what is the REAL deal with DK

What was wrong with DK’s marketing…......

Hmmm, let’s see. Well, there was the thread-of-the-day for about two months with brand new members frothing at the mouth saying things like “It is simply the best integrated amplifier on the market period”, who seemed to come and go only to leave DK threads, and then there was the dealer blitzkrieg of dozens of repetitive ads, along with the false “wanted” ads, and of course, there was the dealer in Nevada or somewhere at a schoolhouse address in a town of 250 people, who appeared to have been a figment of DK’s original owners mind, and so on and so forth.

Then of course there was the false claims that ended up resulting in the three member test. The only reason this test started was that the original owner went over the line as far as his BS claims, trying to defend the claim that the amp’s architecture was Class A (later Class A+ - how funny is that!). The membership grew tired of all the BS associated with DK and put him up to the test. It went reasonably well for DK, but the ultimate proof is that none of the members who participated ended up keeping the things.

As mentioned before, MK II’s sell for pathetic prices, which makes them excellent values. At one time, there was an attempt to claim that everyone (and it seemed like it was everyone) was selling the MkII for the MkIII. That got laughed down (read the threads), and we’re all waiting to see what the next step is.

By the way Sean, add the Levinson 383 to your list of integrateds that'll chew up a DK.

Kman, The DK Signature is more refined and more textured. It is a significant upgrade from the MKII.

Charlie,

Sean is looking for an amp that has some slam along with a nice midrange. On your list, the Cary, BAT, and Jadis have no slam whatsoever, although they do have a nice midrange. During demanding passages, these amps will simply fall appart and warp the bass next to the DK. I have not heard the Graaf or the deHavilland. In any case, I have no idea where you come up with the idea that those amps will embarass the DK. I have done several side by side comparisons, and I am particularly offended by your reference to the Cary 300sei - it neither has the midrange OR the low frequency performance of the DK. It just doesn't compare.

Also, and this is not a subjective statement, but a factual statement, the DK will embarass virtually all those amps when it comes to build quality and parts quality. Lets open up a Cary and the DK and inspect the parts inside. That will put the argument to rest.

I think the VAC is the only contender that will sound better then the DK, in that it has an addictive midrange presentation but still with lots of kick in the bass for a tube amp - as it should be since it costs $20K.

charlie 101, if you are going to compare amps to the dk, why don't you compare apples to apples. most of the amps you listed cost up to twice what the dk cost. a lot of those amps you listed have quite a bit less power than the dk. if i would put the cary 300 into my system with my mani 2's, it would sound like ^&$#. the dk would embarass the cary with my speakers. you would need to get very effecient speakers for this amp. also, i can list dozens of amps that would blow your list away. some might cost $2500 a pair up to many times this amount. again, i love it when people stress their point when using words like 'embarass' instead of just saying 'imo, i liked the sound of xxxx, yyy over zzzz'.

Snofun,

Let's look at all of your comments individually:

1. You are implying with 100% confidence that DK forged all of those threads. Well there are lots of people in this thread claiming that the DK is an awesome amp and many of them have been members for along time and post on many other topics. Your argument does not hold up. Finally, how can you prove that threads and posts by new members are not valid. Sometimes, many new people go out and buy a product and post their experiences for the first time.
2. How do you know the wanted ads were false?
3. Whats wrong with dozens of repetitve ads?
4. How do you know that this dealer in Nevada was a creation of the owner of DK? What proof or evidence do you have?
5. The membership could have put DK to the test and DK could have politely declined. THere are dozens of other very well known manufacturers who make BS claims and yet I am sure they will decline to have their products officially reviewed by Audiogon members.
6. Clearly DK has succeded in this industry and you are most likely jelous of their success. As far as I know, the owner of DK sold the company to LSA Group and made a fortune. While you probably have a miserable job.
7. Most of the DK bashers have never heard the product and I suspect that some are competitors who lurk in these forums.
8. As much as you think that DK's marketing strategies were outrageous, they built up a network of 70 dealers and huge network of international distributors just shortly after opening doors. It usually takes other manufacturers many years to build up this kind of distirbution.
9. Fianlly, with the size and scope of DK's business, I seriously doubt that the owner of DK would be sitting here posting fake threads as this would not in any way impact the companies sales. Remember - this forum is for geeks and seriously disturbed audiophiles.

So with all of these considerations, the correct question is, whats right with DKs marketing? And how can other people learn from their success?