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Thread: The Khozmo Mkii Stepped attenuator

  1. #1
    Join Date: Sep 2009

    Location: Derbyshire

    Posts: 9,212
    I'm Josie.

    Exclamation The Khozmo Mkii Stepped attenuator

    Hello all.

    There has been an upgrade pending for my Croft Epoch Elite pre amplifier for a while now. About a year ago it was fitted with an Alps Black Beauty pot by Glenn. As we all know Glenn likes his dual pots but with this pre amp it would have meant drilling more holes in the acrylic or surface mounting a control knob to which would've looked a little odd.

    The Alps Black Beauty sounded superb and it's to no surprise to most that this pot is a superbly made bit of kit. Now unfortunately discontinued and replaced by another model. But the Black Beauty is still regarded as one of the best Alps pots made and even the dodgy black market have reproductions of them!


    Alps Black Beauty - Image ©2014 Tannoyista

    So what was I wanting from an upgrade? Well firstly it came on a recommendation from Marco as he upgraded his BB to a DACT attenuator with distinct improvements in realism and air. So after deliberatiing whether I should also go with a DACT I was about to go for one but then AnthonyTD (Tube Distinctions) suggested a Khozomo attenuator. This sounded a much better option for me simply because of how many steps the DACT had being 24 steps. The BB also has 24 steps. But the Khozomo has 48 steps so works much better for me and with the kids in bed I could adjust the volume much better.

    I'd seen them being talked about on the net quite affectionately. Although the early batches of the first MKI pots did have reliability issues they did seem to be isolated cases and Khozomo have now acted on those faults.

    So after looking at them I found that a mkii version of this unit was now available albeit only through partsconnexion.com at the moment.

    So I contacted Arek of Khozomo direct and asked about the new versions. The new version does look different from the previous version as it's red in colour, different style connections and a torque adjuster. Internally they are a fully new design too and come in shunt and series specs with Vishay, Takman or SMD resistors.

    One thing I would like to add at this point is that the looks are superficial to me because it will always be hidden so this upgrade was a purely sonic adventure. But you have to admit, they do look superb...lol


    Image property of Khozomo

    The great thing about these is that you can change the loading resistors for example ZFoils, Caddock or whatever you fancy really. The model I went for was the ZFoils (47K) and the SMD version in shunt.

    The order was placed and 3 working days later it arrived safely from Poland.






    Images ©2014 Tannoyista

    The ZFoils are dead easy to install and wiring was a little tricky but that's because the wire I have in my pre is something like 0.5mm... maybe thinner.




    Images ©2014 Tannoyista

    Fully installed and powering up I found that the sound had lost something... hmm.. What was it? - Well, it's quite apparent after the first few tracks.

    What was missing was NOT a bad thing. When before the bass presence was even and maybe a little off beat/slow now the bass was more focused, faster and less lingering, rock solid too. It's like removing a muddiness to the sound. Transients are improved and more profound giving realism, air and presence to the music and it's recorded surroundings/environment. The music is also less strained and shouty and maybe less microphonic on certain frequencies too.

    Tracking is spot on and much improved over the BB too. The action of the steps is also very nice, it feels slick and solid. I've not had chance to experiment with the torque adjuster but to be honest in it's default state it's perfect.

    The Alps Black Beauty is a lovely pot let's get that in to perspective and it has many fans including myself but to quote others who I've spoke to "once you have heard what a decent attenuator can do it's there for life" I have to agree.

    Up to now (4 hours and counting) I'm very happy with this unit and the service from Arek. He answered my picky questions well, lol. A first class service if I may say.

    I'll report back with more findings once the ZFoils have dug in a little more as they will need to loosen up further.

    http://www.khozmo.com/

    Cheers
    Joe
    Last edited by The Black Adder; 08-04-2014 at 12:52.

  2. #2
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Bristol

    Posts: 6,843
    I'm Justin.

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    I nearly bought one of his passives a while ago. They look pretty good - excellent, really, for the money. Great looking, too.

  3. #3
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK

    Posts: 110,012
    I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.

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    Nice one, Joe. Glad that the Khozmo has worked out well - thought it would! You can easily hear the 'phat' sound that's removed, which IME is intrinsic in all carbon-based pots, when upgrading to a quality stepped attenuator

    Yup, I think that the Khozmo and the DACT are on a par, sound quality-wise, but the former has the advantage of more steps. At some point, I may try one, as when listening late at night I too could do with some more flexibility, in terms of volume adjustment. I'll then be able to compare both units and determine which one actually sounds best.

