Kinki EX-M1?

Discussion in 'Power Amps' started by ufospls2, Apr 17, 2019.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    What happened here looks like different expectations between the customer and seller. High end dealers such as @MikePowellAudio do earnestly want to assist their customers and guide them in the right direction. Well informed customers in the Internet age such as k4star want to be able to make decisions with a fierce Independence. Sometimes things just don't work out. No harm no foul, other than a few gripes.

    Carry on.

    P.S. Max HP @ RPM and torque @ RPM don't define a car, but sometimes it's nice to know.

    P.S.S. If someone rubs you the wrong way, you don't have to buy from them. There are certain car dealerships in my area that I will just avoid.
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2019
  2. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    The problem is this type of genuine attitude, if it is genuine, is that it is so rare in the audio industry that when you are faced with it you feel like you're being dooped.

    Personally the HiFi industry feels like a sea of pompous, but still equally greasy used car salesmen. I think that is why so many "young audiophiles" do a lot of research online, specifically on forums where people who have no skin in the game can give you a pretty honest opinion of the gear.

    Regardless, this should be an impressions thread and has sufficiently gone sideways, much like the Metrum Onyx thread.
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2019
  3. ufospls2

    ufospls2 Friend

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    OK. I don't know about the whole Mike Powell beef stuff. I can highly recommend Bernard at Charisma Audio if you are up here in Canada. He comes across as a really nice guy and was super helpful, and shipped the Kinki quickly. No complaints. Anyhow

    Back to the Kinki

    [​IMG]

    This thing f'ing lights up my harder to drive planars. I could see it being a problem for easier to drive headphones, but I'll find out about that in the future as Zach at ZMF is sending me a couple pairs of his headphones for review. Can't wait to hear those.

    Here is a weird thing I've noticed. Last night I had WAY more play on the volume knob than I did in the first hour. Did something change? Or am I just a potato? I'm not sure. Anyhow, I was able to go up to 80 with the Susvara (loud!) with a 2v DAC input signal.

    The Susvara and Diana Phi have never sounded this good to me. I'm being serious. The bass this amp is bringing out of them is really, really, impressive. I don't know if every decent speaker amp would do this, or if it is more the Kinki's sound signature in particular? Maybe someone with extensive HE6/Speaker amp experience here would know.

    Its not just the bass that has improved either, the dynamics, especially on the Susvara are way, way better than I have heard them before.

    I also don't know what magic the extra (unused) power is bringing to these headphones. Last night, I feel like I got a hint of what these two headphones are truly capable of. I was just using my iFi iDSD BL as the DAC, as I don't have a desktop DAC currently, so I think there is a little room to move up in terms of sound quality. Not that the iDSD BL is a bad DAC by any means, but there are better DACs out there.

    I tried it briefly with my Philharmonic Audio BMRs yesterday, and it was a similar situation. Going from my Marantz 50wpc HT Receiver to the Kinki with the iDSD BL showed me a bit more of what they are capable of.

    I know I tend to have a bit of new toy syndrome, and I try my best to temper this in my impressions, but so far, I'm really enjoying this amp.

    I really hope some others here can get their ears on this amp at some point, because I'm not sure if it is just a great (for the money, or even in general) amp, or is it just I'm not used to properly powered Susvara/Diana Phi, and any decent speaker amp would do this for me? I really don't know.

    In other news, this amp is still heavy as shit and hard to move around.

    Also, the look the lady delivering it gave me was funny. "Kinki Studio." She probably thought it was a new sex swing.

    How about a loaner tour @MikePowellAudio ?
     
  4. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    I did a check up from the neck up like you suggested and realized I was wrong to post a public warning about dealing with you as nothing went wrong in our transaction. I don't want to shit on anyone's small business, especially if it is linked to their passion in life.

    I would like to add that I think your own comments do more to dissuade potential buyers than mine would, but at least you're keeping it real, so more power to you.
     
  5. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Your ears adjust / densensitize after time so you can crank it up more as you so along.

