amp for the price I paid now but consider that you might have to replace some parts on top of the buying price. The Emotiva is the clear winner as far as bang-for-your-buck goes. As far as sound, after upgrades, the clone just barely edges out the Emotiva and that may just be a preference in sound that some may not like.
Ever since I started to get serious about headphones, the top of my own/listen list was the Krell KSA 5 and McCormack MID Headphone Amp. I say "was" because nowadays I've settled down, cleared my extra inventory and settled on just the Alpha Dog and a Emotiva a-100 mini X. I have found so much enjoyment in this set up that it has cured me from all upgrade illnesses and made my wallet very happy. Being happy did not stop me from Googling these two amps once or half dozen times a year to see if anything was being said about them. So if you have searched like me, you know that not much is said at all. A few years ago I came across the reversed engineered board of the KSA 5 by Kevin Gilmore, one of our celebrity members. I wanted so much to jump on that project but I was too busy then and did not want to take on a DIY from scratch. From a kit yes but not if I had to etch my own board and gather all the components. About two months ago a search resulted in a completed board on ebay.
It was based off the KSA 5. The components were close together and not spread out like the original or Kevin's. The power supply was also on the same board, not like the others. It was from China and only $79 shipped fully completed and tested. I figure for $80 I may finally be able to catch a glimpse of what the original may sound like. So after a few messages back and forth with the seller who claims to be a audiophile and only populate his board with name brand components, I opted to go for the complete amp in 110v for just $232 DHL to my house. While I waited for my amp I found other sellers listing the same thing for the boards but their amps came out to be under $400. I started to worry if the seller may back out because his price was so low. I did however received my clone in about a month and boy was it a clone.
Clone yes it was, or forgery. The board was based off the KSA 5 schematic but the case is of the much later Evolution or S series Krell products as you can see. With multiple Chinese ebay sellers I guess there is a factory or shop somewhere in China building these. The seller may be truthful in populating the board though because components are labeled Dale, Vishay, Elna, Alps... but they may be fakes too. Or not who knows but I will give him the benefit of the doubt. Off the bat I saw problems, major and minor.
Major problems:
1. Neutrik knock-off locking TRS jack was kind of cheap and did not have a ground lift so the protection relay was triggered upon connecting or disconnecting headphones. I don't know if the real Neutrik has a ground lift but this was stupid and I replaced the TRS with a Neutrik 4 pin XLR to fix the short but I would have done so anyway because my main headphone cable was a 4 pin XLR.
2. The power switch was also a knock-off of a red AB of Philmore switch. The click was hard while the lever was loose. It failed to make contact most of the time when flip on. On the second day it stuck in the on position without making contact. I replaced that too.
3. The Krell knock-off volume knob was nice but floppy on the shaft while detents of the Alps pot was harder then others that I've seen before. I hate step pots anyway because I always find myself wanting a position in between two steds. I replaced the pot with a regular Alps pot.
All the replacement parts are extra stuff I have on hand from past projects. The pot I put in made a improvement in sound so the stock might be a knock-off which was why the detents were so hard.
Minor problems:
1. Chassis cover was arched. Maybe from the vent holes being punched into it. The rows of vent hole were also not aligned but not something that you noticed right away. I put it on wood strips and stepped on it till it was flat.
2. Power supply has a blue led inside that is one of those super bright numbers for people that like glowing internals. It was a visual annoyance to me so I put a black heat sink over it.
3. Two chassis screws missing from under side. Didn't care.
4. Cheap RCA input connectors. Both are undersized so they were loose for every RCA plug I have. The left RCA was even smaller than the right there is absolutely no grip at all. I might replace these in the future.
5. I have no intention of using this amp for speakers so I took the binding posts off. Yes they are cheap also.
Changing the pot made a clear difference in sound so I went ahead and replaced all the wires with copper OCC wire. With the elimination of the binding post, the output was now routed directly to the headphone jack instead of going back and forth in the amp. Sound changes will be in the following section.
Sound:
Day one sound was actually pretty good. The treble seemed a bit shelved while the mid bass seem to have more body, thicker sounding (good for the Alpha Dog). This is all in comparison to the Emotiva. The Emotiva to me has a analytical sound because it is neutral and plays what ever is in the recording with out adding or taking. Although the treble was a bit shelved, it was not flat. The Higher frequencies like cymbals and triangles sound tinnier and colder than the rest of the treble. The bass while sounding thick was slightly blurred and muddy. Changing of the pot fixed lows of both the frequencies. The rewiring improved the clarity, separation and headroom to have a slight edge over Emotiva. It now sounded more like the Emotiva now with the exception of the vocals being a tiny less forward and a tad smoother making the Emotiva sound even more analytical. Some songs are sometimes holographic sounding and more out of head than the Emotiva. One thing I discovered was some details that are on the Emotiva but not as apparent on first listen, are easily noticed on the clone. Details like recording noise, background noise, instrument noises and band members talking to each other. Down stream component are also easily heard. Especially cables. I had to build a whole new set of interconnects and cables because the the differences in my other cables and how they effect the sound was so apparent.
I am keeping this clone because I got a good deal at $232 but at $400, I would be happy with the Emotiva. I have it connected to my ipod in the living room and its great for relaxing and drifting away to the music. I don't know if you can buy this amp for the price I paid now but consider that you might have to replace some parts on top of the buying price. The Emotiva is the clear winner as far as bang-for-your-buck goes. As far as sound, after upgrades, the clone just barely edges out the Emotiva and that may just be a preference in sound that some may not like.
