The problem is that so much equipment is overhyped in reviews and elsewhere that when a really good piece of equipment comes along -- which is rare -- we have the problem of the little boy who cried "wolf." All the superlatives have been used up and excessively. This amp really is terrific and a steal, though.
However, that said, and now having spent some considerable time with the amp, let me make some additional comments that are more critical. I am using a Toshiba DVD/CD player (was Stereophile class A) that has been extensively modified and upgraded internally, the DK Design VS-1 MKII (with its own IC and Siemens CCa's) and a Sansui TU 9900 FM tuner that has been serious audiophile modified (gutted and rebuilt, with a Stealth PBS Gold IC and a Magnum Dynalab Signal Sleuth on it and with a roof top FM antenna), JPS Labs top of the line bi-wired speaker cables and Piega P-10 speakers well out from the walls, with now a single REL Storm subwoofer turned way down in frequency and amplitude. Good vinyl on the classical FM station (KBAQ pronouned KBACH) can transend my best CD's across the audio spectrum (except for the deep bass -- FM transmission and tuner limitations)
The DK VS-1 MKII sounds and is voiced like the very top-end Levinson gear and sounds very similar. It is a tad too smooth in the lower and mid treble, like Levinson's best stuff, but gets the macro dynamics right in that range, slighting ever so slightly the micro dynamics. Perhaps because I have been listening to tube amps too long, the upper bass is more lean and quick than I am used to, but I believe it is also more neutral or close to it. The amp has great dynamics throughout the listening range and surprisingly does not compress when you expect it to on cresendos. (I listen mostly to classical.) It is neutrally full-bodied in all segments of the audio range. Its upper treble excess smoothness makes bad CD's sound a bit better than they should. A Christmas present CD of ocean waves breaking on a beach is shocking real with excellent weight and all dynamics. Most music has excellent weight without having a slow ponderous upper bass and lower midrange. Piano and voice do very well with this amp, but for "tubers" might sound too neutral. My CCa's ocassionally "crackle" when I first turn on the amp, if it has not been used for 12 or more hours. Why, I don't know, but I don't like it. There is a hint of grain in the upper treble, but it is not noticeable unless you are sensitive to grain and are looking for it. Generally, the amp sounds very liquid. The included IC is also a "home run." Imaging and presence are terrific and the soundstage is highly dependent on source material. Generally, I would argue it is a tad shallow, especially compared to the Levinson 20.6's I sold, but that was their forte. It is not troubling shallow to me, but is on the boarder line and some might find it so. Height and width are fine. It is easier to get a deep soundstage with rolled treble than not. The amp's treble range is not rolled, even to my aging ears (but hearing is a brain function, or so I tell myself as I get older.) There is an ever so slight loss of treble harmonics which accompanies the excentuated smoothness in that range which I describe. I have heard it before in other top Levinson amps. There are faults to this amp, but only when you start comparing it to very, very expensive stuff or live music. The faults are easily lived with for me, and the amp is much better than most, but it is not perfect. The build quality has a China be very good quality to it that is definitely short of Germany' best and on par with America's mid high-end equipment. The amp also sounds really great from the next room. It has a real and high quality sound about it that even from other parts of the house makes you occassionally sit up and take note. For $3k it should be a run away best seller. I have no trouble living with it and will keep and store it for the years coming up that I plan to go sailing.
