[NoahFence]

But.... Kara or Freya are Class A amps... All preamps are full Class A.

Some Light on Heat
unit typical power consumption
Kara uses 22 watts
Freya+ uses 40
Lyr+ uses 30
MJ2 uses na
Asgard 3 uses 30
Vali 2 uses 9
(the software here isn't friendly to my table)
As adias has observed, unlike the headphone amps (used as speaker pre-amps), the Schiit preamps designed from the ground up to drive speakers are all class A. I assume that applies to the Kara headphone output as well.

Nonetheless, Kara runs cool to the touch. Well, it has a lot more case to dissipate heat than e.g. the Lyr, so touch isn’t a reliable indicator. The table above shows the typical power consumption, from the Schiit website. My comparison of the Kara to other options were concentrated on Freya N (which I assume uses about the same power as Freya +), MJ2, and Lyr 3. So Kara is indeed a cool customer when it comes to heat.

However as I observed in my first note, to my ears it did not measure up sound-wise,
quite noticeably for headphones and marginally for speakers.
For me, the Continuity and hybrid Tube headphone amps sounded better.

As I emphasized in my post, YMMV. I made my post because there have been so very few posts on Kara. By all means if you have had a better experience, speak up. And thanks to 33na3rd for doing just that.

Noah

 

[savage233]

Kara Review-


The TLDR is that I have had no downside as far as coloration to the sound in any of the 3 modes and the high gain mode has let me get some extra use out of low gain amps and my built in, low gain phono preamp. So it delivers exactly what was promised. 9.5/10 would recommend to anyone looking for a balanced solid state preamp.

First- This is my first dedicated preamp so I cant compare it to others. I can only compare it to the Schiit Syn and various digital volume controls that i have used. I should also mention here that I am a “budget” listener. I do not have the means and/or wife approval to buy gear very often. I may get to buy 1 expensive piece per year, and yes the Kara falls into the expensive category for me.

Prior to the Kara, the Syn was acting as a preamp for my main system as well as a dac/pre for my computer monitors. To compare the Syn as a pre to the Kara is extremely unfair but fun to do. The difference is NOT an audiophile difference. It's massive.

I love the Syn, and after comparing them, it made me look down on the Syn (for purely preamp duties). The Kara seemed to find all the detail that I heard on my headphones but were missing from my speakers. We tend to listen to more current or "popular" music than "audiophile" music, and high energy pop/rap would sound muffled or thin on Syn. The Kara makes it sound meatier, more full and open, if that makes sense. Impacts were more impactful and whispers were more whisperier. Mumble rappers were more clear in their unintelligibility. My wife and I both agree, there is no contest between these two.

I dont want to poop on the Syn. It is a genuine 10/10 product for me, purely based on the versitility and cost. The Syn has a perfect place in my house, but the place is on my desk and out of my main system.

The only other thing i can compare is how the Kara sounds vs a dac going straight into the amp. I have a balanced dac that can also be used as a volume control. So we hooked the dac up straight into our amp and played a couple songs we enjoy, Juicy- Doja Cat, The Wall pt.2- Pink Flyod, and Symphony- Clean Bandit.

Then we put the same dac into the Kara and did our best to volume match it using the 1x gain. After a solid 30 mins of going back and forth between the 2 set ups (luckily, my wife is incredibly patient), to us there was basically no difference to our ears. My opinion- that is exactly what I wanted in a preamp. The best thing a preamp can do is act like its not there. I don't want it to color the sound and Kara delivered. Full marks for this!

Due to gear limitations, these are the only "comparisons" I can give, both of which completely blew us away. But I can praise Kara for a couple other things. These may be totally normal things an active preamp does, but since this is sorta my first, I'm going to mention them anyway.

4x gain mode- this mode was difficult to add to the "comparisons" so i didn't bother. But this mode does allow me to use low gain components again and get them to our enjoyable listening levels. 2 things it lets me use again are my cheap turntables built-in phono pre and the Amp Camp Amp.

I upgraded my speakers to the Magenpan LRS+'s and since then I haven’t really used low gain components because I cant get the speakers to an enjoyable volume. With the 4x gain, I have started listening to alot more records. If there is any coloration to the sound in this mode, i cant tell. But its let us enjoy more music, so thats a pretty big win to me.

Appearance- very subjective but I love it. The majority of my components are black and Kara fits right in. Kara is slim and understated. She's not an attention hog with massive tubes or bright lights. I love her.

I give Kara a 9.5/10. She is so nearly perfect, but she does have a couple (very subjective) flaws. The next couple things are completely intentional from Schiit, I know they are by design. I'm just not a fan. I'm aloud to love something but not love every aspect of it.

1. Schiit loves making it difficult to turn off their products by putting off switches in the back. It may be fine to leave Kara on all the time, but I dont wanna. Reaching into a rack to flip the switch is a pain. This is fixed by plugging her into a power strip with all my other gear, and flicking the power strip off. But still annoying to me.

