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| Trond Seland's Kit1 |
My first impression of the Kit One was that it inherited all the good qualities that the SET amps are so very well known for. It has a very open and transparent soundstage along with tremendous room-definition. I love it’s ability to place the musicians in the room and make them come alive like only a true SET design can! The Kit One is also blessed with very good bass definition and an all over very well balanced sound quality.
Many affordable 300B SET amps do not inherit the good bass definition and well balanced sound as one find in the Kit One……and they already cost twice the price of the Kit One – that makes the Kit One a bargain!!! To sum up the basic qualities of the Kit One without upgrades I would have to say: Openness, transparency, artist localization, hall ambience, very “right sounding” and alive like sound.
My first impression of the Kit One was that it inherited all the good qualities that the SET amps are so very well known for. It has a very open and transparent soundstage along with tremendous room-definition. I love it’s ability to place the musicians in the room and make them come alive like only a true SET design can! The Kit One is also blessed with very good bass definition and an all over very well balanced sound quality.
Many affordable 300B SET amps do not inherit the good bass definition and well balanced sound as one find in the Kit One……and they already cost twice the price of the Kit One – that makes the Kit One a bargain!!! To sum up the basic qualities of the Kit One without upgrades I would have to say: Openness, transparency, artist localization, hall ambience, very “right sounding” and alive like sound.
During my time with the Kit One I have upgraded it a lot. All capacitors, except for those in the power supply board, are now Black Gates of various types. The Black Gates are well worth the relatively high price – they really are. The Black Gates makes the sound quality climb several steps on the High-End-Ladder. The openness and transparency is now unheard of - I have to laugh every time I put on a piano concert because of the incredible realism provided by the Kit One. I’m a pianist myself and I tell you: If you know how a piano sounds like in a concert hall, the Kit One with some upgrades could probably be the best sounding amp you have EVER heard! I have also upgraded the volume potentiometer with a 100K TDK type, AN copper foil caps, the speaker terminals and RCA connectors are now silver type. The signal valves are NOS and the 300B’s are MeshPlate. I have also, as you can see of the picture, added another input – This is just a temporary solution until I buy the Pre-Amp Kit. I would not recommend placing a switch in the signal path of the Kit One.
I still have a lot of upgrades to do but for now I’m simply stunned by the present performance of the Kit One – It’s a killer and the best amp I have ever heard.
( I have heard quite a lot of super expensive solid state gear as well as a lot of SET designs ). If you want to really connect with your music, have some time to build a Kit Amp and your account is not over stuffed with $$$$$$$$$, then the Kit One is the only way to go… that’s the way I see it anyway… Building a Kit One should be fully possible for anyone who wants to do so!
Trond Seland, Norway