Roksan Kandy K2 BT Initial Impressions Review

[radiorog]

*drinks* *good*

 

[Vladimir]

Well, I know nothing of electronics really, so I will take your word ;-)

Doesn't 2 x 8200 = more than 680 x 8??

All versions have the 2 x 8200uF. One version has additionally 8 x 100uF Samwha and my version has 8 x 680uF United Chemicon.

The ones indicated in red circles. Clicky The big black ones on that image are 8200uF Teapo like in the old Kandy generations. Mine has the brown Samwha 8200uF like in the Caspian M2.

Just wondering how you could get the serial number to me....Facebook? But then I'd have to give my details open to the world! =-O

xxxxxxxxxxxx@gmail.com send me an email.

Any ideas what you think I should do, in that I'm thinking of cancelling my order and looking around to try and fins one of these illusive upgraded versions!

Not really a deal breaker regarding the caps, but I really like that massive Noratel. If your unit comes with that big boy, be happy and worry not further. Caps can be changed, upgraded anytime. After the warranty you can smack in some big chunky Mundorfs in there and charge your car batteries or weld your bike.

 

[radiorog]

BTW....have you seen that whf have given the k3 5 stars this month? That's should be good news for that model

 

[Vladimir]

Funny thing. The K2BT and the K3 are the same amp, except for the faceplate. *secret*

Did you write your impressions of Roxy and your Dyns on the forum yet?

 

[drummerman]

Funny thing. The K2BT and the K3 are the same amp, except for the faceplate. *secret*

... and about £300 difference

 

[radiorog]

Not done a review yet.to be honest,ive done the never to do thing by buying without an audition! I know im a brave man admitting that on here. But I have heard the k2 before with different speakers, and im using my imagination to predict what it could be like! As I have also heard those speakers with other amps. But what I am lacking in the brio r I am positive is power and that is what the k2 will provide. And I have a 30 day no quibbles return policy wjth the amp so if it doesnt work....it can go right back. So yes, I am excited and apprehensive at the same time. I will definitely do a review of my findings in due course.!

 

[drummerman]

blasts away.[/url] Elna Silmic II used only where it counts, in the signal paths most likely.

Yes plus the PSX-R, same transformer plus another 40'000uf of smoothing.

 

[radiorog]

....and the amp I was sent which had a little gouge in the framework...I didnt even plug it in. Just want the working one here and ready to go!

 

[Vladimir]

Yes plus the PSX-R, same transformer plus another 40'000uf of smoothing.

Brutal.

 

[radiorog]

Hey Vlad!

So, the new k2bt has arrived, and first things first...it sounds amazing! Big grins all round *biggrin* It is definitely a suitable upgrade from the brio-r, and it is actually everything I was hoping for.....and more! I was really worried that it wasnt going to sound right, but amazingly, when i first switched over the amps, and heard the bt for the first time, my initial impression was , wow...the amp sounds the same as the brio-r. After 10 seconds i could here the tighter and fuller bass coming through, and after a couple of minutes and hearing different tunes on the radio, I noticed what is to me a huge upgrade in sound character. The high pitched general sound was gone, and the bass....well, Wow...its amazing. Perfect for me The depth, presence and tonality of the bass is fantastic and music just sounds much better now...mission accomplished! *yahoo*

Curiously though, the components are different to the previous one I had been sent, and different from yours. This one has the different transformer and slightly smaller caps. The transistor is labelled roksan, and the specs i can see are:

I/P 0-115v-230v 50-60hz

O/P 40v----0---40v-5.2A

13v---0---13v-0.85a

13.5v-1.1A

And the 8 caps are 560mf (with the two large ones still being 8200mf)

Whats your take on the smaller caps and different trans? How much power is this transistor kicking out? How much difference do you think this would possibly make in sound?