    Your next move, since you're on that type of job at the moment, is to upgrade the source selector switch on your Croft. Do Khozmo design those, too? If not, I can thoroughly recommend the Seiden switches, available from HFC, which is what I used on my preamp. You won't get quite the same dramatic improvement as you obtained with your stepped attenuator, but the difference is still significant and very much worthwhile - doesn't cost too much either!

    Anyway, looking forward to seeing you on Sunday and hearing your system for the first time in ages!!

    Marco.
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  4. #4
    Join Date: Sep 2009

    Location: Derbyshire

    Posts: 9,212
    I'm Josie.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Marco View Post
    Nice one, Joe. Glad that the Khozomo has worked out well - thought it would! You can easily hear the 'phat' sound that's removed, which IME is intrinsic in all carbon-based pots, when upgrading to a quality stepped attenuator

    Yup, I think that the Khozomo and the DACT are on a par, sound quality-wise, but the former has the advantage of more steps. At some point, I may try one, as when listening late at night I too could do with some more flexibility, in terms of volume adjustment. I'll then be able to compare both units and determine which one actually sounds best.

    Your next move, since you're on that type of job at the moment, is to upgrade the source selector switch on your Croft. Do Khozomo design those, too? If not, I can thoroughly recommend the Seiden switches, available from HFC, which is what I used on my preamp. You won't get quite the same dramatic improvement as you obtained with your stepped attenuator, but the difference is still significant and very much worthwhile - doesn't cost too much either!

    Anyway, looking forward to seeing you on Sunday and hearing your system for the first time in ages!!

    Marco.
    Thanks guys.

    Indeed, Marco.. the 'sound' of the carbon pot is now very apparent. With the Khozy it's such more free sounding. Very happy with it!

    Yes.. I do need to update the selector. I'll take a look at seiden switches. It was going to be a question for this weekend actually, lol... I just need to know which type I need for it, as in spec because Ii only have two inputs.

    Yup, sunday looks like a good-un.

    Cheers

  5. #5
    Join Date: Feb 2008

    Location: South Wales

    Posts: 9,151
    I'm NotTakingLifeTooSeriouslyTheseDays.

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    Hi Joe,
    Glad the recommendation seems to have worked out, as i explained in our recent conversations, i decided to try one of these attenuators about a year or so ago now' in a preamp i was building for someone else, and i was first blown away with the build, and quality of the components,i have since fitted one into my own Grounded Grid preamp. The sonic qualities differ slightly from the DACT i have been using for over ten years now in the Soul-Mate pre-amps and such, however, its not in a negative way, just different, and a lot will depend on the resistors used, and whether its a Shunt type, or series etc, over-all a very worth while upgrade, and of course, having double the positions over the DACT is a massive improvement in gain control.
    Anthony,TD...

    PS, as for a decent upgrade in selector switch, i would still recommend the DACT type, its an excellent switch, and [IMHO]a hard one to beat as far as reliability, and sonics are concerned.
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  6. #6
    Join Date: Sep 2009

    Location: Derbyshire

    Posts: 9,212
    I'm Josie.

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    Ok... about 20 - 25 hours in and it's really opening up. The realism is now really starting to cook. I'm chuffed as big mad McChuff won the 'who's the most chuffed' competition one midsummer's eve.


  7. #7
    Join Date: Dec 2011

    Location: Portugal

    Posts: 288
    I'm Luis.

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    Hi,

    I've been interested in this attenuator for a while, but I've read a few complaints about its reliability.
    Are you still happy with yours?


    Thanks,
    Luis

  8. #8
    Join Date: Sep 2009

    Location: Derbyshire

    Posts: 9,212
    I'm Josie.

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    Hi Luis.

    Yes, it's superb!.. I'm very happy with it. The problems with the MK1 have now been addressed.

    Arek is great to deal with too.
    Ultrafide U500DC power amplifier - Croft Vitale )highly modified) - TRIO L-07D Turntable - Denon DL103C1 - Funk Firm Houdini - Lentek MC head amp - 15" Tannoy Monitor Gold Loudspeakers in Lockwood Major cabinets (From Trident Studios) - Tannoyista SPEC 3 Custom Crossovers - VanDamme Black Speaker Cable


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  9. #9
    Join Date: Dec 2011

    Location: Portugal

    Posts: 288
    I'm Luis.

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    Hi Joe,

    Yes, I've contacted Arek and it seems a great guy.
    I just hope all that mechanical problems are solved and the pre is as good as it looks.

    Thanks

  10. #10
    Join Date: Nov 2008

    Location: Valley of the Hazels

    Posts: 9,139
    I'm AMusicFanNotAnAudiophile.

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    Are all those bare looking wires from the selector switch insulated by being lacquered?
    It would bother me hugely if not
    Chris



    Common sense isn't anymore!

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