2. The clicking of the volume knob is a very minor annoyance but I am not a fan.


So there’s my breathy rave/rant/review. I love Kara. I spent along time looking for a balanced preamp I could afford, and when Jason announced the Kara, it was just good timing so I took the plunge and I have no regrets.

 

[33na3rd]

3. This is the biggest "not Schiits fault" issue for me. I have my sub hooked up to the SE outputs. When I switch from 4x gain while listening to my turntable to 1x gain, the sub volume is crazy high. Every time I switch, I have to readjust my sub volume. Again, not Schiits fault, but it effects my listening experience alot.

Great review, but point 3 has me confused.
I have my sub hooked up via the SE outputs also. I don't have to change the sub's volume between different sources or gain modes. Something's amiss, but I haven't a clue what.

 

[savage233]

Great review, but point 3 has me confused.
I have my sub hooked up via the SE outputs also. I don't have to change the sub's volume between different sources or gain modes. Something's amiss, but I haven't a clue what.

So after a couple days of testing while my wife was out of town, I could not get the issue I mentioned to happen again. Talking to her revealed what was happening. She is a bass-head and would turn the volume on the sub up when she was listening without me. It reminded me of why I love her! Happy I found someone I can share this hobby with.

So after that revelation, I removed that issue from my post and bumped the rating to a 9.5.

 

[33na3rd]

So after a couple days of testing while my wife was out of town, I could not get the issue I mentioned to happen again. Talking to her revealed what was happening. She is a bass-head and would turn the volume on the sub up when she was listening without me. It reminded me of why I love her! Happy I found someone I can share this hobby with.

So after that revelation, I removed that issue from my post and bumped the rating to a 9.5.

Glad that you got that issue figured out!

Thank you for getting back to us, and letting us know what happened!

 

[adias]

...

I upgraded my speakers to the Magenpan LRS+'s and since then I haven’t really used low gain components because I cant get the speakers to an enjoyable volume. With the 4x gain, I have started listening to alot more records. If there is any coloration to the sound in this mode, i cant tell. But its let us enjoy more music, so thats a pretty big win to me.
...

Given those speakers... I am curious what volume knob position you normally set to play music at (i) soft and (ii) normal levels?

 

[savage233]

Given those speakers... I am curious what volume knob position you normally set to play music at (i) soft and (ii) normal levels?

My "listening room" shares duties as my daughters play room. So if we are both in there playing, knob is 11 to noon-ish. If I am alone, enjoyable levels put the knob anywhere between 2-4. That is at the 1x gain mode. Since I wrote this, I received my Mani 2 and haven't needed the 4x gain mode with the turntable.

The amp I'm using is an older parasound home theater amp that I got for cheap. It seems to drive the LRS+ pretty well, although I wouldn't know how higher end amps sound. Hopefully one day...

 

[Audioguy5]

Great review, but point 3 has me confused.
I have my sub hooked up via the SE outputs also. I don't have to change the sub's volume between different sources or gain modes. Something's amiss, but I haven't a clue what.

I own both the Freya S and the Kara and don’t find any change in volume levels when using different sources or gain settings. One thing I did immediately notice when installing the Kara was that it has a lot more drive in the low end and midrange. This required an immediate adjustment to the subwoofer’s output level, in other words I had to turn it down.

 

[Snowpuppy77]

I own both the Freya S and the Kara and don’t find any change in volume levels when using different sources or gain settings. One thing I did immediately notice when installing the Kara was that it has a lot more drive in the low end and midrange. This required an immediate adjustment to the subwoofer’s output level, in other words I had to turn it down.

Does the extra drive in the low end and midrange of the Kara really improve the sound over the Freya S? Seems like it could potentially veer toward aggressiveness. I have thought about upgrading my Freya S to a Rogue RP5 or a Benchmark and the Kara is making me wonder if I can save some money on an upgrade. But it would need to give a good improvement in clarity, transparency, tone, and especially soundstage without unpleasantries added for the Kara to be the upgrade I am after.

 

[Audioguy5]

Does the extra drive in the low end and midrange of the Kara really improve the sound over the Freya S? Seems like it could potentially veer toward aggressiveness. I have thought about upgrading my Freya S to a Rogue RP5 or a Benchmark and the Kara is making me wonder if I can save some money on an upgrade. But it would need to give a good improvement in clarity, transparency, tone, and especially soundstage without unpleasantries added for the Kara to be the upgrade I am after.

In my case it did improve the sound greatly, and is by no means aggressive. Of course this is in my system, my room, with my speakers your mileage may vary.
I have a very large open room with a pair of Totem Hawks, a SVS micro 3000, driven by a Vidar one amp. In a room half the size this would be a tidy little system unfortunately my speakers just get lost In this size of room and often can sound lean. For me this is where the extra drive of the Kara benefits my sound, but please don’t take this as the Kara being aggressive or thick sounding because it’s not. This is a result of Jason being able to redesign the unit with a better power supply.
In terms of a revision, this along with the improved ergonomics makes the increase of cost seem very reasonable. Hope this helps.