I will do a more in depth review with the whole set up soon, but the speakers match greatly with it. I was worried there might be too much boom in my small room, but this is not the case, just nice clean punchy bass and drums. (i can listen to dance music again! *yahoo* ) After about 30 mins of listening I had the thought, " the amp is showing the speakers limits". Whereas before the speakers were showing the brio-r's limits. But the sound is way better than anything i could have hoped for, and I am massively satisfied and happy, and although i'm sure the amp could work well with even better speakers, I have reached a level I will always be very happy with. So, thanks for your posts, which have been intersting and educational, and I would say correct in your judgements, you have helped me along onto the amp of my dreams....thank you! *drinks*

(its just slightly bugging me that maybe i would be getting even more performance from that different transistor and caps. Do you think i would be worth me tracking down another with the 840mf caps etc? Henly are getting back to me tomorrow regarding whether they can source me one!)

Thanks again!

 

[Vladimir]

Hey Vlad!

So, the new k2bt has arrived, and first things first...it sounds amazing! Big grins all round *biggrin* It is definitely a suitable upgrade from the brio-r, and it is actually everything I was hoping for.....and more!

I know the feeling. *good*

Curiously though, the components are different to the previous one I had been sent, and different from yours. This one has the different transformer and slightly smaller caps. The transistor is labelled roksan, and the specs i can see are:

I/P 0-115v-230v 50-60hz

O/P 40v----0---40v-5.2A

13v---0---13v-0.85a

13.5v-1.1A

And the 8 caps are 560mf (with the two large ones still being 8200mf)

Whats your take on the smaller caps and different trans? How much power is this transistor kicking out? How much difference do you think this would possibly make in sound?

The 'transistor' also known as a transformer *wink* is different due to the new batch they ordered for the K3. You have the K3 transformer. Power wise it is almost exactly the same as the old Noratel K2 BT. 2 * 39V * 5A = 390VA and the new one is 2 * 40V * 5.2A = 416VA for the power amp section. There should be no difference in amplifier abilities or sound quality. -/+26VA is insignificant. Only worry with large transformers is will it develop a humm. With Roksan I wouldn't worry much since the amp is not a high bias class AB. It doesn't stress the transformer like Rega does. Brio-R, Elex-R and Elicit-R are converted 60 year old tube amp to work like a solid state. The biasing is high and this makes transformers who lack headroom hummm like a barbers quartet. Not the case with the Roksan MOSFET based circuit.

Transformer has a Roksan sticker because they ordered enough units from the supplier to get a custom sticker on it. Looking at its specs it could be custom wound just for Roksan. Who manufactures it will remain unknown due to this.

The caps being 560uF or 680uF doesn't make a difference. -/+960uF is insignificant in a regulated supply.

Basically they gave you a K3 with a K2 faceplate. Doesn't seem like a bad deal to me. *wink*

I will do a more in depth review with the whole set up soon, but the speakers match greatly with it. I was worried there might be too much boom in my small room, but this is not the case, just nice clean punchy bass and drums. (i can listen to dance music again! *yahoo* ) After about 30 mins of listening I had the thought, " the amp is showing the speakers limits". Whereas before the speakers were showing the brio-r's limits. But the sound is way better than anything i could have hoped for, and I am massively satisfied and happy, and although i'm sure the amp could work well with even better speakers, I have reached a level I will always be very happy with. So, thanks for your posts, which have been intersting and educational, and I would say correct in your judgements, you have helped me along onto the amp of my dreams....thank you! *drinks*

(its just slightly bugging me that maybe i would be getting even more performance from that different transistor and caps. Do you think i would be worth me tracking down another with the 840mf caps etc? Henly are getting back to me tomorrow regarding whether they can source me one!)

Thanks again!

Considering for a year I was the lonely voice on the internet with a K2 BT, not getting any feedback from the manufacturer, nothing written of any use in reviews, I had a worry with different component iterations. I wondered if there was a supply shortage and was I getting a good or bad version of the K2BT. Now once the K3 came out it all makes sense. The variations of the K2 BT and silence from the manufacturer are due to Roksan transitioning towards the new K3. Regardless what components you get, you get the same performance. What differs is the looks and VFM.

The K2 BT remains a transitional product, technically upgrading from the K2, and K3 visually upgrading from the K2BT. Currently the BT is the best deal from Roksan's offering IMO. Sure I would like German opium faceplates, but not at that price. I swap boxes too often to worry about looks.

