Pure XLR Mach 2 Preamp

What makes the Pure XLR Mach 2 Preamp sound so good?

The circuit runs on a “voltage doubler” that provides 18 volts to the internal components even though it uses standard 9 volt input voltage. The result is high-powered clarity that simply cannot be achieved with a regular 9-volt circuit!

Electronic circuits work more efficient on higher power and electronic components designed for low power consumption will never sound as good as the more power-hungry components that are optimized for tone quality.

There is a direct relation between power consumption and sound quality, meaning that preamps with 200+ hours battery life will compromise on sound quality. Phantom powered preamps, depending on their complexity, also need to compromise on power consumption issues as phantom power fluctuates and diminishes with the number of consumers connected.

Generally, low power consumption equals less high-end response, less headroom (circuit peaks or overloads sooner), and less overall clarity.

At K&K, we've always favored sound quality over power consumption in our external preamp line, but with the Pure XLR Mach 2 Preamp we went even further and run it on 18 volts.

This feature alone would make the new Pure XLR Mach 2 Preamp worthwhile, but we added a few more things that players have asked for:

+/- 15dB Parametric band that covers 150Hz to 700Hz with adjustable notch width
Full bypass of parametric stage if not needed
Tuner output
Mute switch input
In addition to these features:
Proprietary K&K high-power three band EQ (bass – mid – treble)
Adjustable input gain
Phase switch
Master volume
Simultaneously usable 1/4” line out and balanced XLR – DI output

The tuner output allows you to connect your tuner “open ended," so there will be no signal degradation by passing through it and no switch noise.

The Pure XLR Mach 2 Preamp preserves harmonics and overtones and provides a more open and true acoustic sound response. The additional parametric band allows you to fine-adjust the low mid / high bass band for optimum tone and feedback control.

We know our customers want the best and truest acoustic tone and we are proud to introduce this new preamp. We believe it brings out the best!

Want to hear what a phase switch does? In this demo, you’ll hear a short melody line on my Martin DM with the Pure Mini and the Pre-Phase directly into my Fender DeVille tube amp (that's right folks - I like this one even for my acoustics!). All EQ is set flat, no effects. The first take is "out of phase," the second is "in phase." I used a microphone positioned in front of the amp to record the difference.

We purposely choose some notes which clearly indicate the trouble of "out of phase" sound. You may have experienced a similar phenomenon yourself. On the first take, the E (on the A string 7th fret) is badly out of phase, it rings rough, dirty and it feeds-back. With the proper phase setting in the second take everything sounds clean and balanced, with a fuller tone overall. All we did was use the little phase switch on the Pre-Phase.