Robert Koda Takumi K15 Preamp

[nickif]

I think it really depends on how determined someone is about this hobby, some people ends up with a pair Bluetooth speakers and are very happy; some people stops at B&O; as for someone like us...we never stop

 

[Jazzhead]

Hey Arshad,

Hope all is well. Great stuff...do you use 3 or 4 of the Shun Mooks...is there 1 in the back or 3? I also notice you have placed a Receivus underneath...is that right?

Hi Lloyd ,

All good thanks. Congratulations on the K15EX , indeed a special pre amp. 3 Giants, Tripod ... 2 in the front , 1 at the back. Affirmative to the Receivus . Is the ground post still provided, does it respond to external grounding after the super ground update?

 

[LL21]

Hi Lloyd ,

All good thanks. Congratulations on the K15EX , indeed a special pre amp. 3 Giants, Tripod ... 2 in the front , 1 at the back. Affirmative to the Receivus . Is the ground post still provided, does it respond to external grounding after the super ground update?

Bingo...2 front and 1 back is exactly where I ended up last night after reconfiguring. I would try the Receivus...but ended up unplugging them so that I could connect the grounding cable directly to the Robert Koda. I have to admit...i just attached it and did not hook it up afterwards. Not very scientific! Maybe I will disconnect and hook back on tomorrow and see. If the Super Ground negates the requirement...I may put it back on the Receivus! Thanks for the confirmations. Enjoy!

 

[howiebrou]

That is exactly what I originally thought...but if you put too much at the back...then ironically, with all the loading at the back...the entire front of the unit can simply just 'hang' in mid-air! Which means there is NO downward pressure on the feet in front. I would have thought when vibration goes through the component then, you dont have a particularly damped chassis.

In order to really get the unit to sit evenly and flat and also 'fully loaded' on all 3 feet, I found it better to put 2 on the front and only 1 on the back so that more of the weight 'falls forward' over the front 2 footers. Hope that makes sense.

Sort, of i guess. I'll have a look at mine. Thanks.

 

[LL21]

Sort, of i guess. I'll have a look at mine. Thanks.

Hi Howiebrou,

FWIW, I placed the left front HRS coupler behind the Koda footer and slightly to the outer edge of the unit. The right front HRS coupler sits behind the Koda footer but on the INSIDE edge directly under the volume knob (eg, sitting directly underneath the volume control mechanics).

The BACK HRS Coupler sits on the back edge of the unit flush...but slightly off the RIGHT by about 3cm-4cm. When I placed it dead center in the middle, I found that again, I got an ever-so-slight weakening of the signal...extremely subtle. I was trying to figure out if it was weight distribution again...in the end, I stopped trying to be a scientist and put it back off-center, and it has been great.

 

[howiebrou]

Hi Howiebrou,

FWIW, I placed the left front HRS coupler behind the Koda footer and slightly to the outer edge of the unit. The right front HRS coupler sits behind the Koda footer but on the INSIDE edge directly under the volume knob (eg, sitting directly underneath the volume control mechanics).

The BACK HRS Coupler sits on the back edge of the unit flush...but slightly off the RIGHT by about 3cm-4cm. When I placed it dead center in the middle, I found that again, I got an ever-so-slight weakening of the signal...extremely subtle. I was trying to figure out if it was weight distribution again...in the end, I stopped trying to be a scientist and put it back off-center, and it has been great.

Thanks Lloyd. You are a most meticulous beast. I think I would get a hernia before I could discern the weight distribution patterns of a preamp.

howie

 

[Flamenko]

Today I will try this solution under my k10, let's see what happens!

 

[Flamenko]

Anyway in these days I did some tests with a very strange result. If I use harmonix TU666M it loses body and gains in resolution. If I use harmonix TU999m (which I should not use as support) I recover body and I lose resolution.
I think the manufacturers of our toys do it on purpose to keep us busy....

 

[LL21]

Anyway in these days I did some tests with a very strange result. If I use harmonix TU666M it loses body and gains in resolution. If I use harmonix TU999m (which I should not use as support) I recover body and I lose resolution.
I think the manufacturers of our toys do it on purpose to keep us busy....

Double stack them? Whenever I use Stillpoints Ultras...I use HRS Nimbus Couplers with them. I do not use the Stillpoints/HRS Nimbus Coupler combination with Koda because we have the HRS M3X shelf already.

The reason we double stack is that in our system, Stillpoints alone give great clarity...but harden/thin out a certain range. When we add Nimbus Couplers in between the underside of the unit and the Stillpoints...it ALL comes together extremely well.

No idea if you can double stack Harmonix or if it would even work.

