As with the kWp, LEDs built into the kW's feet glow yellow on turn-on, blue when the unit has warmed up, and red when the preamp is muted. LEDs indicate the signal source selected and the status of the On/Off and Mute controls. Line-level only, the kW has four inputs (CD, SACD, Tuner, Aux), plus a tape loop and a unity gain pass-through input to feed a home theater preamplifier-processor. And while it is, like the kWp, a relatively large preamplifier, it's really only half as big-unlike the kWp, the kW's power supply is onboard. With its handsome brushed aluminum faceplate, black faux handles, and single large volume control, the kW Hybrid represents a huge cosmetic improvement over the kWp. If you come, Musical Fidelity will build it-not forever, but at least for the foreseeable future. You'll face no such buyer's remorse should you hesitate to run out and plunk down your $14,500 to buy the kW and kW750 immediately after reading this review: their production runs are not limited. I also knew that, had I passed on the kWp-kW combo, the opportunity to own them wouldn't come again soon-if at all-as they were very limited editions (only 75 sets were made). That has proved to be the case soon thereafter, mbl's hideously inefficient 101s arrived (see review in the October 2004 issue). I also figured that I'd then have a power amp beefy enough to drive any loudspeaker I might get for review. Though I could have lived without the kWp's cartoony looks and the kW's ungainly, boxy clutter, I'd fallen in love with their effortless sound. But compared to the three-story edifice of the kW, whose power supply alone weighed 94 lbs, the kW750 is almost petite.Īfter reviewing the original kWp and kW, I bought the review samples. The power supply requires an additional 11" by 14" of floor or rack area and another 7" of height-a lot. It does, however, fit on a standard equipment rack. Make no mistake, though: the kW750 is still a big, heavy brute weighing 75 lbs-and that doesn't include the 47-lb outboard power supply. And because the kW750 is two mono amplifiers packed into a single chassis, it guarantees that at least some carpet will show between your speakers. But at $10,000, the kW750 is considerably less costly than the 1000Wpc kW. Nor is the kW750 stereo amplifier that much less powerful, being conservatively rated at 750Wpc into 8 ohms (or 1100Wpc into 4 ohms). So, having quickly sold out of its ultra-limited-edition, extravagantly powered and priced combo of kWp preamplifier ($14,995) and kW power amp ($27,995) that I reviewed in January 2004, Musical Fidelity (footnote 1) set about capitalizing on the enthusiastic reviews earned by those giants with less expensive, less powerful, "real-world" replacements.Īt $4500, the kW Hybrid preamp isn't exactly inexpensive. Not every audiophile needs an amplifier powerful enough to tax a small town's power grid while simultaneously draining his or her bank account.
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