[gimmeheadroom]

Within 300 USD of Master 9...

Let's get ready to ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuumble

 

[tumpux]

Shouldn’t it be called M9 mk2?

 

[FredA]

Shouldn’t it be called M9 mk2?

It is in a bigger case. Same as the he9 mkii.

 

[Thorbee]

After over 500h, the mkii is just wonderful as a pre. Limpid. Deep. Smooth. Lively. Rich. I would call it exceptional. It can fullfill both applications, pre and hp amp, with similar brio.

Kingwa is a grand-cru. Improving with age. You will need the best equipement possible to see the extent of the mkii's competence. For those thinking Kingwa made compromises on sound quality, think again. My setup is now like a cascade of pure water that can quench any thirst. It will play any music your like as intended. I am in complete admiration for what Kingwa has achieved in the last 3-4 years. He has become a master. An exceptional master.

I so totally agree. The earlier stuff was good not great on sound quality. I have followed and purchased many of his older designs and they were adequate to good, but his latest stuff has him emerging as an apprentice no more! Kingwa's current products compete with and even exceeds a lot of the SOTA offerings regardless of price. Kudo's to him for improving and becoming a real force to be reconned with in the industry.

 

[K3cT]

I so totally agree. The earlier stuff was good not great on sound quality. I have followed and purchased many of his older designs and they were adequate to good, but his latest stuff has him emerging as an apprentice no more! Kingwa's current products compete with and even exceeds a lot of the SOTA offerings regardless of price. Kudo's to him for improving and becoming a real force to be reconned with in the industry.

I'm actually quite curious about how his latest equipment sounds because I started with Audio-gd in this hobby. Like you mentioned though I think their older stuff from around a couple years back just didn't compete well... I remember when the OG Schiit Yggdrasil and Ragnarok were released they slaughtered the old Master 1 / Master 7 combo quite thoroughly, the Audio-gd stack just felt very dull and lacking details compared to the Schiit. Seems their newer products have improved significantly but the competition is really stiff nowadays.

 

[FredA]

I'm actually quite curious about how his latest equipment sounds because I started with Audio-gd in this hobby. Like you mentioned though I think their older stuff from around a couple years back just didn't compete well... I remember when the OG Schiit Yggdrasil and Ragnarok were released they slaughtered the old Master 1 / Master 7 combo quite thoroughly, the Audio-gd stack just felt very dull and lacking details compared to the Schiit. Seems their newer products have improved significantly but the competition is really stiff nowadays.

If you do some power conditioning on both (isolation transformer) and use a di20/he clocked externally to feed i2s to the m7, you will be floored by the results.

 

[BoyNamedSue]

I'm actually quite curious about how his latest equipment sounds because I started with Audio-gd in this hobby. Like you mentioned though I think their older stuff from around a couple years back just didn't compete well... I remember when the OG Schiit Yggdrasil and Ragnarok were released they slaughtered the old Master 1 / Master 7 combo quite thoroughly, the Audio-gd stack just felt very dull and lacking details compared to the Schiit. Seems their newer products have improved significantly but the competition is really stiff nowadays.

Have to respectfully disagree. When og yggy was all the rage, i had it in my system expecting it to be an upgrade to my m7 and nfb7, and both audiogd's beat it based on many nights of direct comparisons (even kept the yggy on for weeks to sound optimal).

I am a dac head and now run M7 along with R2R7 and nfb7.77 and the m7 still competes and imo more musical. Nfb7.77 is more lievely and r7 is most realistic/reference sounding. Also, AGD dacs get better and better with age/burn-in so the older designs may actually sound better until newer ones catch up in burn in time.

I hesitate to make this public, because i want to snatch a used one, but the ref1 is very special design, it loses out on technicaliries but sounds like a totl tube dac. I think kingwas older designs sound more vinyl/tubey. Not better or worse, just different.

 

[FredA]

Have to respectfully disagree. When og yggy was all the rage, i had it in my system expecting it to be an upgrade to my m7 and nfb7, and both audiogd's beat it based on many nights of direct comparisons (even kept the yggy on for weeks to sound optimal).

I am a dac head and now run M7 along with R2R7 and nfb7.77 and the m7 still competes and imo more musical. Nfb7.77 is more lievely and r7 is most realistic/reference sounding. Also, AGD dacs get better and better with age/burn-in so the older designs may actually sound better until newer ones catch up in burn in time.

I hesitate to make this public, because i want to snatch a used one, but the ref1 is very special design, it loses out on technicaliries but sounds like a totl tube dac. I think kingwas older designs sound more vinyl/tubey. Not better or worse, just different.

I am looking for an m7 myself. It is just a wonderful dac. I used to own one and sold it. I will get one eventually.

 

[OCC7N]

Kingwa just launched a new HE9 with linear power supplies instead of regenerative power. So cheaper to make and splendid performance/price ratio. The first power stage is pure class-A. The he9 mkii is on top, but the HE9 LE is much cheaper. Besides the first power stage, both units are identical. The H9 LE draws 11W less, so should run even cooler. A splendid value offer i must repeat.

http://www.audio-gd.com/HE/HE9LE/HE9LEEN.htm

I wonder is anybody else than me getting this LE version? I would appreciate impressions.

 

[FredA]

I wonder is anybody else than me getting this LE version? I would appreciate impressions.

Too soon. Kingwa just shipped one to Asia.

 

[OCC7N]

Too soon. Kingwa just shipped one to Asia.

I am trying to calculate what power it has for Susvara. It says 15w/25ohm. Do you have any method to convert it to 60 Ohm?

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I am trying to calculate what power it has for Susvara. It says 15w/25ohm. Do you have any method to convert it to 60 Ohm?

15/25 = x/60

x = 6,25

 

[OCC7N]

15/25 = x/60

x = 6,25

Thanks

I am not worried about Arya....but 6.25Watt should be pretty good for Susvara. When I think about it the OOR is pretty powerful compared to HE9LE....But HE9LE has its own linear psu, which is pretty rare in this price range. I am pretty sure I will be satisfied for what I get. Thats my assumption for now.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Thanks

I am not worried about Arya....but 6.25Watt should be pretty good for Susvara. When I think about it the OOR is pretty powerful compared to HE9LE....But HE9LR has its own linear psu, which is pretty rare in this price range. I am pretty sure I will be satisfied for what I get. Thats my assumption for now.

Actually it feels like my equation is wrong, brain fog at this time of night after a long weekend. But I'm sure the 6,25W figure is correct.

I think you will be very happy the power reserves and build quality.

 

[FredA]

Actually it feels like my equation is wrong, brain fog at this time of night after a long weekend. But I'm sure the 6,25W figure is correct.

I think you will be very happy the power reserves and build quality.

What i hear with the mkii driving my Music Master E1000 set is pretty much flawless and captivating. And the pre out is also really excellent. The dynamics are really perfectly tuned IMO. The level of details is also remarkable. Fatigue-less sound, great staging. I looked for a while to find a headphohe set worthy of my setup. I paid 1300$ for the Chinese E1000. I just love the combination. You are talking about a Audeze-like set with 105mm drivers. Perfect for jazz and classical. Great build, very solid.