General Discussion about Källa

[Defender]

One of the great things about it, compared to my LP12 is that it does not need the 45 minutes of playing time to sound great and is ready from the off.

Yes but I am happy to wait for nice music … if its worth the wait.

[u252agz]

I’m also happy to wait, but sometimes need a quick fix - which I can now get with Kalla / Spotify.

I am finding that where Spotify has a good to great recording of one of my favourite LPs- I am increasingly likely to just use Kalla and not bother with the LP12- this never happened with KDS2.

It’s a real game changer in how I now listen to music.

[u252agz]

45mims warm up? JEEPERS

Ok - maybe I’m exaggerating.

But definitely much better at 20 mins after it starts spinning. And I’m sure it keeps on improving a bit more for some time after.

If I’m planning a late evening session, I’ll often start it spinning as soon as I get in from work.

[Discodave]

As do I tbf. One side of vinyl is my marker.

[ThomasOK]

Ooh, time for a battle! "Well, I don't know about you but MY LP12 gets warmed up for 1 hour and 35 minutes before I listen to it!"
Sorry for the off topic. ;-)

[Spannko]

My KDS has been warming up for 7 years. Is this a record?

[David Neel]

No. If it was a record, you could play it on a turntable...

[mbabst]

What do you guys think about a passive preamp between Sagatun and Källa?

[tokenbrit]

What do you guys think about a passive preamp between Källa?

Sagatun Stereo would be the obvious match since you have the Tundra... and 2 sources.

[mbabst]

What do you guys think about a passive preamp between Källa?

Sagatun Stereo would be the obvious match since you have the Tundra... and 2 sources.

If course it is. I was just wondering if anybody ever thought about using a passive preamp.

[Discodave]

Ooh, time for a battle! "Well, I don't know about you but MY LP12 gets warmed up for 1 hour and 35 minutes before I listen to it!"
Sorry for the off topic. ;-)

🤣

[Tendaberry]

What do you guys think about a passive preamp between Sagatun and Källa?

I think Fredrik (and others) have tested this, not specifically for Källa, but as I recall ,they weren't any good. Even a Kikkin would be better, but just go for a Sagatun.

[lejonklou]

Passive preamps mess with the impedance relationship between the sender and the receiver. It never gets particularly good, no matter what parts you use.

[mbabst]

Passive preamps mess with the impedance relationship between the sender and the receiver. It never gets particularly good, no matter what parts you use.

Thanks Fredrik!

[Defender]

same experience here sounds detailed and airy and dead

[markiteight]

Posts about Källa's optimum operating temperature and frequency have been moved here as this information is too useful to get buried in the "General" discussion.

-Moderator

[snatex]

Frederik - Have you tested to see what each of the streaming services is sending Kalla through Airplay? Is that possible?

I saw Naim technicians posted the debug info from their streamers showing that the Apple Music app was converting ALL airplay streams (even lossless and hi-res lossless) to AAC (lossy) before they get to the streamer. This happens despite the Apple Music app UI showing lossless or hi-res lossless.

Naim also posted the debug info using the Quboz app showing it sends an ALAC (lossless) cd quality lossless 16/44.1 streams via Airplay when setting the app to that quality level.

So it is possible for Apple Music to work better with AIrplay and it appears to be an app development issue. This may explain why Qobuz is outperforming Apple Music on Kalla. Apple Music also has issues on the Mac. It cannot send the native resolution to a USB DAC like Qobuz can. You have to manually change the output resolution in the MIDI app for each song with Apple music or it will always output at the same resolution. The Qobuz app works in exclusive mode and automatically changes the output resolution of the Mac to match the stream.

It is incredible that Apple with all of its resources cannot get this stuff right.

[lejonklou]

Yes, it's possible to examine what is being sent to and from Källa. But it's not available on the user interface.

What formats and conversions actually result in the most musical result is however a lot more complicated than we first thought - and what most people, enthusiasts and experts alike, still think.

For instance: While it's true that a lossless CD-quality file (16/44.1) is more musical than a lossy version of the same file (for instance 320 kbps mp3), this order can become reversed if you mess a bit with the timing in which the data is sent on the network for the CD-quality file.

This makes decisions about formats and conversions rather complex, because they all come with a package of other parameters, some which may be varied and some with may not.

[Azazello]

No. If it was a record, you could play it on a turntable...

LOL

[ThomasOK]

My KDS has been warming up for 7 years. Is this a record?

It's likely a record that you haven't had any power outages in 7 years!

[matthias]

Do some Källa owners use Roon?
I am not quite fond of Roon so far but there are reports that the new Roon Build 882 sounds very good.
So I am curious how the Roon output to Källa performs.
Thanks

[macrotech2]

I don’t use Roon sorry. Have you lined up a Källa demo for yourself? That’s the only way you can answer the myriad of questions you ask. What others find may not apply in your particular circumstances.

[willem kuis]

I am a lifetime subscriber of Roon. And before Roon I used Sooloos of which Roon is an offspring. For me it’s the ultimate interface so far.

In the meantime I got to know Lejonklou and purchased a Kikkin, a Tundra and a Sagatun.
And although I got tempted to order a Kalla, I did not, as I preferred to purchase a brand new Campervan (with an awful stereo system).
Another reason is that I am currently not willing to give up on Roon.

So what I do is following this forum and experiment with low-cost “best practices”: Adding two Netgear GS108Tv3’s (one in between the router and the Roon Nucleus; ond one in between the router and my NAD c658), BlueJeans Cabling and following the recommended set-up “rules” on this forum. All that made Roon sing like never before.

I also feel (It is impossible to A/B) that the last Roon Build 882 has become much more musical. But that could be a case of confirmation bias.

How Roon outputs to Kalla I don’t know.
But what I do know is that Fredrik is not fond of Roon (…..).

[matthias]

How Roon outputs to Kalla I don’t know.

https://help.roonlabs.com/portal/en/kb/ ... up#AirPlay

[lejonklou]

How Roon outputs to Kalla I don’t know.
But what I do know is that Fredrik is not fond of Roon (…..).

What I'm not fond of is that Roon affects the musical quality. Therefore I'm not interested in spending time testing it or making products comply with "Roon Ready".

Luckily with Källa I don't have to do that as it just works, according to several who have tested it.