Kinki Studio EX-M1 200wpc Integrated Amplifier

Hey everybody,

I won't repeat all the details of what I stated when I wrote to tell Srajan that he was in for a real treat regarding the Kinki EX-M1.  He was kind enough to share my thoughts in his review.

Forget for a moment what this piece sells for, it's performance level will compete with any integrated amplifier I have heard up to the present time.  I have auditioned it with three different sets of speakers for my review for hometheaterreview.com and it's superb music maker.  

David, you will be very interested in one final audition that will happen this Monday, I'll be comparing the EX-M1 to latest generation/reference T+A integrated.  I have a strong hunch that this $2,100 piece will come very close to the performance of the almost 20K German amplifier.  When I first got the Kinki in for review, after a short time, it kept reminding me of the T+A integrated that I have heard before and have great respect for.  So, by hearing them both in the same system I'll come to a conclusion regarding this matter.

Hey David,

Yes, the comparison will be in Ezra's system because he has the current reference T+A model. 

Also, wanted to share that Mike Powell is a great gentlemen who is a true craftsman who builds beautiful audio gear.  I believe that Alvin made a wise choice to create a relationship with Mike to be the US repair station, in the case something needs to be fixed after purchasing the item.  This completely eliminates any anxiety about having to ship all the way back to Singapore, along with having someone with Mike's skill and level of excellence take care of any problem. Alvin has great taste in the brands he sells, both on quality/performance, and the ratio of performance to cost should have other companies concerned, if customers use their ears and not what something costs.   

Hey David,

Here's the "field report" comparing the Kinki EX-M1 to the latest generation T+A integrated amplifier.

My assumption that the EX-M1 would come very close to the performance of the vastly more expensive German built T+A piece was incorrect. The T+A reference was clearly superior in the following areas:

1) An even higher level of transparency that allowed more of the micro-details to be easily heard.

2) The size of the sound-stage was not that different, but the air between players and how 3D the images were was at a higher level.

3) There was a purity/finesse to the overall presentation that was more effortless with the T+A.

4) Ezra and Allen would disagree on this last point, but I did not hear that much of a difference in bottom end control or extension between the two integrated amplifiers.

So, this does not change my position regrading the excellence of the Kinki EX-M1 overall and to match its performance you would have to spend a lot more money.  However, in this comparison you could clearly hear what another $18000.00 gets you into a qualitative higher level of performance.

Hey nonoise,

Congrats!  I still have my demo in-house and think this piece is a killer because of it's performance+build quality, and then you add in the cost factor it's off the charts.

I'll be giving a five star rating when I finally write the review in the next couple of weeks for hometheatrreview.com.