Roksan Kandy K2 BT Initial Impressions Review

[Vladimir]

As promised here is the Hi-Fi World review of the Roksan Kandy K2 BT by Martin Pipe. :wave:

http://polpak.com.pl/public/files/reviews/Hi-Fi_World_K2_BT_April_2014.pdf

Again the specs have changed by the manufacturer since they upgraded the caps. The amp Hi-Fi World got was the old K2 BT that first came out with 140W p/c specified. A brand spanking new K2 BT should come with 175W p/c and the number declared on the back plate.

They measured 144W p/c and damping factor of 40. The manufacturer claims 110. Most of the specs in the review are off. So weird!

 

[matthewpiano]

I'm not sure why the reviews, or indeed what is inside the amp, are all that important if you own the amp and enjoy the sound it is making. If you are enjoying the music then surely it is a '5 star' amp for you.

Also, WHFS&V say themselves that in some circumstances and systems a 4 star product could prove to be better than a 5 star one...

 

[Vladimir]

I'm running a thread that might help people with my thoughts and experience with the amp, as well as locate lit in one place. Since I bought the amp my writing is first hand user experience so maybe someone could find it useful.

:bounce:

So,

I just zoom on the review photo of the K2 BT back and it says 140W, so there is a K2 BT MkI and MkII considering the revisions the manufacturer made.

If we look at the versions with different power output declared on the back plate, we get:

Roksan Kandy K2 BT MkI - 140W p/c in 8 ohms

Roksan Kandy K2 BT MkII - 175W p/c in 8 ohms

I think the MkI has the black Samwha MK black caps in the power amp section and the MkII has the United Chemi-Con GPA brown caps.

 

[Happy_Listner]

Hey Vlad,

Not to rock the boat too much but I got to thinking after reading these posts. You bought your K2 BT amp what about 4-5 months ago now? Since then there have been 3 reviews of this amp and all of them show the K2 BT is 140 watts into 8 ohms and/or say in the article 150 watts. Also, the Roksan brochure says 140 watts.

Do you think it is possible that you have a Mark 1 version? Perhaps Roksan didn't change any parts and just decided to revise the power specifications hence the Mark 2?

Did your dealer or Roksan themsleves tell you different?

I am so confused about this again. :doh:

 

[Vladimir]

Reviews take months to appear. Hi-Fi Pig, Hi-Fi World and WHF got their Kandy K2 BT Mk I probably in the autumn in 2013. I got my amp in December 2013.

During January all over the net specs began to change to 150W/300W, their brochures are full of this odd duality. Old page says 140/250, new attached page says 150/300 in the very same brochure. My dealer had no clue, I emailed Roksan, they never replied. This is why I continued to run this thread as my detective fanboi journal.

http://www.roksan.co.uk/assets/2brochure-a-lite.pdf

http://www.roksan.co.uk/assets/2brochure-a-lite.pdfBy visual inspection I noticed the difference between the Mk I and Mk II is the new custom wound 550VA Noratel transformer with 5 separate rails and 8 upgraded caps in the power amp from Samwha MK 100uF, 105C (ewww) to United Chemi-Con GPA 680uF, 125C (mmmmm). 4 of those caps are really close to the tranzistors and having them done with such high grade commercial caps rated for 125C, low ESR and high ripple current, gave the amp cleaner power with more headroom and lower distortion.

How manufacturers rate their power in the specs? They measure how their amp performs on a dummy load, attached to an osciloscope and the amp may chuck out 300W at 8ohms but at what THD (Total Harmonic Distortion). The manufacturer finds that the amp measures 140W per channel at 0.05% THD acceptable and writes 140W in 8 ohms in its declaration. The amp may go at 175 with 1% THD but they wont write that since it doesn't look very good to customers (who value tube amps with 3% THD more, ironically).

What Roksan did IMO is improved the performance by getting less THD further up in the power specs. They got 175W p/c at no more than 0.1% THD and stamped it at the back. In the brochures they wrote 150/300 since doubling down is impressive, especially for an integrated, a sign of quality and power. The 150W in 8 ohms should be at low THD of 0.05% or less. Just guessing here.

BUT OMG! Now the piano no loger plays right on the K2 BT! How horrid!

 

[davedotco]

BUT OMG! Now the piano no loger plays right on the K2 BT! How horrid!

You noticed.......

