roksan kandy mkIII vs caspian mk1 amplifier?

[iambarney]

Hi,

Anyone have any views on how the caspian mk1 compares to kandy mkIII amplifier?

Have the kandy mkIII at the moment, kandy cd player, monitor audio bx6 speaker, technics 1200 turntable (play mostly vinyl). usually listen at lower volumes, room is around 18ft x 12 ft.

thanks!

 

[tazzo]

When you say kandy Mklll, do you mean the K2? If so, I think the Caspian Mk1 would probably sound better. That s only going by my thoughts though.

 

[ISAC69]

Hi,

Anyone have any views on how the caspian mk1 compares to kandy mkIII amplifier?

Have the kandy mkIII at the moment, kandy cd player, monitor audio bx6 speaker, technics 1200 turntable (play mostly vinyl). usually listen at lower volumes, room is around 18ft x 12 ft.

thanks!

Correction : Kandy K2 Vs. Caspian M2 !

You have a very good system I wouldn't upgrade to the Caspian for my tast is too smooth and artificial sound while the kandy is more

worm and punchy .

 

[iambarney]

to clarify: Kandy K1 mkIII vs Caspian mk1 (the first one)...

 

[ISAC69]

Stay with the Kandy , If you want amp upgrade check other amps besides the Caspian .

 

[plastic penguin]

Hi,

Anyone have any views on how the caspian mk1 compares to kandy mkIII amplifier?

Have the kandy mkIII at the moment, kandy cd player, monitor audio bx6 speaker, technics 1200 turntable (play mostly vinyl). usually listen at lower volumes, room is around 18ft x 12 ft.

thanks!

Have heard the Kandy LIII (newer version of the MKIII) and the Caspian M1, I would have no hesitation in recommending the Caspian. It was the M1 I directly compared to the Leema Pulse, and IMO, there's very little between the two. However, it does depend how old the Caspian is: Roksan have a habit of tweaking the model every now and then, so...

 

[Vladimir]

The Kandy is more powerfull and warm, tube or class A like, comparable to Arcam, Rega, Creek, Accuphase. The Caspian is more exciting and bright class B like, comparable to Naim, Exposure or the Leema.

Despite the fact the Kandy has more power, the Caspian sounds louder and more powerfull. This is because it has higher gain by 3dB in the preamp section and goes louder much sooner on the volume knob. This also means the Caspian will go much quicker into clipping than the Kandy.

The Caspian has bit more damping factor which may or may not translate into tighter bass with some speakers. Kandy 110 DF, Caspian 160DF, Leema Pulse 177, not that much difference when you consider a Rotel has 1000 DF. Naim has 12-15 DF usually.

 

[iambarney]

plastic penguin: the Kandy I have at the moment is the las version before the K2 (KA-l mkIII)- the capian I was considering swapping for is the oldest version, with the black volume/selector controls, mk1- which I would estimate at being 8-10 years older than the Kandy I have.

wasn`t sure if this would be a lateral move? do you happen to know if the differences between the 2 amps are comparable with age/different revisions...
I guess the question is the older caspian vs a more recent Kandy?

Vladimir: Thanks for your reply, most helpful- have spent the last 15 mins finding out what class A, B amps are!

 

[Al ears]

Hi,

Anyone have any views on how the caspian mk1 compares to kandy mkIII amplifier?

Have the kandy mkIII at the moment, kandy cd player, monitor audio bx6 speaker, technics 1200 turntable (play mostly vinyl). usually listen at lower volumes, room is around 18ft x 12 ft.

thanks!

Have heard the Kandy LIII (newer version of the MKIII) and the Caspian M1, I would have no hesitation in recommending the Caspian. It was the M1 I directly compared to the Leema Pulse, and IMO, there's very little between the two. However, it does depend how old the Caspian is: Roksan have a habit of tweaking the model every now and then, so...

+1 and ditto.

I had the LIII and heard the Caspian, unfortunately did not have the cash at the time.

 

[Vladimir]

The Kandy is a power MOSFET based amplifier but not Class A, just Class AB (only a watt or two in Class A). The Caspian is also AB but it is BJT (bipolar). Amplifiers like Accuphase or Pass are built as Class A with the same transistors (Toshiba K1529/J200) like the Kandy but they have much larger heatsinks and power supplies so they can be biased up to Class A and heat your room like a furnace. The Kandy is cooler but has that Class A appeal from the lateral MOSFET circuitry. Closest you can get to valve amp sound with regular solid state amps is with MOSFET.

So basically a person who likes warm, powerfull and airy sound will immediatly like the Kandy and find the Caspian brash and tiring. Vice versa someone who likes fast, punchy, exciting and bright (clear) sound will find the Kandy dull, uninvolving and flabby.

This is not a coincidence. Roksan made these two amps to please customers from both camps. In the UK the listening culture is towards the fast, punchy and in your face exciting sound, lacking in bass somewhat. Also people tend to buy brighter amps because most have speakers that have tweeters bellow ear listening height and their speakers suddenly liven up with the brighter amps. Bare in mind everyones ear health related to age comes at play with this as well.

