Krell Phantom II Stereo Preamplifier

The Phantom II incorporates the advanced technologies and brilliant design of the Phantom preamplifier into a single chassis format. Often overlooked, the preamplifier is a critical component in the signal chain. A small signal must be carefully amplified without damaging the ephemeral staging and dimensional components of the music. Heard through the Phantom II, music fills a listening room with three dimensional imaging, tonal integrity, and staggering dynamics.

The Phantom II is the perfect companion for the Evolution 302e power amplifier and Cipher SACD/CD player.

Circuitry Highlights

Sharing the same audio circuitry as its bigger brother, the Phantom II preamplifier is a dual monaural circuit design with the left and right channels afforded their own power supply regulation and individual full chassis sized boards. All signal gain is realized in surface mount topology using proprietary multiple-output current mirrors with nearly 500 times the open loop linearity of other designs 1.5 MHz open loop bandwidth in a zero feedback, balanced, Krell Current Mode design terminating in Krell CAST. A complete Krell system (source, preamp, and amplifier) system, connected using CAST interconnects reduces the number of voltage gain stages to the minimum, one. The resulting noise floor approaches the theoretical limit of technology. Negative feedback is not used anywhere in he preamp, nor is it necessary. Open-loop distortion is typically less than 0.003%. The volume control is realized with a balanced resistor ladder – bandwidth and transient response of the preamp circuitry are virtually unaffected by the volume setting.

Power Supply Highlights

The Phantom II audio circuits receive power from a Krell Current Mode analog power supply. The power supply avoids the common integrated circuit topology used in many preamplifiers and instead mimics the design topology of Krell Evolution e Series amplifiers. The circuitry is completely discrete giving it the ability to respond quickly to current demands and also be unaffected by AC voltage power fluctuations. Oversized for a preamplifier, the power supply features a 140 VA transformer and 35,000µF of capacitance.

The Phantom II preamplifier is offered in diamond-cut silver or a luxurious black finish.