Appearing as if from the film set of a 1950s sci-fi movie, it's one of KR Audio's startlingly retro-looking Kronzilla tube amplifiers, sporting the biggest pair of triodes you'll ever have clapped eyes on. There's no trickery - those valves really are a foot tall. When I saw it for the first time at close quarters in the Ed's media room I thought: 'I'll keep my distance when he fires up that beast...'. I needn't have been quite so paranoid. Sure, the Kronzilla 'monster valves' radiate substantial heat once the amplifier has been powered up for a few minutes, but there's nothing flaky about the design or build quality of KR Audio's amplifiers. They are beautifully engineered. The company is based in Prague, founded by electronics engineer Dr Ricardo Kron who set up a manufacturing facility for audio vacuum tubes in 1992. Oh yes: KR Audio makes its own valves in-house. How many valve amplifier manufacturers can claim that?
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