Kinki EX M1 user comments

my unit was switched to lo gain from the off set, im currently using lo gain. ive found that anything above 20 on high gain is too loud, low gain lets me fine tune the volume with a bit more finesse. though when im stressed im much more sensitive to sound, its possible i will prefer high gain later on.

Welcome to the club. 👍😘

on reflection you you may be right about gain. On high, the steps are not quite fine enough so I think I’ll switch!  

I think it's wonderful that the Kinki can bring you up and out of your doldrums. I really believe the sweetness you allude to is a result of the accuracy you're experiencing. The resultant responses that one goes through as one hears something properly done is rewarding in and of itself, like one of those "Eureka!" moments. 

I don't have the gain switch and don't mind, at all, the immediate hearing of something, even at it's lowest setting. Having .25db steps in volume still allows me a mighty fine level of volume control. I prefer it to the over quarter turn of the volume dial on my Marantz before I could enjoy anything.

All the best,
Nonoise

This may interest some. I sold my 20 year Mac preamp and amp to buy a Rotel rc/rb 1590 combo. I loved the rotel until I heard the Kinki. I kept the Rotels, and today added a Cambridge Audio Cxc transport, using the internal dac. Initially, the rotels sounded thinner and with less soundstage but wonderful detail from the internal dac. As they warmed up, bass and midrange got better, as did the soundstage, but never made it to the lush, full/fulsome level of the Kinki. Close, but no cigar. So, I’ll keep them all, but the Kinki is the clear winner, at half the price, but no flexibility. If I had to choose, it would be the Kinki but I’m glad to have both. 

I will make a point to touch upon this fact when I finish my writeup but this is something everyone needs to know. The Kinki Studio outperformed my Pass stack, which had a retail of $11k new. How do you like them apples?