I have something to say about the K10. In my 2 decade long of experience of an audiophile, I always dream of using mega pricey preamp such as Boulder 2010 and FM268. The Wavac PR-T1 has served well so well in the past almost 4 years is now the time for retirement after comparing it extensively with the K10. A friend of mine lives in the Beijing metro area brought along his FM255mk2 to compare. In return, I also brought my K10 to his home to compare. The conclusion is he decided to order a K10.
After experiencing the crazy Tidal system at AE, I dare not to say what is linearity and neutrality. As long as coloration enhances my perceived subjective musicality, that's fine. Wavac certainly offers me a very sensational and energetic feeling. My friend described both the FM and Wavac sounds like an old man after taking Viagra - that's good. We need the stamina, the system needs the stamina. With horn speakers, the expressiveness of the Wavac is further enhanced. Sometimes, I ask myself what really is control.
Solid state mainland audiophile comments my Wavac/Horn system lacks control. They don't agree passionate and expressive are the right words. Some of the arguments are hard for me to rebute. For example, the micro control (the subtle energy change) of the bow on the violin and Cello are not there, it seems the performer always strikes with a lot of energy. Piano is the weakest link. They point out, as a result of this characteristics, I end up playing opera, orchestra and pop music all the time. In retrospect, that's also true.
So, there is really no right and wrong as we all love different things. The K10, is obviously, a much more developed and matured preamplification entity. This is much more than a taste difference. At first, it sound as though the wildness of the Wavac is gone. Later on, when my friends in Beijing come for a party (and one of them teaches music composition at the Beijing music conservatory) asked me what had I changed. He knows nothing about audio but he moves on to say, the music this time sounds much more natural especially in the high frequency area. The melodic development is much clearer than before. When I asked him about the expressiveness, he frankly told me he did not believe the previous setup was expressive but more like absence of control.
But we all listen differently. The K10 is very engaging for a fact - the ups and downs of the melodic line are silky smooth. It allows me to follow the music. Come one, not many modern music has the kind of "melodic harmony" in the old days and yes I can follow the pianist' thought now; whereas in the past I always focus on when he striked the bass key and the subsequent generation of energy to chill my spine.
The K10 is surprisingly affordable relative to mega pricey preamp out there. I am really thankful of AE keep development audio climax for me all thru the past 5 years. And I really like enjoy the process of upgrading and learning.
Comments
What's your comments of the Takumi suite united?
Azzuri dude, do you have anything more to say about the K10?
After experiencing the crazy Tidal system at AE, I dare not to say what is linearity and neutrality. As long as coloration enhances my perceived subjective musicality, that's fine. Wavac certainly offers me a very sensational and energetic feeling. My friend described both the FM and Wavac sounds like an old man after taking Viagra - that's good. We need the stamina, the system needs the stamina. With horn speakers, the expressiveness of the Wavac is further enhanced. Sometimes, I ask myself what really is control.
Solid state mainland audiophile comments my Wavac/Horn system lacks control. They don't agree passionate and expressive are the right words. Some of the arguments are hard for me to rebute. For example, the micro control (the subtle energy change) of the bow on the violin and Cello are not there, it seems the performer always strikes with a lot of energy. Piano is the weakest link. They point out, as a result of this characteristics, I end up playing opera, orchestra and pop music all the time. In retrospect, that's also true.
So, there is really no right and wrong as we all love different things. The K10, is obviously, a much more developed and matured preamplification entity. This is much more than a taste difference. At first, it sound as though the wildness of the Wavac is gone. Later on, when my friends in Beijing come for a party (and one of them teaches music composition at the Beijing music conservatory) asked me what had I changed. He knows nothing about audio but he moves on to say, the music this time sounds much more natural especially in the high frequency area. The melodic development is much clearer than before. When I asked him about the expressiveness, he frankly told me he did not believe the previous setup was expressive but more like absence of control.
But we all listen differently. The K10 is very engaging for a fact - the ups and downs of the melodic line are silky smooth. It allows me to follow the music. Come one, not many modern music has the kind of "melodic harmony" in the old days and yes I can follow the pianist' thought now; whereas in the past I always focus on when he striked the bass key and the subsequent generation of energy to chill my spine.
The K10 is surprisingly affordable relative to mega pricey preamp out there. I am really thankful of AE keep development audio climax for me all thru the past 5 years. And I really like enjoy the process of upgrading and learning.
Robert, you have done a great job on the K10!
點解你時時都去揪機? 拿你部FM268mk2同巨匠隻揪下好唔好? 英國佬除了部M10之外, 你可以節省時間. 當年Studiogrey兄同場和Wavac PR-T1隻揪, 最後都keep番部Wavac.
你一於帶部268mk2去showroom揪下啦!
Robert仔, 你好嘢! 真係有料到!