Naturally the more expensive amp of the two is now the Caspian with a 3 dB boost loudness advantage. They cost the aprox. same to be built so choosing a spot on the price ladder is more of a marketing strategy than performance differences.

All of this is IMO. I don't run a lab.

 

[DomRok]

To me it looks like you have a good amp and a better one.

 

[plastic penguin]

plastic penguin: the Kandy I have at the moment is the las version before the K2 (KA-l mkIII)- the capian I was considering swapping for is the oldest version, with the black volume/selector controls, mk1- which I would estimate at being 8-10 years older than the Kandy I have.

wasn`t sure if this would be a lateral move? do you happen to know if the differences between the 2 amps are comparable with age/different revisions...
I guess the question is the older caspian vs a more recent Kandy?

The last Kandy Roksan made before the K2 was introduced the LIII, which was introduced in around 2006 The MKIII was the previous model, but both IMO were better than the early K2. By that I mean the LIII was a little less refined and thus IMO was a little more boisterous, and thus a bit more fun. Although I've not heard the K2 and LIII side-by-side, but to my ear the K2 is slightly smoother. If it were my money I wouldn't buy the K2... no reason other than the above explanation.

The Caspian, based on the latest model before the M2, was a different beast to the LIII and K2: Although less wattage, it had quality of power and drove my old RS6s just as well as the LIII & K2 IMHO. The only slight issue for me with the Caspian was it didn't have the quality at low volumes, compared to the Kandys and Leema (or the inputs).

However, please bear in mind this is just my findings based on countless dems before buying the Leema.

 

[plastic penguin]

The Kandy is more powerfull and warm, tube or class A like, comparable to Arcam, Rega, Creek, Accuphase. The Caspian is more exciting and bright class B like, comparable to Naim, Exposure or the Leema.

Despite the fact the Kandy has more power, the Caspian sounds louder and more powerfull. This is because it has higher gain by 3dB in the preamp section and goes louder much sooner on the volume knob. This also means the Caspian will go much quicker into clipping than the Kandy.

The Caspian has bit more damping factor which may or may not translate into tighter bass with some speakers. Kandy 110 DF, Caspian 160DF, Leema Pulse 177, not that much difference when you consider a Rotel has 1000 DF. Naim has 12-15 DF usually.

I wouldn't compare any of the Kandys with a tube amp. Both the K2 and LIII are terrific sounding amps, but based on my experience with the RS6s, I found the LIII to be a little OTT with certain music, while the K2 didn't sit as comfotable as the LIII. As regards to DF and whether one is warmer than the other will be determined by source and speakers. So with the RS6s, the Leema wasn't necessarily brighter but had more realism to its presentation - more 3D.

Little of WHFIs review of the Pulse stands up IMHO: Personally loved the Caspian M1, as with the Pulse, it had more to it in realism terms. The only reason why I plumped for the Pulse was the fact it has more inputs, including a very good built-in phono stage. The bass on the Pulse is a little more preciseand the Pulse is better at low volumes. However, the difference between the two was fairly marginal.

 

[Vladimir]

Indeed they are far from real tube sound, just remind me of the smoothness and fullness. Class A biased MOSFETs even closer to tube flavor, but without the shortcomings.

The K2 compared to its predecesors is basically a MOSFET version of the Caspian. They share a very similar architecture.

 

[plastic penguin]

Indeed they are far from real tube sound, just remind me of the smoothness and fullness. Class A biased MOSFETs even closer to tube flavor, but without the shortcomings.

The K2 compared to its predecesors is basically a MOSFET version of the Caspian. They share a very similar architecture.

Do you know exactly what MOSFET is? So could you give me a in-depth synopsis, as I don't have a clue. And in a normal environment (living room) what benefits MOSFET has.

 

[Vladimir]

OK. Plenty of knowledge online about what MOSFETs and BJTs are. I'll write few benefits that translate in real life for us domestic audiophiles.

1) MOSFETs have excellent thermal stability.

2) They can survive a lot of abuse (voltage and current).

3) They are very resilient to RFI.

4) Perfect for Class A amps.

 

[plastic penguin]

OK. Plenty of knowledge online about what MOSFETs and BJTs are. I'll write few benefits that translate in real life for us domestic audiophiles.

1) MOSFETs have excellent thermal stability.

2) They can survive a lot of abuse (voltage and current).

3) They are very resilient to RFI.

4) Perfect for Class A amps.

What does MOSFET stand for?

4) But the Kandy is A/B class isn't it?

3) No idea what RFI is

2) Surely voltage and current is...

1) So, again, how does that translate into a better sound? More grip, faster bass, more textured midrange.

Sorry I'm not being argumentative, just trying to improve my understanding of the internals of a Kandy.

