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KARA F
KARA F KARA F

KARA F

£750
VAT already included
Out Of Stock

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Schiit Kara

Schiit Kara is a Balanced Passive or Active Pre amp with Headphone Socket

Tubes, schmubes. Who needs tubes when you have an insane, fully discrete, solid state preamp running on 64V rails—something so over the top that the likes of this haven’t been seen for 30+ years. Welcome to Kara, the all-new do-all Nexus™ preamp from Schiit Audio.

Nexus™, Elevated. Literally.

Yes, literally. Schiit's exclusive differential Nexus stage usually runs on +/-17V or so. Great stuff. But Kara’s +/-32V rails are insanely over the top, giving it the capability of swinging near 100V on the differential output, and contributing to the best-performing, best-measuring preamp they have ever made—near -120dB THD+N from balanced.

Forkbeard™: Total Control is Just the Start

Kara F includes Forkbeard, the only multi-product, multi-stack, unified control system. One iOS app gives you total control of Kara (and many other Schiit devices), as well as complete visibility and system health reports. Don’t want Forkbeard? Drop it off your order and save £45. You’ll still get the standard IR remote control.

Smart Headphone Capability, Standard. 

A headphone jack? On a Schiit preamp? Yes. Because you shouldn’t have to buy a dedicated headphone amp if you only use headphones occasionally. But that also doesn’t mean a cheapie op-amp headphone amp; it means the same discrete gain stage used for Kara’s outputs, coupled with a smart protection system that guards against headphone mishaps.

The Ultimate Volume Control

Kara F includes a 128-step relay-switched attenuator, rather than a traditional potentiometer. This means essentially perfect channel matching and near-unmeasurable distortion. You can also run the relay potentiometer as a purely passive attenuator, with no gain stage at all in the path. It’s your choice.   

5-Year Warranty

Kara F is covered by a 5-year limited warranty that covers parts and labour. 

Specs

SPECS THAT MATTER

Noise: inaudible
Distortion: unmeasurable by APx555 in passive mode, state of the art balanced, better than any transducer in any configuration
Heat: gets moderately warm; not surprising for a Class A device
Size: shelf- and rack-friendly, not super desk-friendly

OTHER SPECS

Passive

THD+N unmeasurable with APx555; below analyzer capability

Balanced to Balanced

Gain: 1 (0dB)

Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, -0.1db, 3Hz-500KHz, -3dB

THD: <0.0002%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 4V RMS 

IMD: <0.0002%, CCIR 

SNR: >129db, A-weighted, referenced to 4V RMS 

Gain: 4 (12dB)

Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, -0.1db, 3Hz-300KHz, -3dB 

THD: <0.0004%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 4V RMS 

IMD: <0.0004%, CCIR 

SNR: >123db, A-weighted, referenced to 4V RMS 


Balanced to SE, x1 Gain

Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, -0.1db, 3Hz-500KHz, -3dB

THD: <0.0003%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 2V RMS 

IMD: <0.0003%, CCIR 

SNR: >123db, A-weighted, referenced to 2V RMS 

SE to Balanced, X1 Gain

Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, -0.1db, 3Hz-500KHz, -3dB

THD: <0.0015%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 4V RMS 

IMD: <0.0022%, CCIR 

SNR: >122db, A-weighted, referenced to 4V RMS


Headphone, X1 Gain

Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 1W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 1W RMS per channel (yes same as 32 ohms)
SNR: >123db, unweighted, referenced to 2V RMS
Crosstalk: >-90dB
Output Impedance: 0.25 ohms


Passive

All specifications limited by APx555 analyzer capability

Topology: Nexus™; current feedback with nested differential stages; discrete summed single-ended outputs with high-current headphone capability; intelligent headphone oversight and protection

Input Impedance: 10K ohms

Output Impedance: 75 ohms SE, 600 ohms balanced

Crosstalk: >110dB typical all modes

Inputs: 2 XLR pairs plus 3 RCA pairs, selectable via front switch or remote

Outputs: 1 XLR pair plus 2 RCA pairs, selectable via front switch or remote 

Volume Control: relay-switched stepped attenuator with discrete thin-film resistors, 128 0.625dB steps

Power Supply: One 48VA transformer with dual series regulated +/-32V rails with Quietude™ topology; plus regulated 5VDC for microprocessor 

Remote:

  • Standard IR remote for all front panel functions: volume, input select, gain, mute, etc.
  • Standard Forkbeard control system for all the above, plus advanced functions including system health and alerts, and additional capabilities when more Schiit Forkbeard products are added to the stack.

Power Consumption: 22W typical

Size: 40.64 x 20.32 x 5.08 cm

Weight: 5 Kg

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