Khozmo has landed...

[P.I.]

Sorry about the bad fortune Dave.

When I started business in the latter 90s, I tried ups, had terrible problems. FedEx was a little better.
I tried DHL and never had a problem. Then DHL basically stopped service in the USA, except under
certain conditions.

Went back to FedEx, more trouble, and they still owe me $500.

Finally I went to the postal service. I have not had any problems, but a long time ago, I had a problem
and they made good within a couple of weeks.

steve

The Khozmo came via DHL.  The box and packing were of the highest quality.  The issue was inertial mass overcoming a tiny - read that as should have been bigger or mechanically fixed - dab of silicone seal.

I'm quite impressed with the Khozmo in terms of quality and performance! 

I am confused. Your first post states "UPS does it again" but no mention of DHL.
Anyway, I was told decades ago that in Chitown, a package can literally drop 50 feet at a UPS facility,
so inertia is certainly a consideration. Don't know about the other shippers.

Glad to read the performance was impressive and you enjoy it.

cheers

steve

My bad.  The shipping invoice from Spain was DHL.  The delivery to me was UPS.  I have no idea about their corporate cross-pollination.  DHL used to be delivered by USPS, but???

My friend Greg did a Christmas gig with UPS and he said boxes falling off of the conveyor was common. 

[P.I.]

Follow-up on the Khozmo preamp.

In either passive or active mode it is dead quiet.  Putting a SP meter 4" away from a tweeter produced no increase in noise when powered on, vs powered up.

Passive:  sweet, honest, mellow, intimate and relaxed

Stocatto op amp:  fast, incredible punch with a huge soundstage, LF detail and pitch definition.  More forward, in a good way.  Detail retrieval is exemplary.

It may be the most dynamic, transparent pre I've ever had.

Me likee.   

[Nick B]

Follow-up on the Khozmo preamp.

In either passive or active mode it is dead quiet.  Putting a SP meter 4" away from a tweeter produced no increase in noise when powered on, vs powered up.

Passive:  sweet, honest, mellow, intimate and relaxed

Stocatto op amp:  fast, incredible punch with a huge soundstage, LF detail and pitch definition.  More forward, in a good way.  Detail retrieval is exemplary.

It may be the most dynamic, transparent pre I've ever had.

Me likee.   

Glad to hear your comments. As I mentioned previously, I had found a slightly used Khozmo/Hattor Big preamp on Audiomart with the New ClassD opamp and AMRG Amtrans resistors and it's an amazing preamp. How lucky I am to have this Hattor and the Supratek Chardonnay tube preamp! Oh, Hattor also makes a Tube Active Stage version which uses the ECC82/12AU7/5963 tubes and it is supposedly better per designer Arek and a user comment on Audiogon. That particular user commented that of 20 preamps he's tried, only the Steve McCormack VRE 1C preamp is better. I am not familiar enough with tubes to comment whether or not the 12AU7 is an outstanding tube for this application.

[S Clark]

Follow-up on the Khozmo preamp.

In either passive or active mode it is dead quiet.  Putting a SP meter 4" away from a tweeter produced no increase in noise when powered on, vs powered up.

Passive:  sweet, honest, mellow, intimate and relaxed

Stocatto op amp:  fast, incredible punch with a huge soundstage, LF detail and pitch definition.  More forward, in a good way.  Detail retrieval is exemplary.

It may be the most dynamic, transparent pre I've ever had.

Me likee.   

Glad to hear your comments. As I mentioned previously, I had found a slightly used Khozmo/Hattor Big preamp on Audiomart with the New ClassD opamp and AMRG Amtrans resistors and it's an amazing preamp. How lucky I am to have this Hattor and the Supratek Chardonnay tube preamp! Oh, Hattor also makes a Tube Active Stage version which uses the ECC82/12AU7/5963 tubes and it is supposedly better per designer Arek and a user comment on Audiogon. That particular user commented that of 20 preamps he's tried, only the Steve McCormack VRE 1C preamp is better. I am not familiar enough with tubes to comment whether or not the 12AU7 is an outstanding tube for this application.

Did you ever get your Supratek Chardonnay repaired? If so, how does it stack up against the Khozmo?   
And Dave... "the most dynamic and transparent" - that's a bold statement!   

[Nick B]

Follow-up on the Khozmo preamp.

In either passive or active mode it is dead quiet.  Putting a SP meter 4" away from a tweeter produced no increase in noise when powered on, vs powered up.

Passive:  sweet, honest, mellow, intimate and relaxed

Stocatto op amp:  fast, incredible punch with a huge soundstage, LF detail and pitch definition.  More forward, in a good way.  Detail retrieval is exemplary.

