Chord and Krell

[shooter]

I sold my MF cdp some time back and i'm in the hunt for a new spinner.
There's a Krell Kps20il around and wondered if anyone had heard this cdp with Chord amplification.

I'm concerned over the pairing as they are similar in presentation fast transient and good bass, could this be to much if partnered together, im thinking probably yes but of course could be wrong.

Any input greatly recieved even if its any Chord amp/ Krell cdp combo.

Ta.

 

[Anonymous]

I saw that kicking around for sale too. It's a stunning unit with engineering prowess to die for. For the price it's advertised at (assuming we seen the same one) it's an absolute bargain. I wouldn't worry about it with Chord amplification as Chord power amps are very similar to Krell in many respects so they're almost designed to be awesome together.

If I had a power amp to justify it, I'd have snapped it up at the price, as another one sold for almost £4000 last year on a similar forum.

 

[CnoEvil]

Shooter, if it were me, I would be looking at something like the Pathos Digit, to add a little "tube" musicality to the punchy, dynamic sound of the Chord.

Cno

 

[shooter]

I saw that kicking around for sale too. It's a stunning unit with engineering prowess to die for. For the price it's advertised at (assuming we seen the same one) it's an absolute bargain. I wouldn't worry about it with Chord amplification as Chord power amps are very similar to Krell in many respects so they're almost designed to be awesome together.

If I had a power amp to justify it, I'd have snapped it up at the price, as another one sold for almost £4000 last year on a similar forum. '

Hi Darren, agreed these cdp's are very well made machines and the one i'm looking at has a spare transport which in itself if worth 500. I have been doing a bit more digging regarding the model and they can be forward in the treble if partnered wrongly which isn't an ideal situation with the Chord and Totem's.

It seems the 2k which its up for is about the going rate, as i would be buying blind i don't want to risk a mismatch. If it was a bit cheaper i might risk it knowing i could sell it on without a loss.

:cheers: for the input though.

 

[shooter]

Shooter, if it were me, I would be looking at something like the Pathos Digit, to add a little "tube" musicality to the punchy, dynamic sound of the Chord.

Cno

:type:

Yep Cno i believe valve to be a good combination with the Chord. The MF had valve output stage and it sounded really good with expansive imaging and detail. The only minus point was the bass, though it was nice solid articulate bass it wasn't deep and i came on here on a couple of occasions asking for thoughts on sub/s and or speakers. Cheers all!

Only when i put in the Naim combo did i realise the bass issue was the source and not the speakers and my now current cdp the ps1 has more weight behind the bass than the MF.

I was leaning towards a ss cdp to give me bass and the Krell fitted the bill in that respect. I'm not put off at all by using tube's as source again but i'm concerned over the bass issue as this seems to go hand in hand with valve. I havent heard the Pathos Digit but it was on my 'possibles' list when i was looking for a cdp when i bought the MF. Have you heard it? I would be interested if you had heard the Endorphin also and your thoughts.

The added bonus with the Krell (though i'll pass on it) is the digital in i could use to stream music from the pc. Also if i liked the sound of it i could add some actives at some point if i wished, really it gave me flexibility for any future changes i may take.

Though the flexible approach would be the best for me i'm not to concerned over the pre aspect of the cdp but the digital input would be something i would want and am actively looking at when one comes up for sale.

I was also looking at a Moon Supernove RS on the bay as it has a digital in but i think its a bit overpriced as it is.

So a tubed based cdp with good deep articulate bass and a digital in for a AEX would be perfect.

Alternatively a suggestion!

 

[CnoEvil]

Shooter, I need to qualify my advice by saying I don't like Chord, so will be offering advice that will add musicality, rather than more of the same.

The Digit is the best CD player I've heard under £3k and if I hadn't gone the Linn DS route, it's the one I'd have gone for. I didn't find it bass shy (but that's subjective) and it was eminently musical.

Haven't heard the Endorphin, but I would very much like to if the chance arises.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi shooter69

How about the excellent Chord Electronics QBD76 DAC 🙂 The QBD76 is one of the finest digital source components i've heard

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[CnoEvil]

I believe Oldric_Naubhoff owns one (a Digit), and so would be better placed to comment (see thread "more depth").