    It's strange, but a good 100-200W speaker amp will bring massive and grip. But if the speaker amp sounds like ass, it's going to translate badly.
     
  6. ufospls2

    ufospls2 Friend

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    Yeah my ears adjusting was definitely part of it, but it was defo weird how much of a difference there was in terms of volume. I have no clue why. Oh well, doesn't really matter. Might have all been in my mind anyhow.

    I'd like to hear what you and others think of the Kinki. I don't have much experience with speaker amps, but this is sounding really good to me so far. Curious what the over all consensus will be. I'm just going to enjoy it anyhow ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
     
  7. uncola

    uncola Friend

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    nice black kinki. I still really love my silver one. Just wish it would remember to dim the display on powerup.
    Also unrelated but I had to mail a warranty replacement PCB to Mike Powell and he was pretty nice about it
     
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    A loaner would be great. The downside is regional distribution monopolies. I'd rather go straight to China / Taobao. I'm trying not to blow our community warchest again like with the DACs. (We are getting money back now though).
     
  9. ufospls2

    ufospls2 Friend

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    Okeydokey. Checking back in after listening to the Kinki with my Philharmonic Audio BMR's all morning instead of using it with headphones.

    Please keep in mind, I am not very experienced with speakers in general, and speaker amps as well. Take my impressions with a big ol' grain of salt.

    This listening was done using my iFi iDSD as the DAC.

    Anyhow.

    The difference vs using the Marantz HT receiver I have been using is crazy. There is way less bass, but it is way better in terms of quality. The sound is far less warm, and mushy. Like....I guess a cheap HT receiver isn't much of a comparison, but it just sounds better in every single metric. Treble is way more detailed and sweeter sounding. Soundstage is bigger and less congested. I feel like I'm actually hearing a bit more of what the BMR's can do for the first time.

    In terms of negatives that I came up with last night listening with headphones, because nothing is perfect?

    -Maybe a tiny bit unnatural sounding at times. Like you are not getting that musical warmth realism that some amps have
    -Sounds a tiny bit compressed at times as well. This isn't a bad thing all the time, and can actually be a good thing at times for some music, but its something to take note of.
    -There might not be enough bass quantity for some people
    -@rlow ended up preferring his Schiit set up for its more natural full sound. If you are looking for that, this might not
    be the amp for you.

    So yeah. Thats what I've noticed so far.
     
  10. AdvanTech

    AdvanTech Friend

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    How would you describe this 'unnaturalness', or how would you describe something with more realism?
     
  11. ufospls2

    ufospls2 Friend

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    It's kinda hard to describe. I sounds like you are listening to the amp, not the music. Its a leaner dry-er sound signature. Lightning fast and punchy, but doesn't have that warm romantic sound. Does the make some sort of sense?

    I should note that it is a very small thing. I'm really nitpicking.
     
  12. AdvanTech

    AdvanTech Friend

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    Kind of like more square vs more rounded?
     
  13. ufospls2

    ufospls2 Friend

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    Thats part of it.

    Sometimes an amp produces a sound that just sounds more real, like the instrument/synth actually sounds, and sometimes it sounds like the amp is inflicting its signature on the instrument, sounding more like the amp than the instrument IRL.

    Maybe I'm wrong and just shit at explaining what I'm hearing though.

    And don't get me wrong, I really like this amp, and think it excels highly in some (most) areas.
     
  14. Samoyed

    Samoyed New

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    Is Powell still the US distributor?
     
  15. zonto

    zonto Friend

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  16. Samoyed

    Samoyed New

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    Funny on whose part? Powell’s videos are certainly odd.
     
  17. netforce

    netforce MOT: Headphones.com

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    It could be that Kinki dropped Powell or Powell dropped Kinki. Or Charisma became the distributor for North America which is what I am guessing. Interesting how brands can constantly change hands with different distributors.
     
  18. Samoyed

    Samoyed New

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    Still, the guy is odd.
     
  19. Samoyed

    Samoyed New

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    Well, it appears Powell is gone.
     
  20. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Amp may be great. Pointless if dealer/importer is a clusterfuck.
     

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