[poseidonsvoice]

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.

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

Shakey

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=139171.0

 

Best,
Anand.

[Shakeydeal]

Beautiful work ! 

Shakey

[saygrr]

Very nice Anand. Thanks for sharing.

[Chiswocka]

How is the K&K Mir line stage people, does anyone own it or have heard it?

[Chiswocka]

BTW beautiful amps guys, congrats, i used to own the Ayon spark 3 using 6C33's really lovely rich sound!

[Dieterle Tool]

I ordered a Mir from Kevin. It is finished but going through a little burn-in on his system before delivery. He is pretty pumped up on the 12P17L tube implementation.
I'm not sure what to expect but I don't think it will be anything short of amazing. I will let y'all know.

-Dieter

[poseidonsvoice]

I ordered a Mir from Kevin. It is finished but going through a little burn-in on his system before delivery. He is pretty pumped up on the 12P17L tube implementation.
I'm not sure what to expect but I don't think it will be anything short of amazing. I will let y'all know.

-Dieter

Good choice. I recently listened to sledwards' very slick and clean build of the Mir as designed by Kevin Carter. I was pleasantly surprised. Very neutral with a bit of that tube soundstaging magic all without losing imaging precision. Midbass was slightly ripe which I liked a lot! Works very well on bass limited systems (see my systems page if you want to know what I mean by bass limited!).

Kevin Carter is a mastermind tube circuit designer. He is an expert at utilizing solid state and tubes in the same circuit, maximizing each of their benefits while minimizing their pitfalls. He's my reference for all of my tube based builds.

It's hard to get Kevin excited about nearly anything in the circuit world. The simple fact that he is excited about this circuit is a testament in and of itself.

Enjoy!

Anand.

[Dieterle Tool]

Thanks Anand,

 I have enjoyed his "maxxed out phono" for a few years now (just got it back from Kevin as well). I think this new arrangement will remove another veil, get me that much closer to Alison Krauss and Emmy Lou Harris. 

 I checked out your systems page for "bass limited", I suppose you are referring to the GedLee's? Looks like you have taken care of that with the passive subs.
And Amperex (6922) in your Maxxed Out, those should add a little splash and boom huh?

-Dieter

[poseidonsvoice]

Thanks Anand,

 I have enjoyed his "maxxed out phono" for a few years now (just got it back from Kevin as well). I think this new arrangement will remove another veil, get me that much closer to Alison Krauss and Emmy Lou Harris. 

 I checked out your systems page for "bass limited", I suppose you are referring to the GedLee's? Looks like you have taken care of that with the passive subs.
And Amperex (6922) in your Maxxed Out, those should add a little splash and boom huh?

-Dieter

Yup. All the subs are active though.

The Amperex's sound neutral overall.

Best,
Anand.

[Chiswocka]

Dietrle tool, how is your new Mir, i am considering ordering one but am searching high and low for reliable reviews? 

[Dieterle Tool]

I have been holding off on my remarks. I am in the process of tuning a new (16 x 19) room. Just moved and I coordinated the Mir build with moving in. I also needed different length interconnects. With all the new variables, I'm not sure what I'm hearing. First time on a suspended floor as well (I think this has been the biggest adjustment).

My kit is:
Magnepan 2.7's mounted on heavy stands (anticable to amps)
Musical Concepts/Hafler XL-280's in mono configuration
Musical Design SP-2b preamp (tons of upgrades) - replaced with Mir
Morrow silver coated, solid copper, single ended interconnects (brand new)

 Kevin had my Mir playing for almost two weeks before delivering, so break in wasn't an issue. The build quality is outstanding. It is heavy and solid. The knobs are big, ergonomically a joy to use. Aesthetically pleasing, form follows function perfectly. Compared to my MD pre, The Mir is a little more visceral, palpable. Strings pluck with more vibrancy, vocals jump out of the darkness, deceiving me into believing they are there.

 There are two details I was unfamiliar with... When the remote is activated, the stepped attenuator makes a mechanical "clinking" sound. Alarming at first, it hasn't been an issue. Although my Sony cd remote also activates the volume on the Mir. It is on the side wall but if it were sitting in the same rack as my Mir, there could be an issue. The other small surprise was the tubes themselves. The 12P17L tube comes in-cased in an aluminum body (looks like a microphone transformer) and there will be no warm tube glow emanating from the chassis vent holes. Kevin's preamps and phonos in-case the tubes anyway, your not buying his gear to stare at. Your buying it because you have a passion for great sound quality and could care a less about over-priced name brands and manipulative advertising.

Conclusion: The Mir is the second piece of Kevin's gear that has found a permanent home in my system. Buy with the confidence that you don't need what the rags and countless on-line reviewers are telling you, "you have to have".

-Dieter

[poseidonsvoice]

 

Awesome!

Anand.

[Chiswocka]

Thanks for a comprehensive review Dieterle, sounds great, i have the maxed out premium and am very happy with it, i trust in K&K quality, it seems Kevin is a good sort and stands firmly behind his products which, i have found, is not always the case in the hiend industry. Big kudos to Kev!!  : )