 

[Flamenko]

...maybe things get complicated.... and maybe the harmonixes on each other do not give stability.....
I'll try it anyway, otherwise what's the point?

 

[spiritofmusic]

Are double tweaks like twin scoops of ice cream?

 

[microstrip]

Why does a 60K pre amp even need footers?

Good question. IMHO it is not the preamplifier than needs footers, but the whole system that can improve (or worsen, surely) with the footers. The preamplifier / rack is just the place to insert them! In such matters we must consider the whole, including our preference. Unquestionably this does not mean we should not analyze how the footers interact with the preamplifier - it would not be hard, for example, to record the output signal of the preamplfier with and without footers with an high quality digital (or analog ... ) recorder.

 

[shakti]

No idea if you can double stack Harmonix or if it would even work.

I do it on HRS M3x bases. Using Aavik Pulsarpoints plus Harmonix. sometimes the way to go...


To get the energy from a component away, it is preferable to have only one point of energy coupling and 2 points of decoupling.

I prefer combining one Pulsar Point / Stillpoint with two more soft feet like HRS Nimbus or sometimes wood,
like Cardas myrtle wood. Did it with my former Koda 10 preamp.

 

[LL21]

I do it on HRS M3x bases. Using Aavik Pulsarpoints plus Harmonix. sometimes the way to go...


To get the energy from a component away, it is preferable to have only one point of energy coupling and 2 points of decoupling.

I prefer combining one Pulsar Point / Stillpoint with two more soft feet like HRS Nimbus or sometimes wood,
like Cardas myrtle wood. Did it with my former Koda 10 preamp.

Very interesting! Yes, as you can see above, I do same...HRS Nimbus with Stillpoint Ultras.

Just because there was no other place to put it, i tried SRA on top of M3X and it was better. I assumed that since SRA is all about working internally and just sitting on a firm surface...that if the SRA is sitting on a 'higher quality surface with less vibration' that could only be a good thing. They did not appear to be 'competing technologies'. For my ear, it works well. I would probably never go out and buy this combination...but because we happened to have the extra HRS shelf from earlier configuration...it was a lot better than just storing it away.

 

[Flamenko]

Shakti, explain better to a country boy what you did on k10 with Nordost and harmonix. Thank you!!

 

[plasmod3]

Hi Guys

Can I find out what you got with your k15ex; how was it packed in the box and what documents came with it? This is what I got today from the distributor and it really shocked me!! A few photocopied pages and the preamp just packed loose in what seems to be the original box for the K15ex as well. Is there a flight case that comes with it? Very concerned

 

[Rob181]

Hi Guys

Can I find out what you got with your k15ex; how was it packed in the box and what documents came with it? This is what I got today from the distributor and it really shocked me!! A few photocopied pages and the preamp just packed loose in what seems to be the original box for the K15ex as well. Is there a flight case that comes with it? Very concerned

For the price of the Pre - IMO - that is terrible packaging....

 

[plasmod3]

if i can swear....yes this is a bit crap......to put it midly. bugger....and this was from the distributor where i can only assume it is the factory packaging that it came in. thats crazy. I did confirm with the distributor that the unit will come with all the original documentation and packaging and he said yes...well if this is all there is i am sorely disappointed!

I was also told that the one i have has the grounding box upgrade installed in it as well - how can i tell if thats the case? Can;t see any photos online of the addition

 

[plasmod3]

The only paperwork that came with it, not surprising the staples scratch up the casing as well, is this what everyone else is getting?

 

[mr-particle]

Hi Guys

Can I find out what you got with your k15ex; how was it packed in the box and what documents came with it? This is what I got today from the distributor and it really shocked me!! A few photocopied pages and the preamp just packed loose in what seems to be the original box for the K15ex as well. Is there a flight case that comes with it? Very concerned

if i can swear....yes this is a bit crap......to put it midly. bugger....and this was from the distributor where i can only assume it is the factory packaging that it came in. thats crazy. I did confirm with the distributor that the unit will come with all the original documentation and packaging and he said yes...well if this is all there is i am sorely disappointed!

I was also told that the one i have has the grounding box upgrade installed in it as well - how can i tell if thats the case? Can;t see any photos online of the addition

Why not asking Robert about the Super Ground?
If you send him an eMail giving him the serial number of your K15ex he will come back to you, just give him 2 or 3 days.
My experience with Robert is, that he is very responsible for his product.
My K15ex, which is an upgraded K15, came with a “real” printed tiny brochure.
Hence it started live as a K15, it was delivered in a matching cardboard box with sturdy foam around it.
But as fare as I know the K15ex are supplied in a flight case, as it was also the case with my MC-one.