Congrats! *drinks*

 

[Vladimir]

BTW, make sure you peel off the faceplate glass vinyl. It messes with the remote working properly. Also find the most powerfull batteries you can get to use with the remote. I always though the remote is not very responsive until I accidentally used heavy duty Toshiba batteries from my nescafe mixer. Stronger batteries improved responsiveness. *unknw*

 

[radiorog]

Hi Vlad, sorry for the short response but I am in quite a bit of a rush today. I have noticed a small buzzing noise coming from the right speaker that is audible at about 3ft, although not exactly loud, but there is no buzzing coming from the left speaker. Just wandering if your speakers have any buzzing? I have heard that most amps make a small buzzing noise but I'm pretty sure this is more than my previous brio r, although possibly not as bad as my faulty brio r. I gave spoken to roksan and they have suggested I send it in, so waiting to hear back from the shop.

I did remove the panel film immediately as it was scratched and looked horrible, to my relief the panel underneath was pristine. I was worried before I got the amp I wouldn't like its looks, but I have to say it is definitely inoffensive and I actually like the looks a lot.

The sound is the main thing tho, and yesterday I listened to some old blues, blind Willie johnson, and McTell, and Leadbelly, (as stereophile magazine had in its review)and they sounded fantastic. There is no way I could have appreciated that music as much with the brio, everything was very natural and if I squinted my ears a little, I was transported back to the 1930's. Superb!

 

[Vladimir]

There was never any buzzing or hiss in mine through the speakers. I've turned up the volume pot all the way up, setting my ear next to the tweeter and all I could hear was silence. Not even slight hiss. *unknw*

Make sure you have your speaker cables set tight and clean, and do some interconnect swapping. I had plenty of buzzing issues with those with various amps.

 

[SteveR750]

Re buzzing sound, have you checked it's not a source problem?

Nice amps though aren't they, good choice.

 

[ChrisIRL]

As a graphic designer I work with print all the time. IMO it is not a likely mistake to make, especially with the legal consequences for exporting and selling goods with incorrect specified power data. They have the silk screen template since the begining of the K series and they changed from 125W to 140W when the K2BT came out.

If they made a mistake and wrote 175W the first time and then corrected the issue by writing 140W in the following batch, why did they kept printing 175W on the new K3 which uses a significantly changed silk screen template?

Also why did they change back from the upgraded 8x680uF United Chemicon caps and Noratel transformer to 8x100uF general purpose Samwha and generic chinese transformer? 800uF and 5440uF certanly makes a difference in the power specs.

And why did they go from 125W > 140W > 150W > 140W in the brochures and online specs?

I think they had issues with suppliers or the better parts were simply not feasable for the price, considering Roksan is a small scale manufacturing operation. I asked Roksan about certain parts before I bought the amp and they never replied. So I asked Henley about the change in the transformer and through Henley Roksan repplied that they use different suppliers for their parts. Nothing more in details.

Obviosly they have some issues and due to those the K2BT was not consistent. I hope the K3 will have a better career.

Did anymore ever come of this difference between printed specs and the spec on the amp? My new K2 BT arrived today to replace the faulty K2 I had received. It too has 175 wpc printed on the amp, but I can see through the vents it has the custom yellow labelled transformer inside. Sounds every bit of it too, grips the LS50s in a way even the first K2 didn't. I finally admit too that while the Rega Brio r produced a great sound with the Ls50s the 175w Kandy has really brought them to life.

 

[radiorog]

Yep, they are all 150w now. The back plates range from 140_175w, but they are all 150. They do all have very slightly different components tho. The transformers can be slightly different, as can the capacitors.