Sharper than the average impaler............ouch.... :doh:

 

[J.Curry]

Hello: I own a Roksan KA-1 integrated and it shares many of the same sonic attributes of the K2 and K2 BT. I was shocked to read What Hi Fi's review of the K2 BT because no other review of the K2 BT complained about the K2 BT's imperfect timing (blurring images/timing distortion). In fact, many reviews of this amp consider its timing capabilities, along with its rhythmic drive to be the BT's strong point(s). I wanted to refer you and all who are interested in other reviews of the K2 BT to Tone Audio as Andre Marc wrote an excellent review of the BT and Stereophile's Herb Reichert gave it an excellent review too! It's also important to note that my KA-1 sounds blurred and overly energetic if I use certain speaker cables. Cobalt cables are a great choice for my system as they tame this amps energetic presentation and retain the essential smoothness too. I hope you are still enjoying your K2 BT and really appreciate your posts as I'm a big fan of Roksan amplifiers.

 

[TrevC]

Hello: I own a Roksan KA-1 integrated and it shares many of the same sonic attributes of the K2 and K2 BT. I was shocked to read What Hi Fi's review of the K2 BT because no other review of the K2 BT complained about the K2 BT's imperfect timing (blurring images/timing distortion). In fact, many reviews of this amp consider its timing capabilities, along with its rhythmic drive to be the BT's strong point(s). I wanted to refer you and all who are interested in other reviews of the K2 BT to Tone Audio as Andre Marc wrote an excellent review of the BT and Stereophile's Herb Reichert gave it an excellent review too! It's also important to note that my KA-1 sounds blurred and overly energetic if I use certain speaker cables. Cobalt cables are a great choice for my system as they tame this amps energetic presentation and retain the essential smoothness too. I hope you are still enjoying your K2 BT and really appreciate your posts as I'm a big fan of Roksan amplifiers.

It's quite difficult finding differences in amplifiers, so they dreamt up this timing thing, which is, of course, meaningless nonsense. Let your own ears be the judge, not some wine sodden reviewer in a magazine.

 

[TrevC]

Hello: I own a Roksan KA-1 integrated and it shares many of the same sonic attributes of the K2 and K2 BT. I was shocked to read What Hi Fi's review of the K2 BT because no other review of the K2 BT complained about the K2 BT's imperfect timing (blurring images/timing distortion). In fact, many reviews of this amp consider its timing capabilities, along with its rhythmic drive to be the BT's strong point(s). I wanted to refer you and all who are interested in other reviews of the K2 BT to Tone Audio as Andre Marc wrote an excellent review of the BT and Stereophile's Herb Reichert gave it an excellent review too! It's also important to note that my KA-1 sounds blurred and overly energetic if I use certain speaker cables. Cobalt cables are a great choice for my system as they tame this amps energetic presentation and retain the essential smoothness too. I hope you are still enjoying your K2 BT and really appreciate your posts as I'm a big fan of Roksan amplifiers.

It's quite difficult finding differences in amplifiers, so they dreamt up this timing thing, which is, of course, meaningless nonsense when applied to amplifiers. Let your own ears be the judge, not some wine sodden reviewer in a magazine.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_664715932]

Exciting times! Enjoy your amp. I think I am done buying new kit for atleast 2 years.
Trying hard not to even think of Naim xs and Tucana 2

 

[Vladimir]

Especially that Tucana is very seductive under the bonnet.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

Wait.....!!

Vlad, did the sound of your amp change over a period?

Did I read right?

Did it 'open up' and those kinds of things over time?

 

[Thompsonuxb]

What's this thread....

Use your ears.....??!!

TrevC you suggesting people trust their ears?

Hello: I own a Roksan KA-1 integrated and it shares many of the same sonic attributes of the K2 and K2 BT. I was shocked to read What Hi Fi's review of the K2 BT because no other review of the K2 BT complained about the K2 BT's imperfect timing (blurring images/timing distortion). In fact, many reviews of this amp consider its timing capabilities, along with its rhythmic drive to be the BT's strong point(s). I wanted to refer you and all who are interested in other reviews of the K2 BT to Tone Audio as Andre Marc wrote an excellent review of the BT and Stereophile's Herb Reichert gave it an excellent review too!  It's also important to note that my KA-1 sounds blurred and overly energetic if I use certain speaker cables. Cobalt cables are a great choice for my system as they tame this amps energetic presentation and retain the essential smoothness too. I hope you are still enjoying your K2 BT and really appreciate your posts as I'm a big fan of Roksan amplifiers.?

It's quite difficult finding differences in amplifiers, so they dreamt up this timing thing, which is, of course, meaningless nonsense. Let your own ears be the judge, not some wine sodden reviewer in a magazine.

 

[Vladimir]

Wait.....!!

Vlad, did the sound of your amp change over a period?

Did I read right?

Did it 'open up' and those kinds of things over time?

I made a drastic switch from the loud and harsh Pioneer A400 + AR11B, to B&W CM1 + Roksan K2 BT all within 2 months. The bigest change came from the speakers, but also the smooth powerfull unclipped sound from the Roksan contributed. At first everything sounded too dull and warm. Took me 3 months to really 'burn in.'

