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 Response D48R Floorstand Speaker (Made In England)
Mid Detail
- ProAc have improved the mid-range detail and a opened up a cleaner, faster and more extended bass response. A new studio monitor quality bass driver was designed for the D48, featuring a special impregnated cone and mid frequencies tuned by a cap of greater size than standard. This gives the new unit greater mid-range detail along with excellent bass control giving a tighter and more extended response.
Dual Bass
- The two new bass drivers are each loaded through ProAc’s special floor loading with side vents, this makes the loudspeaker easier to place and reacts less to surroundings. The two bass units are then seamlessly mated to our ribbon or dome tweeter depending on your preference.
- With such a large slim floor standing design the sound stage is superb being very large and with pinpoint imagery. Another achievement for the D48 is its ability to create large orchestral works as well as heavy rock music.
HQ Filter
- The D48 has a high quality filter network designed by Stewart Tyler comprising of the finest components, ProAc cable on a special board. The filter is also split for bi-amping and bi-wiring. This is one of the best designs from ProAc and should please all audio files regardless of their taste in music.
D40 Legacy
- The ProAc Response D48 is built to replace the immense flagship Response D40, and has some big shoes to fill! ProAc aren’t in the business of making tweaks and changes for the sake of it, so for all purposes the D48 is a wholly new speaker.
- ProAc have moved away from the carbon fibre cone material utilised on the D40, instead opting for a carbon fibre pulp which delivers improved midrange frequency reproduction as well as tighter bass with less low frequency hangover.
Enhanced Sound
- These differences give the listener a more detailed, open midrange and a more expansive soundstage. Also, the leading edge of bass instruments is more audible with less muddling in comparison to other carbon fibre based drivers. The cabinet used for the D48 is the same size as the outgoing D40.
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]
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.