Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

mindhead1 said:
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.
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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.
 
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.
 
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.

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displayname said:
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.
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what's the difference between the older EX-M1 versus the current model? i keep seeing older models for quite good deals on audiogon, etc. i regret hesitating on a good deal on the EX-M1 a month or two ago. by the time i reached out to the seller, it was already gone.
 
MikeH said:
what's the difference between the older EX-M1 versus the current model? i keep seeing older models for quite good deals on audiogon, etc. i regret hesitating on a good deal on the EX-M1 a month or two ago. by the time i reached out to the seller, it was already gone.
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I believe it’s mainly things like

• less points of volume attenuation (current model goes up to 100, older went to like 256)
• non dimmable LED display
• No gold plated heat sinks
• Maybe some other small things

I don’t believe there (don’t quote me) would be a difference in sound though
 
Ghost said:
I believe it’s mainly things like

• less points of volume attenuation (current model goes up to 100, older went to like 256)
• non dimmable LED display
• No gold plated heat sinks
• Maybe some other small things

I don’t believe there (don’t quote me) would be a difference in sound though
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I’ve also read that OpAmp rolling is a bit easier in the older version if you are into that type of thing.
 
Ghost said:
I believe it’s mainly things like

• less points of volume attenuation (current model goes up to 100, older went to like 256)
• non dimmable LED display
• No gold plated heat sinks
• Maybe some other small things

I don’t believe there (don’t quote me) would be a difference in sound though
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hmm.....maybe i'll look into the older model then.....saw one for $1,300 recently...
 
mindhead1 said:
Anyone have experience ordering used gear from HiFi Heaven?

I’m considering a pair of Klipsch Forte IV and they have some used on their site that are $1k to $1500 less than new. They also have some Cornwallis at a nice price, but I think those will be too much speaker for my room.
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I’ve bought various smaller items from them over the years and had good experiences.
 
mindhead1 said:
Anyone have experience ordering used gear from HiFi Heaven?

I’m considering a pair of Klipsch Forte IV and they have some used on their site that are $1k to $1500 less than new. They also have some Cornwallis at a nice price, but I think those will be too much speaker for my room.
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I bought my turntable from them. In my experience they will also give you a good deal on new.
 
mindhead1 said:
Anyone have experience ordering used gear from HiFi Heaven?

I’m considering a pair of Klipsch Forte IV and they have some used on their site that are $1k to $1500 less than new. They also have some Cornwallis at a nice price, but I think those will be too much speaker for my room.
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I’ve purchased a few items (CD transport, phono pre, turntable, integrated amp) over the years with them, and traded in a few items as well. Always went well.
 
Mather said:
Lord help me, I keep looking at the Fyne Classic X and XII and doing... calculations. I really dislike the look of their upper range (despite them sounding absolutely incredible) but these two... I really like these two...
View attachment 203422View attachment 203423
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Same. The 12 is very nice looking, with the grill on I don’t like the grill off, and as an old school Tannoy fanboy I’m guessing that I’ll adore how they sound.
 
Joe Mac said:
Same. The 12 is very nice looking, with the grill on I don’t like the grill off, and as an old school Tannoy fanboy I’m guessing that I’ll adore how they sound.
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Yeah admittedly I started at the Tannoy Stirling III LZ but they got so thoroughly savaged by reviewers that I read up on how everyone left Tannoy and started Fyne and then things started to make sense considering how similar the designs are.

I go back and forth about the grille off with the writing on the cabinet to display the sound... "graphs" I suppose? One day I like it one day I don't. I actually prefer the Tannoy look with the functional, I'm sure she what it's called, bypass plate maybe? No clue, but it's cool looking.

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Mather said:
Yeah admittedly I started at the Tannoy Stirling III LZ but they got so thoroughly savaged by reviewers that I read up on how everyone left Tannoy and started Fyne and then things started to make sense considering how similar the designs are.
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Yeah Tannoy were bought out by an international conglomerate and while they kept some stuff in Scotland a lot of the design and build stuff was moved far east. The brains trust left and set up Fyne and with things like the dual concentric drivers and efficiency are singing from the same hymn sheet whilst probably embracing modern design and engineering ideas a bit more. Plus they’re based in the small ex mining town my dad is from that’s really suffered since the pits shut and that any success story there is something I’d want to support.
 
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Joe Mac said:
Yeah Tannoy were bought out by an international conglomerate and while they kept some stuff in Scotland a lot of the design and build stuff was moved far east. The brains trust left and set up Fyne and with things like the dual concentric drivers and efficiency are singing from the same hymn sheet whilst probably embracing modern design and engineering ideas a bit more. Plus they’re based in the small ex mining town my dad is from that’s really suffered since the pits shut that any success story there is something I’d want to support.
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Now. I juuuust need to find like... $13,000 CAD lying around...
 
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