Serendipity in our business is a wonderful thing. In concert with networking, reputation, scuttlebutt, even hype, it can help connect manufacturer with reviewer. It was both serendipitous and fortuitous that Roy Harris, Audiophilia reviewer rep at this year's CES, stopped by Eunice Kron's room, head of KR Audio Electronics. A connection was made, a request for a review by the manufacturer, et voila, the KR Audio Electronics VA340 Single Ended Tube Integrated Amplifier was delivered to my home by the Canadian distributor. More serendipity. The distributor's office is a two minute drive from the house!

KR Audio Electronics has been around for 10 years, founded by Ms. Kron's late husband, Riccardo Kron. Mr. Kron was one of the top audio designers in the Czech Republic. As such, the name KR is renowned in Europe, especially for tube design and manufacture. The name is becoming more popular in North America, not only for high quality tubes, but for Kron's single ended designs.

Most single ended designs I've heard have been winners, especially when paired with efficient speakers. Luckily, my reference fabaudio Model 1s are 97dB efficient and the fabaudio Brats I had just uncrated are 94dB (review forthcoming), both an easy match for the 17 watts a side VA340. This amplifier is not meant for low efficiency loudspeakers. The sound they create will be inhibited at best.

Delivery

Ultra animated distributor Alfred Kayser was a very welcome visitor to my home. He was instrumental in setting up the amp (plug and play -- tubes are fully regulated by auto biased circuits), and we discussed at length the vagaries of the business and the excellence of KR tubes and gear; his passion for the business and his products was exhilarating. KR Audio is very lucky to have such a dedicated individual representing its products. Kayser's followups and interest were models, too.

Happily, the amplifier was broken in as were the tubes (tube break in is 'bunk', so says Kayser). Like most tube amplifiers, the sound improves after about an hour of warm up - instruments were 'fleshier', soundstage was wider and deeper, etc. The tubes in this case were KR 300BXLSs, rated at about 20 watts per channel. I was given some more KR pairs with which to play -- KR 842VHDs and 300B Balloons. The original 300BXLSs had plenty of power in reserves (nice for a single ended and testament to the synergy of this amp/speaker pairing) with the other tubes slightly less so (they are rated anywhere from 10 - 20 watts). What was amazing is the consistency of the KR tubes - all sweetness and light in sound and pleasant in demeanor. The VA340 was on at least 12 hours a day for two months. Not a blip from any of the tubes. And man, are they quiet! There is only the slightest bump when turned on.

Design and Features

The designers of many integrateds join their company's pre and power units in one chassis - a little fiddling, a little modification, and another model is added to the line. Some folks even prefer them. This protocol has worked remarkably well in some cases, in others, not (howzabout the Concentra II from the pen of Jeff Rowland for a stunning example of the former?). Add Riccardo Kron's design to Mr. Rowland's gem. However, it does differ in one significant way from the Concentra's design philosophy/topology; Kron mates his P150 solid state preamplifier with his Antares VA320 single ended tube amplifier. Interesting, but does it work?

The hybrid system is microprocessor controlled with low frequency power triodes in the output stage (they work in pure Class A, single-ended with output transformer). The design works with zero negative feedback. As I mentioned before, the output stage is solid state, also Class A with MOSFET transistors. All parts are said to be of the highest quality.

The VA340 has four identical channels, the level of which is attenuated via an ALPS potentiometer. A remote control is supplied (standby, channel selector and volume buttons are provided). The chassis is substantial and is made of stainless steel. Power supply and transformer covers are painted with a black composite material. The power tubes are covered with a ring housing. The tubes run hot!

The front panel has four channel indicator lights, nickel-plated volume knob, remote sensor and standby switch (with LED). The rear has a rocker mains switch, detachable power cord outlet, an RCA record output and 4 RCA input connectors. Good quality speaker connectors finish off the well-made, carefully-designed housing.

The amplifier looks functional, is very sturdy, houses a very fine hybrid design, but in my opinion will not win any beauty contests. Some audiophiles who came over for a sneak peek were intrigued by the look, others were indifferent.

Sound

One of my good friends, a golden ear, if there ever was such a thing, testifies regularly that all things being equal, a piece of gear tells its tale immediately. I give it a warm up, at least! In this case, however, she was right! The VA340 gurgled quietly while Kayser was here, but was turned up as soon as the door was closed after him. What I heard was revelatory. This was a great piece of equipment. Sure, the delicacy, the fine details (and print) showed themselves after a week or so, but the sound was so glorious, so full, so sweet, so refulgent, and so damn musical that criticism would have to wait. And wait, it did.

