Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

[mindhead1]

@Ghost and @mindhead1 - y’all still rocking the Kinki amps? I’m considering going back to solid state and I keep coming back to this one.

Curious what else y’all demoed and if you got to demo the Kinki or did you bite based on reviews?

I'm still living the Kinki life and loving it. As @Ghost mentioned it's a quality piece in terms of performance and looks. Even the remote.

I didn't have a chance to audition it prior to purchasing, I relied on reviews from the likes of Nemo Propaganda, Steve Huff, Jay's Iyagi and New Record Day. I liked the idea of a purpose built piece that didn't have a DAC or Phono Pre I wouldn't use. The EX-M1+ provides great detail and dynamics even at lower volumes. The highs and mid are smooth and rich, and bass is controlled and punchy.

Compared to my previous amps there was a marked improvement when all my sources are connected and the Kinki amp drives my speakers (Buchardt s400 II and Triangle Comet EZ) very well.

My previous amps were a Yamaha as301, Cambridge Audio CXA81, and Wilsenton R8 (still have). All of these amps are very good, IMO, but the Kinki is superior to all of them which it should be at its price point of 2x - 3x more than my previous amps. Kinki Studio gear gets a strong recommendation from me.

The only negative thing about this amp is it's gotten me curious about other high end amplification. Can it get better, or have I reached the point of diminishing returns. Only one way to find out, but that's for the future. For now, I'm very content with my Kinki amp.

 

[kvetcha]

The only negative thing about this amp is it's gotten me curious about other high end amplification. Can it get better, or have I reached the point of diminishing returns. Only one way to find out, but that's for the future. For now, I'm very content with my Kinki amp.

Lemme know when you decide to upgrade.

 

[displayname]

I'm still living the Kinki life and loving it. As @Ghost mentioned it's a quality piece in terms of performance and looks. Even the remote.

I didn't have a chance to audition it prior to purchasing, I relied on reviews from the likes of Nemo Propaganda, Steve Huff, Jay's Iyagi and New Record Day. I liked the idea of a purpose built piece that didn't have a DAC or Phono Pre I wouldn't use. The EX-M1+ provides great detail and dynamics even at lower volumes. The highs and mid are smooth and rich, and bass is controlled and punchy.

Compared to my previous amps there was a marked improvement when all my sources are connected and the Kinki amp drives my speakers (Buchardt s400 II and Triangle Comet EZ) very well.

My previous amps were a Yamaha as301, Cambridge Audio CXA81, and Wilsenton R8 (still have). All of these amps are very good, IMO, but the Kinki is superior to all of them which it should be at its price point of 2x - 3x more than my previous amps. Kinki Studio gear gets a strong recommendation from me.

The only negative thing about this amp is it's gotten me curious about other high end amplification. Can it get better, or have I reached the point of diminishing returns. Only one way to find out, but that's for the future. For now, I'm very content with my Kinki amp.

The lack of demo is what really keeps me hesitant. I’m currently using a tube amp that retailed at $4500, and that was several years ago.
I’ve also been lucky enough to experience a lot of amps that retail well over $10K. But I’m not lucky enough to be in a position to spend that kind of cash on those amps.

If kinki offered a trial period I’d feel better, but I’m worried it won’t fulfill the spot of my current amp and I’ll be out probably $1500 for the experience. Or I could be the guy that keeps two amps on hand, but that’s not going to fly well with the wife.

Anyway, I’m in no rush. Just thinking about options for down the road. I should really focus on cables first, but the Kinki has me curious.

 

[displayname]

Oh, I should add that I did get go use the original Kinki EX-M1 in my house years ago. Totally different set up back then, but I have experienced the build quality was truly a thing a beauty.

Back then it didn’t quite win me over, but I wasn’t annoyed with tubes yet and I had brighter speakers back then. Now I feel like the base impact would be a benefit, but missing the depth and bloom is my real concern.

 

[LeeVing]

The Fosi LC30 finally arrived today - one month exactly from ordering to arrive from China - although it wasn't shipped out until April 25th for some reason.

When I get some time I'll get things hooked up to my receiver and see how it all works. I may order some quality short speaker cables to keep some cable management a bit more manageable for when I hook up my Marantz 2245 back up.

Quality-wise - it seems to be pretty nice. If heavy is nice. It's not overly heavy - just heavier than one would expect.