 

[radiorog]

Well,an update on my k2bt saga. I always seem to run into issues when choosing hifi.Anyway,the amp I rreceived which I mentioned had the roksan labeled transformer had to go back as the bt wasnt working properly. They sent a replacement but it had the slightly smaller transformer.....and guess what...it definitely didnt sound as good as the kne witht he larger transformer.....or it soi ded different anyway. There was a deeper bass before and a even more live sounding feel. Before when I played massive attacks mezenine album,I found myself tapping my feet.with pleasure and really feeling the groove. I listened to the same album with the new amp and no such emotion. The emotions I was having witht the first amp have disappeared, and to me the music is not as intoxicating. I was blown away with every song witht he first amp, witht the new one I am not.
So out of interest I went to a hifi shop today to look at the k3, and indeed uou were right, it houses the same transformer and caps as the first amp I had. I think thst slightly larger transformer has a slightly larger output I to the power or pre amp section and I am guessing this is where the rather noticable sound change comes from. I am gutted I had to send what was really a very cheap k3 back, but I have got clesrence from my dealer to send my current one back. My dilema now is do i risk one more attempt at getting this cheaper k3 (aka k2bt) or do i now decide i just want the k3. The sound really was that much better that I do t think k would be happy with the standard k2bt. Plus the k3 has slightly shorter signal paths somewhere apparentlyto improve clarity a little more. Yours stressed,
Rog.

 

[ChrisIRL]

Well,an update on my k2bt saga. I always seem to run into issues when choosing hifi.Anyway,the amp I rreceived which I mentioned had the roksan labeled transformer had to go back as the bt wasnt working properly. They sent a replacement but it had the slightly smaller transformer.....and guess what...it definitely didnt sound as good as the kne witht he larger transformer.....or it soi ded different anyway. There was a deeper bass before and a even more live sounding feel. Before when I played massive attacks mezenine album,I found myself tapping my feet.with pleasure and really feeling the groove. I listened to the same album with the new amp and no such emotion. The emotions I was having witht the first amp have disappeared, and to me the music is not as intoxicating. I was blown away with every song witht he first amp, witht the new one I am not. So out of interest I went to a hifi shop today to look at the k3, and indeed uou were right, it houses the same transformer and caps as the first amp I had. I think thst slightly larger transformer has a slightly larger output I to the power or pre amp section and I am guessing this is where the rather noticable sound change comes from. I am gutted I had to send what was really a very cheap k3 back, but I have got clesrence from my dealer to send my current one back. My dilema now is do i risk one more attempt at getting this cheaper k3 (aka k2bt) or do i now decide i just want the k3. The sound really was that much better that I do t think k would be happy with the standard k2bt. Plus the k3 has slightly shorter signal paths somewhere apparentlyto improve clarity a little more. Yours stressed, Rog.

My K2 BT has the larger Roksan labelled transformer. Analogue Seduction supplied it and they seem very willing to offer significant discount.

 

[radiorog]

Interesting. The only problem ordering a new one is there is no guarantee what I will get.last week I received the very latest off the production line....but they have gone back to using the smaller transformer.the sound really is very different.I noticed it immediately. Would you be able to tell me what serial number yours is? I might be able to see if the place you mentioned has another. Cheers.

 

[ChrisIRL]

I can't imagine they sell too many of them so their current stock is probably all from the same batch. As mentioned the one I received had the 175 wpc labelling and is in black. My BT is also "faulty" in that left and right channels are reversed. I'll live with it given amp was £470. Can't guarantee they'll do the same deal for everyone, I have been a regular customer for a while now. Their customer service is second to none however so no harm asking.

 

[radiorog]

Wowzers! Thats is a bargain.was it cheap bexause of the "fault"? And that is a strange fault hey! Its too much of a gamble for me to go on it without knowimg the serial number.maube they omly get two in at a time.my dealer was getting through quite a few of them. That price sure beats £1250!

 

[ChrisIRL]

The amp was brand new, just a genuine fault. It also happened with an Arcam irdac I owned, left channel playing through right speaker, right channel through left. Arcam sorted it via a firmware update, can't be done for an amp though. I've simply switched speaker output and my other source input, so all correct now. £470 vs £1250, I know what I'd be doing! Every dealer says they sell alot. Sales talk. 1k amps don't walk out the door.

 

[Jota180]

I'd be concerned if they make daft mistakes like that, what else could go wrong. Nice amount of money off but I much prefer peace of mind.

 

[radiorog]

My decision whether to go for k3 becoming even harder as the k2bt has 50hrs behind it now and seems to have suddenly hit its stride .... Good god these amps are amazing!