DK Design VS- Reference vs Signature

Ctchen,
I would think that, owning a DK, with a tube preamp section--you may miss the 'warmth' that tubes offer in the overall sound.
To realize the value of tubes in the preamp section, one needs only to 'switch' the tubes for another brand or design to realize how much of the sound is dependent on the preamp section. The DK amp, depending on the tubes used, sounds completely different when the tubes are changed. If you can audition the Tact, you may, in fact, like it better. This is the point at which 'personal taste' enters the picture.

We have heard the Tact under non audition conditions, and recognize it as being a fine product--though very different than the DK.
I would again, recommend that, since we have tubes vs. a digital amp, you audition the TACT carefully-as the sound probably doesn't get much different than these two.

I prefer the warmth of having Telefunken Tubes in my unit--that doesn't mean that everyone will.
Thanks for buying a DK. Please, let us know what happens, and how this turns out.
Best,
Larry R Staples
DK Design

Tvad, I agree with your assessment of Larry. I have been a member here for awhile, but do not write much (mostly read and assess everything on a daily basis :-)). I have been one of the few that took the plunge to get one of the pre-VS1 MKII (I have the VSI MK1) and it won me over. I am not going to go into if it is the best ect and all that crap. Let's just say, imho, it more that covers everything I am looking for. Sorry, for this long winded writeup - to the point - I emailed DK Designs for something and pleasantly Larry answered. He was very honest and helpful with no pushy tactics. It is a pleasure to have him on the board and makes it easier for all us audioholics to get our questions/concerns heard/answered on this forum.

Ash.

I think I owe Larry an apology. I am not inherently critical, however over the past few months there has been quite a few new members with no history claiming the DK integrateds were better than $20,000 units...

Is it possible some were sincere? By all means! However, there were so many new threads, every few days, coupled with the "marketing speak" of the website with the class A, etc. left a bit to be curious about.

With all that being said- it is nice to hear you are trying to clarify some of the nebulosity. It has also come to mind in the past couple of weeks as you have been responding, many of the so called "shill" posts have seemed to go away.

I have heard the DK VS1 MkII on Usher 8871's with a VPI Superscoutmaster & Esoteric DV-50. Before the DK I heard the system with BAT VK-60 monos through an Aesthetix preamp (one of the higher priced ones - don't recall the name). All in all, the DK compared better than I had imagined, however the performance gap was larger than some would have others believe. Again, that gap should be there for the price difference as well.

Larry, you have definately helped the cause, and also gained my respect in the process. I wish you and your company much success.

Thanks for the kind words everyone.
All we want is a chance to prove that our company will do everything possible to make buying a piece of audio gear, a pleasant experience.
Mumum, I have been answering emails sent to the old home office during our transition. You would be surprised at how many people are searching for a real helping hand. Frankly it is gratifying to help the people writing in--and it's helpful to both of us. I get to see what people are asking, and saying, since it helps DK to move in the direction the customers want.
One of my first offical decisions, was to 'kill' the home theater piece which was close to production. Before you yell and scream, its not that I don't want the Surround Sound piece in our line--that is a very big market, and we want to have a product in that arena. It was, that the product in question did not make sense to me from a DK perspective.
The unit was 'all solid state'--and I think that people look to DK for 'Hybrid' electronics.
So now our engineers are working to make a 6 channel unit, with 6 channels of tube preamplification.
This will put us back some 3 additional months, and create additional expense. Am I being Polyanna? Was this a bad decision?
Time will tell. But my thinking was that, we have to remain true to our 'roots', and continually improve on the company, but not stray from our core competence and identity, which began as hybrid.
I have polled several of our larger dealers in an informal way--and they have supported that decision--don't think that some weren't disappointed about the delay. they were. But all of them agreed that the philosopy 'must' be maintained.
Any input from you guys on this?
We want to build what the select few audiophile/moviefiles want us to build.
I look forward to your comments--thanks again for the kind words.

Larry R. Staples
DK Design Group

Larry, I personally would be very interested in a HT unit. Being that I was a movifile before venturing into audio. I would like more info on this multi channel hybrid: is it going to be geared towards home theater (ie is it going to have connections for High Definition, THX, or Dolby Pro Logic II ect)? obviuosly it will focus on great warmth with all six channels, but it would be nice if we could have a switching mechanism to switch to a two channel. The number of inputs are important imho, as this could cater to not only a dedicated audio system, but also a dedicated ht system. Also, if you can keep the price at these great levels (like the "defunct" HT piece was set to be), I think you will have something that you would be able to use to stand out of the HT crowd with.