 

[Al ears]

OK. Plenty of knowledge online about what MOSFETs and BJTs are. I'll write few benefits that translate in real life for us domestic audiophiles.

1) MOSFETs have excellent thermal stability.

2) They can survive a lot of abuse (voltage and current).

3) They are very resilient to RFI.

4) Perfect for Class A amps.

What does MOSFET stand for?

4) But the Kandy is A/B class isn't it?

3) No idea what RFI is

2) Surely voltage and current is...

1) So, again, how does that translate into a better sound? More grip, faster bass, more textured midrange.

Sorry I'm not being argumentative, just trying to improve my understanding of the internals of a Kandy.

I know what it stands for

However as to it's benefits I am still researching.

 

[Vladimir]

Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor - MOS FET.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOSFET

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BJT

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/101745-bob-cordell-interview-bjt-vs-mosfet.html

http://www.accuphase.com/cat/e-305ven.pdf

If I had to express MOSFET stylistically I'd say big and powerfull sound, warm, airy, emotional, musical, organic, detailed, nonfatiguing and well textured lower midrange.

I understand there are those that have no interest in the technical side of this hobby and give complete trust to their hearing, personal tastes and auric memory. They don't care why the Caspian M2 has a little ventilator attached to the heatsink and the Kandy with double the power doesn't. However, I am interested in the engineering side of hi-fi and I have a big mouth and I will yap about MOSFET instead of expressing myself like a wine connoisseur. That is how I enjoy this hobby personally, it is not an agenda against the golden ear boys. I just like talking electronics, how weird is that?

 

[plastic penguin]

Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor - MOS FET.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOSFET

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BJT

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/101745-bob-cordell-interview-bjt-vs-mosfet.html

http://www.accuphase.com/cat/e-305ven.pdf

If I had to express MOSFET stylistically I'd say big and powerfull sound, warm, airy, emotional, musical, organic, detailed, nonfatiguing and well textured lower midrange.

I understand there are those that have no interest in the technical side of this hobby and give complete trust to their hearing, personal tastes and auric memory. They don't care why the Caspian M2 has a little ventilator attached to the heatsink and the Kandy with double the power doesn't. However, I am interested in the engineering side of hi-fi and I have a big mouth and I will yap about MOSFET instead of expressing myself like a wine connoisseur. That is how I enjoy this hobby personally, it is not an agenda against the golden ear boys. I just like talking electronics, how weird is that?

It's not weird you liking the engineering side. The issue I have with MOSFET, and how you describe its qualities is they are eerily similar to Arcam, Creek and many other brands that don't push or have the MOSFET tag.

Did the earlier Kandys (MKIII and LIII) have MOSFET?

*EDIT*

I think the car analogy or comparison is a goody. My Alfa159 comes with a 4 cyd engine JTS (not mine), which stands for Jet Thrust Stoichiometric, or another form of fuel injection, whereas the earlier models were just Twin Spark. this equates to two plugs per cylinder, but essentially it is, like the JTS, a standard injection engine. Performance is practically the same. The difference comes with mine which id the 'TBi' version. Same principle as the T. Spark and JTS but highly tuned.

 

[Vladimir]

Found this thread where the OP is our mate Happy_Listener, who is currently seeking a smooth and tube like sounding yet powerfull SS amp.

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/arcam-a18cd17-break-in-time

 

[Vladimir]

From top of my head Creek Destiny 2, 5350SE and 4330 use MOSFET, as well as Arcam Alpha series amps and all Roksan Kandy amps.

EDIT: also Arcam Delta series. The FMJs are BJT (bipolar). And add some Sugdens to the MOSFET list.

From the big names consider Accuphase, Luxman, Pass, Threshold, Jeff Rowland, Conrad-Johnson, SONY ES.

Invented by Hitachi.

 

[plastic penguin]

Fairy snuff. However, I don't personally care if it's MOSFET, MFI, KFC or RPM... If it sounds good, regardless of internals, then I'll buy it. For me the internals isn't a deal maker or breaker, just a load of eyewash that bear litlle in isolation.

As regards the link of Happy_listener, I would never associate Arcams with brightness or being fatiguing.

As I type this I have on Craig Charles Funk and Soul show on Radio 6, and I couldn't conceive the idea of having a system warmer. The Pulse is big and brassy without any roll off. To my ears the Pulse is a little smoother than any Arcam I've heard, yet I couldn't tell you any specs about it other than it's 80 watts per channel and it has 6 line-in inputs + a switchable phono stage.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100001794850885]

So the Kandy is a powerful amp, what happen if you Bi-Amp with his partner (Kandy Power Amplifier)?.

Is worth it?.

Cheers, Robert.

 

[Vladimir]

So the Kandy is a powerful amp, what happen if you Bi-Amp with his partner (Kandy Power Amplifier)?.

Is worth it?.

Cheers, Robert.

It really depends on the speakers Robert. If they dip down bellow 4 ohms and efficiency is less than 85dB, it might be worth biamping to get better performance.