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

I believe Oldric_Naubhoff owns one (a Digit), and so would be better placed to comment (see thread "more depth").

indeed i own and I'll soon post some impressions for Shooter's consideration. and thanks CNO for your kind words on Pathos CDP 🙂

The Digit is the best CD player I've heard under £3k and if I hadn't gone the Linn DS route, it's the one I'd have gone for.

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

hi Shooter.

unfortunatelly, I don't have a wide benchmark list to compare products but at least I know a good sounding piece of kit when I hear one. and such is Digit. I've had it for about 6 months. when I first plugged it in my first impression was so much more detail over TEAC's PDH600 and also it sounds much tighter but it also seemed like there was less bass. I was actually considering sending it back because I was affraid I would not be able to listen to poorly recorded CDs. but those CDs that were recorded well sounded soooo good so it stayed and I never regreted it. it also looks stunning in the living room and always brings ahhs and ohhs from visitors. 🙂

more about the bass. what I at first thought to be a bass shy presentation was wrong. this CDP is bassy if there's bass in the recording. if the recording is lean it will not create something out of nothing. it especially does extremely well in deep bass compartment. I don't know if you know the song "Sacrifice" from album Duality by Lisa Gerard. there is electronic bass line which at some point goes really deep and you know it has too sound really majestic. in my previous set up (TEAC Reference 600 + Dyns Focus 110) I've always felt like I need a sub to fully unleash this sound but now with all Pathos electonic I don't have such feeling anymore. even with such small speakers the bass is wall shaking when it calls to be so. some friends were convinced there's a sub in my living somewhere. also classical music sound as powerful as I want it to sound. it definitely is not what you will get sitting in concert hall but quite close (again; littel speakers). so, now I feel bass is definitely much more taunter, better controlled and faster. in fact the whole spectrum is faster.

another think which I like about this CDP is micro dynamics. this caused the soundstage to expand somewhere well beyond the front wall. there's so much more reverberation and decay down deep into the mix it easily creates 3D illusion. I just love listening to recordings with plenty of decay now. it sounds as if instruments or sounds were to wane forever. also positioning and separation between instruments is waaay better. it's definitely a keeper for me and I wasn't even for a brief moment considering a different CDP.

now the bad stuff. stock EH tubes should be replaced for something different. I can't give any recommendations now as I'm still in a process of experimenting with different brands and still haven't got my favourite. ergonomics; the 6 buttons are unlabelled (good aesthetical effect) but they are put in an unlogical order IMO. nothing not to get used to in time but I still sometimes confuse Standby with Open/Close buttons. warm up time; you need to wait some 30 mins every time you strart playing CDs to make it sound best. tubes need to warm up to desired temperature which takes some time. but when it's hot it sounds really smooth.

I don't really know if it's a bad thing but I put it here notheless. this CDP has a DVD drive so it works quite different from a CDP fitted with CD drive. it might cause some annoyance sometimes. when you load a disc it will start to play automatically. you can't choose a track beforehand. but the upside of this is that skip command works extremely fast (no lags, next track starts to play immediatelly) and you can load DVDs. you can literally listen to movies on DVDs 🙂 and also you can play DVD-Audio (however, I think this option is not officially supported but I managed to play a DVD-A once).

as for Pathos Endorphin. you might say that Digit is Endorphin with worse transport and power supply. guts, especially the analog output stage is the same (according to Pathos web site). however, Endorphin looks even more stunning IMO 🙂

as for digital ins. neither Endorphin nor Digit have them so if it's a crucial factor you should look elsewhere. however, I know that Pathos is working on a DAC unit. I don't know when it's to be released though. but I think this DAC together with say Musical Fidelity's M1 CDT on AES-EBU out would make a stunning CDP. maybe worth waiting for?...

 

[shooter]

Thanks oldric_naubhoff for taking the time with an indepth view on the Pathos Digit, seems a mighty fine playing indeed. I looked into the Endorphin at the weekend and your right no digital in which is a pain and something i would like, they do seem a rare find.

The bass issue is still in my mind if its going to be valve and i would really need to here the spinner if i was going to buy it.

Still keeping an open mind on the cdp and activly searching for one so hopfully something will come up soon.