Is there both a Roksan Kandy L111 and Roksan Kandy MK3?

[admin_exported]

I am a bit confused because I have seen one offer which is miles cheaper than any of the others/

 

[Anonymous]

LIII is the amp, and the Mk3 is the matching CD player. I believe the original RRP was roughly the same for both, around £650, although there have always been deals to be had, especially if buying them together. Some extra special prices for your my friend at the moment as they have been discontinued and replaced with the K2 models.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks mate, do you know how many Roksan Kandy amps there have been?

 

[matengawhat]

Yes two different amps - there was a MKIII Amp that was replaced by the MkLIII Amp which was an improvement over the MkIII - the original just saye MKIII on the back whilst the update says LIII in the middle or poss just to one side on the back of the amp. They do however look identical from the front and its the insides that changed - new floor plan in shape of an L hence the name - updated transformer and few other bits from memory.

 

[matengawhat]

Should just add the LIII was the better of the two amps and will cost more than s straight MKIII

 

[Anonymous]

Nice one thanks

 

[Anonymous]

So that must mean at least four models, right? Complicated...

 

[Anonymous]

There was a MKIII CDP and an L3 CDP. I had the older one that was a little brighter in sound than the revised L3. The revised version was a strong contender up until the K2. Both MKIII and L3 looked virtually identical.

 

[matengawhat]

iggleburt - don't think they ever upgraded the CDP to L status but could be wrong - I bought a special box set including both CDP and AMP of the MKIII when the LIII came out as got a good discount then later bought the box set of the latest CDP and LIII Amp but the CDP were identical.

 

[matengawhat]

list of upgrades to Amplifier for Lstatus

New Main amplifier, volume and display PCBs, with symmetrical amplifier layout
Optimised power supply layout, distribution and decoupling
Better decoupling and power regulation to all stages
Improved power supply for Preamplifier and phono section
New Op-amps, optimized audio and power supply layout
Directly powered power amp section from the main power supply
Improved phono section Op-amp, layout and grounding
Optimised routing and shorter speaker output cables
Improved tape output section
New improved protection circuit Improved wideband noise rejection
Elimination of several internal cables and connections for improved performance
Reduced residual hum and noise
Redesigned chassis and cover with improved vent

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, you could be right. I don't know why I know, but I did some digging when I was going to either sell my CDP or upgrade to the MF. I think it was Roksan that confirmed it to me, allowing me to sell it on ebay accurately. I think (lots of thinks here) that the L3 is on the rear of the CDP despite it saying MK3 on the front.

Hey ho.

 

[Anonymous]

Hmmm... my CD player says MKIII on the front, with nothing to further illuminate the matter on the back.

Edit: The amp, meanwhile, says MKIII on the front, and LIII on the back.

 

[Anonymous]

Dunno. Sold my CDP so can't check! Probably best to ignore me altogether although my gut feeling is that they did indeed revise the CDP.

 

[Anonymous]

Just got a Kandy twin pack brand new, taking advantage of lower price tag as it is about to be discontinued.

I discovered that the CD player has the on/off switch located underneath the chassis, close to the front pannel, whilst it looks from the instructions manual that formerly it was located in the back, as it is in the amp. Could that difference justify different releases?

By the way, I would appreciate anyone giving advice on speaker cables & interconnects for these.

 

[Anonymous]

I would have thought the switch placement is more indicative of the fact that the amp is supposed to be left permanently on (stanby) so that it's always "warmed up" whilst this is not really an issue (?) with the CD player. Personally I turn mine off anyway, and would be happier to see amps designed with a front switch to give users easy access should they choose not to have them on all time.

As regards cabling, I would be looking for something which doesn't emphasise the brightness (IMO) of the Kandy pairing, and would also be interested to hear suggestions as my speaker cables are a tad too short and will be replaced at some point. I'm using QED performance 2 interconnect.

 

[Craig M.]

try atlas, mine don't sound bright to me. it was only when i put a more revealing amp in that i could hear the bright edge to the cdp's treble.

 

[Henley]

The Kandy MK3 amp was upgraded to L3 a couple of years ago and the only marking relating to this is on the rear panel. The L3 denotes the new shape of the PCB.

The CD player has never had this marking but was upgraded at a similar time to include 3 digital outputs instead of the single optical socket. Due to the small nature of the change it was deemed unnecessary to change the model number.

Kandy has been in production for around 10 years and has featured 4 different versions. In these times of minimal product lifespan, an average of 2.5 years per incarnation is quite an achievement. Inevitably there will always be the need for change but we also try to keep esthetic differences to a minimum ensuring product matching over a longer period of time.

 

[Roksan]

This is the Kandy History.

Roksan Kandy introduced 1997. The improvements were as follows both for the CD and Amp. Kandy MK II, Kandy MK III, Kandy LIII, Kandy K2 which was introduced in November 2007.

 

[Roksan]

Correction: Kandy K2 was released in October 2008.