Speakers are DIY. Mark Audio Alpair 7.3 in homebrew front ported cabinets. Have about 4hrs on this little amp so far. It's quite nice!
Replaced everything but the output tubes with Tung Sol right off the bat. Still waiting for my Bendix 6094 and adapters to come in which might take another couple weeks. The amp is very rich sounding as in there's more meat on the bones compared to my Anaview; which I expected. Bass finally started to come in at around the 8hr mark and I'm sure I have a long way to go with break in. I don't think my speakers are the best pairing since I'm watching the VU meters peg way past their markings. Even though it's not clipping. So I think it's safe to say the VU meters are just for show. I was checking the output volume with a MiniDSP umik and REW and was seeing 92db peaks which should be well within the safe output range of the amp. More testing to follow
Yes I see those speakers you are using are quite low sensitivity so probably not the best match (for listening loud) even though they don't seem to have any nasty impedance drops. I'm guessing my speakers aren't the best either, but I don't listen real loud these days. I went from a 180w class AB amp (new cost about $2000 in 2003) to the Kingko and the Kingko is better and fuller sounding.
Could you post a photo when you get the Bendix, I just want to see what it looks like with tubes with adaptors? And let us know how they sound.
How long did you feel the break in period was? Yes I will post photos of the Bendix when they arrive. As well I will give another update as the sound changes. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ddRWv2AbjHVEAbtM9 Will post another pic Monday after I install the "red" faceplate..which is more pink than I had hoped.
Does any of you guys' amps start buzzing in both channels after being on for a long time? I bought mine for office use, so about 9hrs a day. Starts off quiet in the morning then after lunch gradually gets noisier. Clearly audible with my ear next to the speakers which are 85db efficient. Can barely hear it about 3' away.
I usually listen to music in 1-4 hour sessions... I have not had my KA-101 on longer than that yet. I have not noticed any buzzing.
I had some serious humming from a Raytheon 12AX7 I tried first up. The hum was there even when no music was playing and it remained the same volume whether amp volume was minimum or maximum - totally went when I slotted the Kingko 12AX7 back in and the Brimar I currently use. Try putting the Kingko tubes back in and see if it goes away, then try to isolate.
Well it didn't take long for some company to steal King Ip's amplifier! It's funny when western companies steal from the Chinese!! And charging 1299Euros for it. ($1460 US) I sent a message to King - but I don't think there is much you can do - it's just funny - he was worried about the Chinese company - but it seems to be a French company - Vincent 2.0
I suppose it's a form of flattery. Is this genuine Kingko internals, just packaged up a bit differently?
All it looks like they have done is unscrew the front plate had their own one made (and you notice it doesn't fit as the sides jut out) and they have merely added that gold brushed plate as you can see it doesn't sit flush but has been simply attached. They have changed the transformer cover. Perhaps they have purchased the amp from King in Hong Kong - spent about $50 on these additions - then added $600 for their profit. Nice. They will make more money on the things than King.
I would bet that is exactly what they did. Most people are not aware of KingKo, so it would be easy for them to do what you have described.
I am sorry to see that...Just earlier this week I was messaging with King regarding a question I had about the amp. I have always found him to be responsive and helpful. I have been listening daily to the KA-101, I upgraded the tubes per others suggestions and paired it with Altec A7-500-W speakers. I recently mentioned in another thread that the bass sounded a little weak with this pairing. So I switched amps to a 150 wpc solid state NAD connected to the Altecs, the bass increased, but still left room for improvement. I then connected the NAD to a different set of speakers and played the same album and there was deeper bass. These speakers do a lot of things wonderfully, deep bass just doesn't happen to be one of them. At some point, I will pair them with subwoofers. The next step for me with this amp is to once again follow the lead of others and listen to it as a stand alone power-amp. I have a Croft Vitale sc tube preamplifier I will connect and listen to how that compares to the built in preamp.
Hi I have read a few of your posts Im brand new here and own this KA-101.My findings are similar to other postive experiences.Its not my main amp and maybe 60 hrs on it.Using as an integrated the only strange thing I would like to change is maybe a little more tame and less glassy with the cymbals and a little more bass extension .I could live with sound as is even with the stock tubes as the bass is very good quality.I just wonder how much a better rectifier would affect atleast a larger more extended bass and open yp a bigger sound.I dont want to spend big money to retube.Just looking for a little improvement.I feel the amp is superb value in build and sound.The headphone stage is also superb
Hi Im brand new here and own this KA-101.My findings are similar to other postive experiences.Its not my main amp and maybe 60 hrs on it.Using as an integrated the only strange thing I would like to change is maybe a little more tame and less glassy with the cymbals and a little more bass extension .I could live with sound as is even with the stock tubes as the bass is very good quality.I just wonder how much a better rectifier would affect atleast a larger more extended bass and open yp a bigger sound.I dont want to spend big money to retube.Just looking for a little improvement.I feel the amp is superb value in build and sound.The headphone stage is also superb
In my review I note King's recommendations. The RCA NOS rectifier is what he recommended and I feel made the biggest difference above any other tube. I Also run the Genelex EL 84s and 12ax7 he recommended. I still use the stock 12au7.
I don't have a KingKo, but I do have a dozen tube amps and horn driven speaker's, which I like to run with a 3.9-Watt (Single Ended Pentode) amp. Not everyone agrees with me, but while these small amps, sound good to excellent, they just don't quite have enough "OOMPH" to quite cut the mustard, when it comes to the deep bass department. I use a sub, problem solved. With the sub present, the little 3.9-Watt amp, is now full range and completely satisfying. No big deal. BTW... I do like EL84 based amps a LOT!
Thanks.Ya I really think the bass is just fine and nice and punchy which I love but you know how it is is we are always wanting and just want to see the potential of things.But can live with it just the way it is as bass is not everything and often used in inferior equip to hide the flaws in very important areas such as midrange,top end etc.This amp is superb in those areas and bass is nice
True that is. I have a vintage Fisher class A/B tube integrated 22-WPC amp and a Line Magnetic 518iA which is a 22-Watt SET design. Both of these amps have ample power and bass. But I also have 100 dB sensitive speaker's, so that helps! But the vintage Altec Lansing A7's are theater speaker's and are all about midrange. Even though they have large size cabinet's, they only play down to around 47-Hz. at their -3 dB point. Don't get me wrong here, they have plenty of bass, but you always need power to drive bass at lower frequencies. My little 3.9-Watt Decware amp certainly does not have what it takes to get the bass going. When I have the Polk DSW PRO 660 sub-woofer playing along, the bass kicks in when it is needed and completes the sound signature. The A7's are on their own separate system, although it is driven by the same source as the main HT/stereo system. The main HT/stereo system is has a pair of the Polk LSiM707 tower's as front mains. These are large towers and weigh 99-lbs. each. They are powered by a 250-Watt Emotiva SS amplifier and they can really put out some bass. But, when I have the 15" commercial horn loaded passive sub in the system, which is powered by a 1,600-Watt Crown amplifier, when more bass is needed you can really tell the difference. Most people out there listen to what bass there is, and think that that's all that there is and they accept it, because it seems like they are hearing the right amount of bass, that is, until the hear what it really should be sounding like! But, but I really do agree with you, most people really screw up bass so that it cover's up the important midrange. Unfortunately, these people do not have a good understanding of audio. Proper bass, sould compliment and not overwhelm the other aspects of the music that is being played. With both the A7's and the LSiM707's, when sub-bass is not needed, it is not there. When it is, most of the time it is not strong enough or deep enough (except for certain types of music), that you don't even know that there is a sub-woofer there. That is they way that it should be!
