Karan Acoustics
Fyne Audio
Hi-Fi Package (HF77)

Overview

Karan Acoustics KA-180i MK2 Integrated Amplifier (Made In Europe)

The Karan integrated amp has a cult following. Milan Karan doesn’t change his products on a regular basis, so Karan doesn’t get the brand coverage a more profligate revamper might and the company is up against some of the bigger names in the industry with marketing powers to match. And yet, the Karan integrated has become the doyen of those ‘in the know’, any mention of the product on even the most vituperative forum is met with praise instead of hostility. There are many folk who traded in well-respected Big Brand amps for the Karan… and never looked back. Only Lavardin receives similarly universal reverence and owning one (a Karan or a Lavardin) bestows upon the listener a kind of classy anti-hero chic, akin to ordering an Armagnac when it’s brandy time. So a new version of the 180W Karan integrated amp is a must-hear, if only to stay one of hi-fi’s underground fashionistas.

Karan has adopted an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach to the KA I-180, and much of what was good about the original amp is retained. The amplifier is built along differential lines, but drops comfortably down to single-ended operation. It delivers 180watts into eight ohms and 300watts into four, and has a frequency response from DC to light (well, from DC to 300kHz). The rest of the specs are identical, as is much of the amplifier board layout and even the internal geography of the amp. It also has that unique – as in ‘how does he do it?’ – Class A sound without Class A inefficiency. The secret, apparently, is sliding bias, low current and treating the whole voltage rail like the base of a transistor.

ProAc K1 Bookshelf Speaker (Made In England)

The premium ProAc range the ‘K series has now been in production for the last 12 years. The K3, K6 K8 and most recently the K6 Sig have proven to have been very popular choices for people looking for the ultimate in sound reproduction. With this success we have been asked for a stand mounted K series speaker which we have been developing.

The K1 is a special stand mounted version using the Kevlar cone as in the K range and the tweeter is also our proven ribbon unit. Certain modifications have been made to the Cabinet, bass driver and tweeter to make it adaptable for us to be able to develop this to be suitable for a stand mounted loudspeaker.

Although the K1 is a stand mounted loudspeaker is has a surprisingly extended and accurate bass response with the usual beautiful midrange from the K series bass driver used within the K series.

The unique K design which has been incorporated into the K1 sees a cabinet which is bottom ported and a specially designed dedicated stand to complement and bring out the best in the K1, the K1 stand will be available separately from the loudspeakers.

The K1 considering its size gives an impressive sound stage for a stand mounted loudspeaker with an almost electrostatic open midrange and very accurate bass.

We are sure that the K1 will not disappoint.

FREE GIFT :

• MS HD Power S20 V3 6 Way Filtered UK Mains Block (worth RM990)
• QED Reference Qonduit Power Cord 2m (worth RM995)
• QED Genesis Silver Spiral 3m pair (worth RM1,980)

• Contact : Dicky Ng 012-3308893
• Contact : John Yew 016-2861000
• Email    : [email protected]