The gear we reach for around a Kraken — chosen for a quiet, honest signal path from groove to speaker. Each category collects our picks; we're adding more all the time.
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Turntables
A quiet, speed-stable deck with a solid tonearm and an isolated plinth.
- Denon DP-300FA fully automatic belt-drive deck — start, stop and return at the touch of a button, with a built-in switchable phono preamp so you're spinning right away.
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Turntables with USB
A deck with a built-in ADC and USB output — straight into the Kraken over one cable, no separate interface needed.
- Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSBA direct-drive deck with adjustable pitch, a switchable built-in phono preamp and USB output — rock-solid speed and a clean digital feed straight to the Kraken. Note: its built-in USB audio is limited to 16-bit / 48 kHz — for higher resolution, run the analog output into a better ADC.
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Phono Cartridges & Stylus
A well-shaped, well-aligned tip that reads the groove cleanly, without extra wear or noise.
- Ortofon 2M RedEntry level. The go-to first upgrade — a lively elliptical tip that sounds clean and detailed, miles beyond a bundled stylus.
- Ortofon 2M BlueMid level. A nude elliptical diamond digs out more detail with lower distortion — a straight drop-in step up from the Red.
- Ortofon 2M BronzeHigh level. A fine-line nude stylus for audiophile detail and refinement, just short of moving-coil territory.
- Testing more MM styluses
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Phono Preamps
A clean RIAA stage that lifts your cartridge to line level with a low noise floor.
- Schiit ManiDIP switches set gain and filter / loading — match it to your cartridge for the cleanest, best-balanced signal before it reaches the Kraken.
- Tube phono stageA vacuum-tube design for that classic valve warmth ahead of the Kraken — specific model coming soon.
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Phono Preamps with USB
Phono stage and ADC in one box — turntable to Kraken over a single USB cable.
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USB ADC / DAC Interfaces
Clean, stable-clocked conversion in and out, with low jitter and rock-solid drivers.
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The Kraken Host
The machine that runs the engine in real time — quiet, cool and always on.
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Monitor Speakers
Honest, low-coloration monitors that reveal exactly what the Kraken removes, and what it protects.
- KlipschC'mon — these are the folks who named a speaker the Heresy and built their whole sound around a horn called the Tractrix. If anyone's allowed to be loud and proud about horns, it's Klipsch. (Exact model coming soon.)
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Headphones
Flat, closed-back monitors for critical A/B checks with no room in the way.
- Audio-Technica ATH-M50xThe studio-standard closed-back monitor — flat, honest and detailed, so you hear exactly what the Kraken cleaned.
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Headphone DAC
A pocket USB DAC and headphone amp — clean conversion straight from the Kraken host to your headphones.
- AudioQuest DragonFly RedA USB DAC and headphone amp in a flash-drive body — plenty of clean, detailed output to drive most headphones straight from the Kraken host.
- AudioQuest DragonFly CobaltThe step-up DragonFly — a better DAC chip, lower noise floor and finer resolution for critical listening, in the same plug-and-play stick.
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Record Care & Cleaning
Fewer clicks start with clean records — brushes, fluids and gentle machines.
- Ortofon Stylus Carbon Fiber BrushA quick carbon-fiber sweep of the stylus tip before every side lifts dust that would otherwise turn into clicks and needless wear.
- Ortofon Anti-Static Record Brush (Red Sheath)Carbon-fiber brush that clears surface dust and drains static as the record spins — fewer pops and crackle for the Kraken to chase.
- Spin-Clean Record Washer KitAn inexpensive manual wash bath — spin the record through the brushes and fluid to lift grime out of the grooves for a noticeably quieter play.
- Audio-Technica AT6011a Anti-Static Record BrushA dual-pad carbon-fiber and velvet brush that sweeps loose dust and dissipates static right before the needle drops.
- kwmobile Vinyl Record Cleaner RollerSimple to use for quick surface dust removal — roll it across the record for a fast pickup between deeper cleans.
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Record Storage
Keep your collection upright, organized and easy to flip through.
- LPBIN2A flip-style browsing bin that holds a stack of LPs upright and lets you thumb through them cover-by-cover — gives you that record-store feel right at home.
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Isolation & Setup Tools
Feet, mats, weights and gauges that kill rumble and feedback at the source.
- Shure SFG-2The classic balance-beam gauge for setting vertical tracking force — dial in the exact grams your cartridge wants for clean tracking and minimal record wear.
- Neoteck NTK002A digital stylus force scale accurate to 0.01 g — an exact readout for precise VTF, and a quick cross-check against the balance-beam gauge.