Upgrade from Roksan K3 integrated onwards

[plastic penguin]

Thanks for your feedback. Can you define “better”? I assume amp with higher grade components, therefore costlier? Gosh, that Tucana is a whopper, costing £4300! And I like that it pumps out 150W. So, this implies going for option 1 in my earliest post.

I can't really define better as we all define it differently. Might be worthwhile demo one with your speakers and you can decide how it betters your K3.

Regarding the basic Tucana MK2, they are for sale much cheaper than the price you're showing. I had the basic MK2 and it's fabulous sounding.
This link is from a dealer who offer a returns, just in case it doesn't suit your needs.

Pardon our interruption...

 

[twinkletoes]

The Roksan Blak is an awesome amp, but I'm not sure how my subwoofer can be connected. I don't see analog pre-outs. Does anyone know?

what subwoofer do you have?

EDIT just read the B&W 610- you use the speaker level connections BUT not all amps like to be used like this. or you can use the pre outs of the amp, so a put the red and white from the pre outs to the LINE IN's of the subwoofer

 

[good_enough]

what subwoofer do you have?

EDIT just read the B&W 610- you use the speaker level connections BUT not all amps like to be used like this. or you can use the pre outs of the amp, so a put the red and white from the pre outs to the LINE IN's of the subwoofer

His point was the Blak doesn't seem to have pre-outs, which, remarkably, seems to be the case.

 

[twinkletoes]

His point was the Blak doesn't seem to have pre-outs, which, remarkably, seems to be the case.

In which case ive also answered that use the speaker level connections

 

[tytang]

Maybe I'm not best to comment as I prefer my Arcam over the k3 although it's undeniably a good amp hence I kept hold of it but after upgrading my speakers it lost its charm.
I found I prefer Arcam but it wasn't a big price jump at the time that gave me the improvement it was the type of dare I say it "house sound" the Arcam produces that I liked more not unlike you but the other way round.

Although I tried more expensive amps I found the differences were small until the prices jumped considerably then of course like everything else in life they get better especially when hitting the super analytical stuff I drool over where the quality of the musical source and copy becomes ever more important but it's house buying prices.

The other comments people have made make sense and unless paying much more I've found the difference isn't as apparent as jumping brand to a different type of dare I say it "house sound" so I'd of recommended trying different brands but you've journeyed to liking the roskans already so unless your planning on considerably upping the budget then it seems to be a common experience of nothing really changes around the same price bracket.

Of course there is the odd exceptions to the rule where something a little special comes along like the k3 is in its own right.

The heaven 11 Billie amp has caught my interest as something I'd like to hear as it's gathering quite a reputation as something a little special within my preferences.

Any comments, no matter how you perceive, is valuable to me. I want to sense what real people think. In which case your comment I am thankful.

I do love the Arcam sound; it is smooth, very balanced, warmish and sometimes it is dynamic. I don’t mind staying with Arcam a long time. It makes music enjoyable. The Roksan K3 has one extra unique feature; it makes vocal more standout. Suddenly I can hear a lot more how the voice sound. The sound, whether from a man or a woman, has so much more textures. You can tell the singer has a sore throat or not when the song was recorded!

Heaven 11 amplifier is another new info to me! Thank you for the suggestion! It looks gorgeous!

 

[tytang]

I can't really define better as we all define it differently. Might be worthwhile demo one with your speakers and you can decide how it betters your K3.

Regarding the basic Tucana MK2, they are for sale much cheaper than the price you're showing. I had the basic MK2 and it's fabulous sounding.
This link is from a dealer who offer a returns, just in case it doesn't suit your needs.

Pardon our interruption...

From where I’m from (Singapore), there isn’t a large market unlike in the UK. I can find one Tucana Mk2 selling around £3600. It’s in my list to consider. Gosh, it’s so beautifully designed!

 

[tytang]

In which case ive also answered that use the speaker level connections

Yes you did, thanks. I did give a thought to that. I would need another pair of speaker cables to connect to the L and R speaker inputs of the subwoofer (B&W 610 has them). However, in this case, I worry that changing volume of the Blak amp will affect the subwoofer input. I want to think that the subwoofer line level input is fixed. Amplifier speakers out are variable, aren’t they?

Another method of connection I am aware of is if the subwoofer has both speakers line in and another pair of speakers line out. In which case, cables from amp go to subwoofer line in, and another pair of cables from subwoofer line out to my main speaker 706. (My B&W 610ASW does not have this speakers line out). As I’m unsure and finding it incredibly complex, I drop the idea of going with Roksan Blak. Anyway there are so many great amplifiers that have been suggested here, I don’t need Blak!

At this moment, from the 3 options I was thinking of from the very beginning of this thread, option 1 (upgrading from K3 int amp to another int amp of somewhat significant higher cost) seems the more logical choice.