It may be the most dynamic, transparent pre I've ever had.

Me likee.   

Glad to hear your comments. As I mentioned previously, I had found a slightly used Khozmo/Hattor Big preamp on Audiomart with the New ClassD opamp and AMRG Amtrans resistors and it's an amazing preamp. How lucky I am to have this Hattor and the Supratek Chardonnay tube preamp! Oh, Hattor also makes a Tube Active Stage version which uses the ECC82/12AU7/5963 tubes and it is supposedly better per designer Arek and a user comment on Audiogon. That particular user commented that of 20 preamps he's tried, only the Steve McCormack VRE 1C preamp is better. I am not familiar enough with tubes to comment whether or not the 12AU7 is an outstanding tube for this application.

Did you ever get your Supratek Chardonnay repaired? If so, how does it stack up against the Khozmo?   
And Dave... "the most dynamic and transparent" - that's a bold statement!   

The Supratek had a bad tube and the Rythmik sub a bad cap or two. The Supratek is functioning, but I've been using the Hattor because it is so good and especially at  revealing additional detail. In a perfect world, I'd like to have a Khozmo attenuator put in the Supratek rather than the Alps pot and have the power supply looked at and improved if possible. I should put the Supratek back in one of these days. But I've been putting a lot of hours on new power cords and a new Holo Cyan2 dac which is a terrific dac and great value.

[Jack]

What you are describing as a wish item sounds a lot like Don Sachs and Lynn Olson's new preamp which is being sold through Spatial. I've been tempted but for now i think I have enough preamps.

[Nick B]

What you are describing as a wish item sounds a lot like Don Sachs and Lynn Olson's new preamp which is being sold through Spatial. I've been tempted but for now i think I have enough preamps.

I went to the Spatial site as soon as I saw your post and the stock unit is listed for $5495. That's actually a little bit cheaper than my guess. I'd love to hear Steve McCormack's VRE preamp that he humbly described to me some years ago as being the best he's ever heard. But a product like that is way out of my price range.

[Jack]

I'm curious but I've got to finish the move and clear out even more of the "spares' than i have so far.  Plus I want to see how it actually works out "in the field" for a while as I never try to place to much in the early adopters unless they are people I know and their equipment history.  That applies particularly to reports on Audiogon. Don's last production model and the Supratek's give me the tube flavor while the Holo Serene KTE gives me a dose of what you guys are getting with the Khozmo. 

[Nick B]

I'm curious but I've got to finish the move and clear out even more of the "spares' than i have so far.  Plus I want to see how it actually works out "in the field" for a while as I never try to place to much in the early adopters unless they are people I know and their equipment history.  That applies particularly to reports on Audiogon. Don's last production model and the Supratek's give me the tube flavor while the Holo Serene KTE gives me a dose of what you guys are getting with the Khozmo.

Forgot that you had the Holo Serene. I am very impressed by my Holo Red streamer and Holo Cyan2 dac. What is really intriguing is that Khozmo/Hattor tube unit. Do you have an opinion about the 12au7 tube and in a preamp application?

[P.I.]

And Dave... "the most dynamic and transparent" - that's a bold statement!   

Remember that I have 76 year old ears.  Having said this, I have never had a preamp that did not "tickle" tweeters at high volumes.  The Khozmo is silent.

My B&K only registered my breathing and ambient noise floor.  When the pre was turned on, I could not see or hear any increase in SPL.

Dynamics are startling and immediate with the Staccato op amp, much less so in passive mode.  The Staccato is immediate, but without the lower midrange bump of others and the highs are pristine, without any harshness.

As a guy that prefers tube pres, I'm incredibly happy with the lack of coloration that often comes as part of that package.

YMMV, cuz' I'm happy.

[S Clark]

Sound like it's the real deal... and not stupid expensive from what I can tell.  If my Dodd ever dies, the Khozmo looks like a good option.   

[Nick B]

Sound like it's the real deal... and not stupid expensive from what I can tell.  If my Dodd ever dies, the Khozmo looks like a good option.   

It's the real deal and around $2,000 each for the tube version and passive with the NewClassD opamp. I'm told that Arek will mix and match as to components in the simpler Khozmo chassis vs the more expensive Hattor chassis. The remote control is quite nice and controls many functions.

[P.I.]

Sound like it's the real deal... and not stupid expensive from what I can tell.  If my Dodd ever dies, the Khozmo looks like a good option.   

That is exactly what I did.  My Dodd with the Reflektor 6H(N)30 is long in the tooth and I'm out with battery power these days.  With our backs, the light weight of gear is becoming a real thing