 

[SteveR750]

Especially that Tucana is very seductive under the bonnet.

Vlad, unless you are the designer, why is that important? really? Otherwise you risk listening with your eyes, just another form of foo. In the 70s everyone bought Jap gear, because everyone believed that the tech specs were all you needed to know. They are, but a truck load more detailed than line input impedance and power output There is a balance to be struck between accepting the blind faith of the component specs, and what you can actually hear, because it's just possible that we've not always been measuring the right or all of the parameters that define SQ. It's a bit like car manufacturers quoting max power figures as a representation of how quickly it feels to drive. It's a clue, nothing more on its own.

I know you understand this, because I've read through all of your noodling on the K2 (I had one before the M2). It's a great amp isn't it, and now bizarrely much maligned.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

Lol..... Just read through your quote - reply #17.....

Using the remote I noticed that the Kandy K2 BT doesn't like to be rushed, it is not as quickly responsive as digital equipment (CD, DVD, receivers). All the input selectors are relays (the best way to do it for sound quality) and you can't rush their mechanical operation. So no nervous pushing of 5 buttons at a time folks.?

?

In day 4 the sound has really opened up and lots of nice exciting upper frequencies come up and more bass texture. But still the sound is smooth and enjoyable for loud listening for hours with no fatigue.?

?

This is the first amp that I bought that required speaker repositioning. The speakers really demand to expand the soundstage and now I'm preoccupied playing with them. Every miniscule movement of the speakers gives very different audible results.

?

Thats good!

?

:type:

 

[Vladimir]

Lol..... Just read through your quote - reply #17.....

Yup. I too listen, play with amps, speakers, positioning... Surprised?

 

[Vladimir]

Especially that Tucana is very seductive under the bonnet.

Vlad, unless you are the designer, why is that important? really?

I have a gear fetish and I'm a box swapper. I'm not an audiophile because of the music. I can enjoy music through youtube and my PC monitor speakers, and frequently I do.

If you get to read my posts, you'll notice I am a PITA skeptic regarding specs.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

Naah.... The second paragraph just caught my eye.

It's ok, you carry on

Lol..... Just read through your quote - reply #17.....

Yup. I too listen, play with amps, speakers, positioning... Surprised?

 

 

[Vladimir]

Naah.... The second paragraph just caught my eye.

It's ok, you carry on

Here we go again...

I say its psychological. You say it's electrical/chemical/quantum. Someone buds in and says the truth is in the middle. Bla bla bla...

 

[radiorog]

Oh, another thing I was going to ask you about re the k2bt, was the quote in one of the reviews about it not conveying piano too well. I did see you referring to it recently with someone else on this forum but as a lot of posts here, it went above my head and I could only guess you were making a joke of the review. Anyhow, how does piano sound on the BT? I have been offered a 30 day no quibbles return on the BT if I go for it...so getting ever more tempted.

Also, if I do get it, I will have to position it next to one of my speakers. Now,I would be worried about the magnets in the speaker effecting the sound or even worse shortening the lifespan of some of the internals! Is there anything to worry about? And would it be best to have the transformer nearest the speaker, or the other side of the chassis,and the circuit boards etc?

Cheers!

 

[SteveR750]

Especially that Tucana is very seductive under the bonnet.

Vlad, unless you are the designer, why is that important? really?

I have a gear fetish and I'm a box swapper. I'm not an audiophile because of the music. I can enjoy music through youtube and my PC monitor speakers, and frequently I do.

If you get to read my posts, you'll notice I am a PITA skeptic regarding specs.

Well I'm with you on the last bit. I buy hi fi gear because I like the sound it makes. I couldn't care less if it's really accurate or not, I've got a room full of guitars and some mates if I want that.

 

[Vladimir]

Today I opened the K2BT for its first birthday cleanup (with just a dry soft brush). The bloody cover weighs 5kg. I can use it as a table, it's a very thick steel. Can't find a better Faraday cage than that. I doubt you will have issues with your speakers being near the amp.

I also inspected how the volume knob and pot are constructed with the connecting rod. The knob is machined aluminium, everything is very stiff and well centered. I'm quite relieved about it, having had previous issues with rods connecting knobs and pots.

Regarding the piano, I have no complaints. Enjoying my Richter, Gould, Jarrett, Ellington...

 

[Vladimir]

Well I'm with you on the last bit. I buy hi fi gear because I like the sound it makes. I couldn't care less if it's really accurate or not, I've got a room full of guitars and some mates if I want that.

Good for you.

 

[radiorog]

Great, thanks for your input Vlad. That sturdy construction will also hopefully protect it when in transit with courier.