A little tale

I have never, ever discussed a review before publication with any manufacturer/distributor/dealer/designer -- the overview, the body, the summary, nothing. Never! Yet, for some very musical reason, I felt compelled to call up Kayser the next day and thank him for his delivery, set up, tube talk, and yes, to intimate that he had a winner on his hands. Guilty! I'm sorry. It won't happen again, dear readers. I promise. But, if you'd heard Otto Klemperer and his Philharmonia band of brothers playing Bruckner's Fifth towards the heavens, you, too, may have been guilty of the same kind of ultra enthusiasm with which I previously described the deliverer. We'll just call the Fifth the Benediction and I'll repent, somehow. Maybe I'll throw on some Blink 182 while the VA340 remains in house.

Back to the sound

Let me tell you what the VA340 does not do. It cannot play deafening levels on speakers with efficiency limitations (90dB and up, please). It cannot hide the limitations of recordings. It cannot be unmusical.

Let me tell you what it does do. It matches the finest equipment I've had in my house, the Burmester 911 Mk. II Power Amplifier. And in some ways, it betters it. At 6Gs, compared to the 18 or so for the Burmester, that is some achievement. Tone, tone, tone. The pure timbre of orchestral instruments is exquisite; flutes ring, oboes quack, and clarinets are at their velvet best. Overtones that define the instruments are not heard, but are there. Other fine pieces of gear only hint. Resin and horsehair highlight the central tone of each string, the hammer in the piano, the same. No matter what instrument is heard, the essence of that instrument is felt - the very nature of its design, acoustical properties and manufactured material. It makes for superior, involving experience.

The VA340's bass, while outstanding for a low-powered amplifier, is not a match for the effortless bang of the Burmester. Yet, the KR outwits its Euro friend in instrumental separation. I threw on the stupendous Thomas Newman soundtrack of American Beauty (the opening track is audiophile to-die-for material). The bass, so amazing on the track, was really well-defined -- deep as a well, dark and plumbed -- but the mids and highs were stunningly represented by the KR. Soundstage was wide and deep, but the instruments (mainly percussion and electronic), were so clearly defined in space with the transient and decay so natural, that it felt like a new performance. More virtuosic, if that's possible? The recording has been heard in my condo many, many times. This time, the family gathered. My children, even when playing their role as cantankerous, fickle teenagers, both commented on how superb the recording sounded. I have listened to this particular track on countless amps - it never sounded as beautiful as this.

The oft-used 'micro and macro' dynamics were there, of course. Yet what beguiled was the ability of this integrated to replicate real crescendos. The piano/forte type was great. Most amps can do that. It was the pianissimo/piano very quiet crescendi that really caught my ear; the slightest push of breath on a solo flute (back to Bruckner) or even better, subtle string gradations in Rachmaninov's Second Symphony (opening movement) or Reiner's superb Chicago band in Rach's Isle of the Dead. Even the reverb around a tapped baton on stand was heard. Really fantastic stuff for a music lover.

Voices, classical, jazz and pop varieties, all sounded as good as the recording allowed. Once again, the essence of the singer's style was always front and center. For me, Krall never sounded so good. The hugely underrated Carol Welsman (another Canadian jazz diva - buy her CDs!) sounded great, too. The musicians surrounding the singers sounded equally fine.

In Conclusion

For those on the 89/90/91dB fence, you'll just have to take a leap of faith (or try an in house audition). No doubt, the more efficient the speaker, the more will be extruded from the KR. The distributors should be able to suggest the best tube for your particular situation. I feel your pain! I feel fortunate for the effeciency of the fabs.

So, there you have it. A fantastic piece of gear sent from the Czech Republic, with love. For the love of music. For the love of the high end. For the love of God, try to hear it! I don't think you will be disappointed. I humbly give it Audiophilia's highest recommendation. I await, with some fear of the written superlative, for delivery of KR Audio's gigantic, Kronzilla DM 40 watt Dual Mono-block Single-ended Amplifier. Uh oh!

[It is with great pleasure that we award The Audiophilia Star Component Award to the KR Audio Electronics VA340 Single-Ended Integrated Amplifier. Congratulations! - Ed]