Fiddle Back

In my most recent post I described how I have been fiddling with my main sound system. All has gone along well, but one component hasn't quite made it for me.

It's the Schiit Kara F preamplifier, which I bought to replace using the pre-amp output on my Luxman 505u integrated amplifier in the place of a dedicated preamplifier.

But even after giving it more or less a week to run through its paces, I just haven't been able to reconcile myself to the sound of the Kara. It's simply too thin for my tastes, especially where violin sections are concerned. They come out sounding thin and raspy.

This afternoon I put the Luxman 505u back into the system and suddenly I'm happy again. OK, maybe I just got really accustomed to that Luxman house sound over the years. But having it back has tickled my ear. No, I wasn't imagining the difference between the Luxman's pre-amp output and the Kara F. They're both good products.

The Luxman 505u Returns to the Fold

But there's almost no comparison between the system's sound with the Luxman returned and what it was with the Kara F. It's back to being an opulent, wonderful sounding system.

Audiophilia kind of works that way. The great thing is that I had the Luxman to return to. It's staying put for a while, or if I do replace it with a new preamp, I realize I'm going to have to stay with try high-end stuff and not be afraid to spend some major bucks on its replacement.

The Tyr monoblock amplifiers are a great addition and so they're staying, needless to say.

On Thursday the Schiit Yggdrasil DAC arrives and we'll give that a good run. It is one of the highest-rated DACs around and 'musicality' is one of the terms you hear thrown around a great deal. So I anticipate it being a good addition.

And I have a use for the Kara F. It is a nice, compact, and lightweight pre-amp to have around for a variety of purposes.