I've been using a HLLY AMK-II Pre-AMP for about three weeks now, and thought I'd share my impressions with the forum. I'm using the pre-amp with an old tube AMI jukebox power amp ("stereo block"). I was using my TV as a pre-amp (the TV has plenty of inputs, and the audio output level can be controlled with the TV's volume control), but the TV's outputs proved to have a poor S/N (hiss). With the HLLY, my non-TV audio sources are dead quiet, no hiss what so ever. The AMK-II is basically a Cirrus CS3310 stereo volume chip with a PS and control circuitry, so I assume the amp's specs are essentially the specs in the chip's data sheet which are quite good.
The pre-amp has four sets of inputs, none of which are phono. The source switching is done with relays, I can hear clicking when changing sources. The only audio functions are volume and balance, no bass or treble. The pre-amp comes with a small remote control with "chicklet" style buttons. I was able to program my Sony RM-VLZ620 universal control with the pre-amp buttons thanks to it's learning feature. The source control of the pre-amp is sequential with a pair of up/down buttons. With the RM-VLZ620, I was able to program the four System Control buttons to act as discrete buttons for each input. Pretty cool trick, this universal remote can do anything!
I found the volume steps, using the remote, to be rather course (each step is a fairly large jump in volume), usable, but a bit annoying. The volume knob on the unit itself is nice and smooth with small steps.
ADDITIONAL INFO: The caret up/down buttons on the remote appear to be "fine tuning" button for the volume. They are not slewing buttons, one push results in one fine step. I find these buttons more useful for adjusting volume than the actual volume buttons!
Incredably, the AMK-II does not come with any instruction manual. And, I did not find any instructions on line. Be prepared for some experimentation, if you get one. The sound is clean and quiet to my non-golden ears. The erganomics could stand improvement. Overall, it's doing just what I needed in my system, and the price was right.
BTW, I forgot to mention one other feature. There is a user settable volume limit. This could be a real life saver around kids or at a party.
Bobby Dipole
The pre-amp has four sets of inputs, none of which are phono. The source switching is done with relays, I can hear clicking when changing sources. The only audio functions are volume and balance, no bass or treble. The pre-amp comes with a small remote control with "chicklet" style buttons. I was able to program my Sony RM-VLZ620 universal control with the pre-amp buttons thanks to it's learning feature. The source control of the pre-amp is sequential with a pair of up/down buttons. With the RM-VLZ620, I was able to program the four System Control buttons to act as discrete buttons for each input. Pretty cool trick, this universal remote can do anything!
I found the volume steps, using the remote, to be rather course (each step is a fairly large jump in volume), usable, but a bit annoying. The volume knob on the unit itself is nice and smooth with small steps.
ADDITIONAL INFO: The caret up/down buttons on the remote appear to be "fine tuning" button for the volume. They are not slewing buttons, one push results in one fine step. I find these buttons more useful for adjusting volume than the actual volume buttons!
Incredably, the AMK-II does not come with any instruction manual. And, I did not find any instructions on line. Be prepared for some experimentation, if you get one. The sound is clean and quiet to my non-golden ears. The erganomics could stand improvement. Overall, it's doing just what I needed in my system, and the price was right.
BTW, I forgot to mention one other feature. There is a user settable volume limit. This could be a real life saver around kids or at a party.
Bobby Dipole
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