 

[Snowpuppy77]

In my case it did improve the sound greatly, and is by no means aggressive. Of course this is in my system, my room, with my speakers your mileage may vary.
I have a very large open room with a pair of Totem Hawks, a SVS micro 3000, driven by a Vidar one amp. In a room half the size this would be a tidy little system unfortunately my speakers just get lost In this size of room and often can sound lean. For me this is where the extra drive of the Kara benefits my sound, but please don’t take this as the Kara being aggressive or thick sounding because it’s not. This is a result of Jason being able to redesign the unit with a better power supply.
In terms of a revision, this along with the improved ergonomics makes the increase of cost seem very reasonable. Hope this helps.

Very helpful, thank youl! I am using Schiit Tyr mono blocks driving a pair of Magnepan 1.7i (Magnariser Ascension stands). I have an SVS SB-3000 sub. I am honestly very happy with the sound. However I do believe upgrading the Freya S preamp is the biggest potential for improvement. With your additional insight I am thinking a Schiit Kara is the improvement I am after. I finally have a system that can play classical and progressive rock and they both sound excellent. The Tyrs are a great match with the Magnepans. The Magnepans do not sound lean and they have great bass quality. However any extra drive from the preamp done properly as you point out should be a good thing for Magnepans.

As an aside. I have a Rythmik F12SE subwoofer in another system and I actually prefer the sound of the SVS SB-3000 sub. While the Rythmik may be slightly better technically, it has a dryer bass. The SVS sounds creamier and more pleasant. SVS has better tone and more impact while still having pretty much the same detail as the Rythmik. Having the ability to dial in the SVS from the app in your listening seat is a big advantage.

 

[33na3rd]

Very helpful, thank youl! I am using Schiit Tyr mono blocks driving a pair of Magnepan 1.7i (Magnariser Ascension stands). I have an SVS SB-3000 sub. I am honestly very happy with the sound. However I do believe upgrading the Freya S preamp is the biggest potential for improvement. With your additional insight I am thinking a Schiit Kara is the improvement I am after. I finally have a system that can play classical and progressive rock and they both sound excellent. The Tyrs are a great match with the Magnepans. The Magnepans do not sound lean and they have great bass quality. However any extra drive from the preamp done properly as you point out should be a good thing for Magnepans.

As an aside. I have a Rythmik F12SE subwoofer in another system and I actually prefer the sound of the SVS SB-3000 sub. While the Rythmik may be slightly better technically, it has a dryer bass. The SVS sounds creamier and more pleasant. SVS has better tone and more impact while still having pretty much the same detail as the Rythmik. Having the ability to dial in the SVS from the app in your listening seat is a big advantage.

Kara is not aggressive. I found it an improvement over Freya S, and I love Freya S!

Being retired, I had the luxury of putting the CD player on repeat and letting Kara cook during the day while I did other things. Kara sounded nice right away, but Kara really started to shine at around a week and a half. I knew that Kara was going to stay before this, but this was when I stopped putting the CD player on repeat. Kara continued to improve for the next week of regular use. The only reason I mention this is the sound that you hear the first couple of days will not be the final result. It gets better, take advantage of that 15 day window.

I love my SVS SB-3000! It's the best sub that I've ever owned, and the cheapest!

Just as a point of reference, Kara is feeding a single Vidar OG to my Audio Physic Virgo 2's. The system is sounding really nice these days!

 

[Snowpuppy77]

Kara is not aggressive. I found it an improvement over Freya S, and I love Freya S!

Being retired, I had the luxury of putting the CD player on repeat and letting Kara cook during the day while I did other things. Kara sounded nice right away, but Kara really started to shine at around a week and a half. I knew that Kara was going to stay before this, but this was when I stopped putting the CD player on repeat. Kara continued to improve for the next week of regular use. The only reason I mention this is the sound that you hear the first couple of days will not be the final result. It gets better, take advantage of that 15 day window.

I love my SVS SB-3000! It's the best sub that I've ever owned, and the cheapest!

Just as a point of reference, Kara is feeding a single Vidar OG to my Audio Physic Virgo 2's. The system is sounding really nice these days!

All good to know. Thank you. My Dad had a JL Audio Fathom F12 that broke a few months ago. The rubber surround on the driver broke and it was going to cost much more than a SB-3000 to repair it. He replaced the Fathom with a SB-3000 and I think he likes the SB-3000 better. He said he did not notice any reduction in sound quality with his Magnepan 3.7i. And he can dial it in closer and easier with the app.

 

[czupet]

anyone compared Kara to Freya+, specifically the Differential Buffer mode? I tend to use the solid state more then tubes. Would that be an upgrade or downgrade?

 

[adias]

Just my speculation… Freya+ is a tubed preamp. If you aren’t using the tubed stage why Freya+ at all? Tube stages is for those seeking the warm, less transparent, but cozy sound.