Konka Novalis electrostatic amp

I'd heard about the Nezzar amp so contacted Erik Konka--this is the update, tho not sure what the changes are. (Birgir says this looks like the Senn HEV-90 circuit.) We went back and forth a bit--he had to source a US voltage transformer--and I ordered about two months ago. It took a month to ship, but in a sturdy plywood crate with styrofoam inserts. Also included was a second set of tubes. Cost was 1400 Euros--it would have been 100 more but Erik didn't have a US power cord for me.

This replaced a SRM-007A I was using with L300s. I wasn't unhappy with the amp, but wanted to try out an all-tube design. And the improvement is marked: more texture, more body to notes and a lot better differentiation of instruments, if soundstage isn't that much wider or deeper.

I prefer vinyl over digital, but the gain on my phono stage is lower than on digital. I was hoping the Novalis would have a little more power than the 007A. This turned out not to be the case, with vinyl at the top of the volume dial and digital around 3 o'clock.

The unit does have two Stax jacks, tho only single-ended inputs. I'm not crazy about the aesthetics, the stick-on nameplate and orange light-up jacks. But the wood end-pieces and the chunky volume knob are nice.

In all, a clear step up in sonics from the Stax amp. Highly recommended.