K&K 6C33C Mono Blocks

GentleBender · « **Reply #20 on:** 2 Dec 2016, 10:25 am »

Sledwards,

I see you have an Odyssey Khartago. How does that compare to the KT-120? Just curious about the differences.

Thanks

sledwards · « **Reply #21 on:** 2 Dec 2016, 01:42 pm »

FullRangeMan:

I enjoy building electronics, mainly in some sort of kit form. I purchased the parts from Kevin, assembled the circuit cards and wired the internal components. The chassis was built to my specifications using the same sheet metal fabricator that Kevin uses. These are the first tube amps I have built.

GentleBender:

Yes, I have a pair of Khartago monoblocks. I have enjoyed them for several years now. They have been paired with a deHavilland UltraVere 3 tube preamplifier. The differences between the Khartago and KT-120's are what many would expect going from solid state to tubes. For me, I immediately noticed a lusher sound, particularly in the midrange. Bass even seemed more refined to me. I really enjoy acoustic guitar music, and the presentation from the KT-120's seemed to be much more natural sounding. If your into extreme dynamics then yes, the Khartagos really shine there. For now they will sit quietly on the shelf until I find a good home for them.

Steve

Captainhemo · « **Reply #22 on:** 2 Dec 2016, 04:19 pm »

Good to see you chiming in Steve :beer;
In all our chats, I hadn't realized you had the 120's, guess I just assmed they were the 6C33C bases amps.
Good luck with the preamp build, pleae post pics at some point !

jay

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #23 on:** 2 Dec 2016, 06:03 pm »

Good to know Steve congrats

Thanks

jtwrace · « **Reply #24 on:** 2 Dec 2016, 08:05 pm »

I don't know if Kevin still does it but his get togethers are pretty awesome. To be able to speak with the designer about the design and sit in his lab and see everything is special. If you get the chance, do it. It's been many years since I went but would love to do it again.

poseidonsvoice · « **Reply #25 on:** 3 Dec 2016, 02:45 am »

Quote from: jtwrace on 2 Dec 2016, 08:05 pm

I don't know if Kevin still does it but his get togethers are pretty awesome. To be able to speak with the designer about the design and sit in his lab and see everything is special. If you get the chance, do it. It's been many years since I went but would love to do it again.

He has Sunday school for tube enthusiasts nearly every...Sunday

Best,
Anand.

Tomy2Tone · « **Reply #26 on:** 3 Dec 2016, 02:55 am »

Quote from: poseidonsvoice on 3 Dec 2016, 02:45 am

He has Sunday school for tube enthusiasts nearly every...Sunday

Best,
Anand.

Sounds like a cult. A cult I wouldn't mind joining

jtwrace · « **Reply #27 on:** 3 Dec 2016, 03:05 am »

Quote from: poseidonsvoice on 3 Dec 2016, 02:45 am

He has Sunday school for tube enthusiasts nearly every...Sunday

Best,
Anand.

He still does it?

poseidonsvoice · « **Reply #28 on:** 3 Dec 2016, 03:10 am »

Quote from: jtwrace on 3 Dec 2016, 03:05 am

He still does it?

Yes.

Best,
Anand.

rif · « **Reply #29 on:** 3 Dec 2016, 04:16 am »

Quote from: poseidonsvoice on 3 Dec 2016, 02:45 am

He has Sunday school for tube enthusiasts nearly every...Sunday

Best,
Anand.

What part of the country is he in?

poseidonsvoice · « **Reply #30 on:** 3 Dec 2016, 04:51 am »

Quote from: rif on 3 Dec 2016, 04:16 am

What part of the country is he in?

Apex, NC.

Best,
Anand.

Captainhemo · « **Reply #31 on:** 3 Dec 2016, 05:53 am »

Quote from: poseidonsvoice on 3 Dec 2016, 02:45 am

He has Sunday school for tube enthusiasts nearly every...Sunday

Best,
Anand.

If I were out that way, I'd be a pupil

jay

GentleBender · « **Reply #32 on:** 3 Dec 2016, 12:27 pm »

Thanks for answering sledwards. Wish I was in the position right now to provide a home for those Khartagos.

My system is not quite ready for tubes yet.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #33 on:** 3 Dec 2016, 12:31 pm »

Quote from: GentleBender on 3 Dec 2016, 12:27 pm

Thanks for answering sledwards. Wish I was in the position right now to provide a home for those Khartagos. My system is not quite ready for tubes yet.

It looks a WAF...

Tomy2Tone · « **Reply #34 on:** 3 Dec 2016, 02:51 pm »

Quote from: bigmuck on 8 Nov 2016, 02:44 am

A few pictures to share of my version of the 6C33C PSE amps from K&K. My amps are slightly larger than the chassis that Kevin uses. Powder coating was done by a local paint shop. Power transformer is potted with a marine grade epoxy. Wood on the sides of the amps are re-sawn and book ended to match on each amp. The front plates as you can see are book ended as well. Hook up wire for the power supply is 20 ga. fine silver and signal wire is 22 ga. fine silver. Components are mounted on a mid -plate that allows access to top and bottom of the circuit boards.

I thought these pics looked familiar. I had the pleasure of hearing bigmuck's system a few months back and really liked what I heard. The tone, texture, imaging, and sound stage were some of the best I've experienced in my short time in this hobby. I've attend a couple shows in the last year or so (Newport/RMAF) and these K&K amps and linestage are as engaging and fun to listen to as anything I remember hearing. He played a track from Lake Street Dive and the vocals from Rachael Price was so seductive and enthralling I couldn't get it out of my head for quite some time.

One thing I'll add and hopefully not embarrass bigmuck too much is the wood for the faceplates was all done by him from a mesquite tree he got tired of looking at in the front yard. Chopped it down and used the wood for different things around the house including face plates and knobs for his audio gear. It looks exceptional and top notch. Everything from the speakers to the crossovers to the amps and linestage was all built by him so to say I was impressed when I left is an understatement.

bigmuck · « **Reply #35 on:** 16 Jan 2017, 02:35 am »

In December I swapped out the bypass caps (C5 & C7) on the input stage board. I was using Mundorf silver foil and oil .01uf caps and now have Duelund .01uf silver foil bypass caps. The Duelunds have a more natural tone and perhaps fleshed out a bit more as well. These caps bypass the 2 - 100uf electrolytic caps (C6 & C8) on the input board
. The Duelunds are not inexpensive but for the improvement in sound I think they are worth the investment.

advanced101 · « **Reply #36 on:** 14 Feb 2017, 07:53 pm »

Shakeydeal · « **Reply #37 on:** 17 Feb 2017, 05:23 pm »

I've been to Kevin's house a few times and have heard some very good sounding gear there. I'm sure those monoblocks sound awesome. I heard some 6C33 based amps there years ago that were pretty sweet.

I've had a K&K phono stage since 2003. A lot of stuff has come and gone, but this piece has been the one common denominator all this time. It will likely outlast me.

Shakey

saygrr · « **Reply #38 on:** 17 Feb 2017, 05:29 pm »

shakey I have the Maxxed out phono stage. Is that what you have? It will be my last phono stage. It performs way beyond what I paid for it. Kevin is one of the great ones in this business.

Shakeydeal · « **Reply #39 on:** 17 Feb 2017, 05:51 pm »

Yes, I started with the original one and have taken it to maxed out status. Unbelievable performance IMHO.

Shakey