Big Karan amps

Cappucino,
Congrates!!
I was in your positioned, felt that magic of Valhalla too! If they sounded right in your system, leave the rest as is like what my 'cruel' dealer did, and just substitute a single pair of Odin XLR from your source to pre! Believe me, it will further propel your system to new heights! A magnitude of difference--more organic, more body, just more live across the board, most noticeable being in the mids! Since you are sooo..close, do at least try them out and have them in for a couple of days and see if you can go back to Valhalla.. =))

Bvdiman,
yes I know, my goal is to replace the Valhalla from source to pre with Odin, also to add onw or two Odin power cords for front end components.

The Brittish Hifi+ magazine has a review of the Odin power cords in the current issue (no 62) and come to the conclusion that you should upgrade to Odin power cords before you upgrade elsewhere in the chain and that you should start from the wall socket. They have such a tremendous effect. They say "As good as the Valhalla power cords are, Odin is in a different league, bringing solidity, presence, a physicality to instruments and the space in which they are recorded, that the Valhalla can only suggest.... Switching to the Valhalla lead robbed the piano of weight and the track of stability, the voices of presence and pyhiscal substance, the music of flow and progression..." Wow!

So it's more or less similar improvements wrought with their ic. However, to me spending on Ic first is still the better investment though. And do tread carefully, try not to get overboard and spend too much on particular makes of cable. Because (like me), when you change equipments later only to find them not being the 'best' match, there will be much wasted $$$ stack unused in your drawers.. =((

Bvdiman,
yes I agree with your thoughts. I have recently invested heavily in Burmester reference gear, both the 069 cd and 077 pre, and have no plans of replacing them. They are truely wonderful sounding! Nordost is also preferred brand for Burmester, so I feel this is the right path for me.

The only Karan product I have experience with is the KA I-180 integrated. In fact, the unit is sitting on my rack as I type. This has been its home for what is approaching a year now – and for a self admitted audiophool whose listening space is a glorified revolving door of hi-fi exotica – it is quite the welcome guest (dare I say, resident). I guess you could say, I’ve been pretty content with it.

Now, instead of blathering on like a raving lunatic on how it absolutely abolishes like products, I’m going to come clean and admit that it’s no different from any other piece of electronics: it’s not perfect, and it won’t fit all situations, nor will it appeal to everyone’s personal taste. That said, its charming balance of audiophile goods, exceptional musicality, and downright world-class balance is good enough for these tin can ears. I cannot claim to have owned 40k worth of gear, but my audio rack has rubbed elbows with higher end McIntosh, mid-line Boulder and Lamm pieces in this space. While all were exceptional in their own way (respective to their design goals), I ultimately found it difficult to deviate from what the Karan has to offer.

It’s a shame that Karan is not better known here stateside. A lot of people are missing out on some exceptional gear. I haven’t had the pleasure of acquainting myself with Milan’s big bad-ass amplifiers. I’d be scared to hear them, because there’s no way in hell I could afford them!