Denafrips Amps

So well said jackd.  Kinda like walking a tight rope in that so many ways to go wrong, it’s about balance.  That’s cool u own a PA11 also, 1st I’ve ever met.  Been thru EL34’s, 6L6GC, but really like the Shuguang WE replicas, they r remarkable bottles.  Clarity and high end extension, they go remarkably deep also. Very different than an EL34.  They don’t have the 6SN7’s though so I’m running some Sylvanias.  U may want to try the 6CA7’s while you can still get them, they are so good.  I’ll probably try the Linlai E-6SN7’s going forward.  Very neutral from what I can dig up.  Athena in front of the Mystere is an easy recommendation.  Vinyl is killer.  Athena can feed two additional balanced outs, in addition to the rca, so it’s a very good hub.  The single rca in and out sound very, very good.  It’s got 4 sets of balanced ins that just cry for dac comparisons.  I get a slight buzz with the Mystere thru the high efficiency Zu’s, nothing thru the 1SC’s. Of course thru Hyperion everything is dead quiet.  I would love to hear the Kinki gear sometime but perhaps only Alvin knows anything about mixing and matching the two.  Apples and oranges?  Throw in the Musician line and we can talk ‘bananas’ too… (-;  

@regismc 

I think we've both gotten to a similar place with a different path.  Your using the warmer voiced Denafrips gear with a historically more forward speaker to get to a sound you like with either the Denafrips or Mystere amp.  The warmer Denafrirps preamp the tube amp and the DW's get you a happy place.  On the other hand I am using the "neutral" Kinki EX-M7 with a warmer 6SN7 based preamp and a slightly warm Verity speaker.  We end up close to the same place.  I also own a Mystere PA-11 and if I substitute it in place of the Kinki I get to much of a "good thing." I can get back to similar place by substituting the more neutral Reynaud Abscisse Jubilee with their AMT tweeters for the Verity's. More than the individual components it's all about the combination. 

What other equipment would you be integrating the Denafrips amps into?  I’ve Hyperion, Hestia, and Athena and am very satisfied with both the performance and the build quality.  Playing some old jazz albums over the weekend really ‘sealed it’ for me.  Basie, Jay McShann, Webster, Zawinul, Burrell, some Mavericks, Greta Van Fleet, William Shatner, Margo Price, Sarah Jarosz, Fantastic Negrito, and a few of the Tone Poet lp’s was really a splendid event, good listening.  Never heard the Kinki stuff but my understanding is similar to Jackd.  Denafrips has a natural warmth that may turn some people off.  It’s taken about 4 months and the addition of my first subwoofer but I couldn’t be more pleased.  The system is really versatile.  Great production like Michael Franks w/Chuck Loeb ‘Time Together’ is just candy.  The range of an artist like Brandi Carlile is revealed as simply astonishing, There’s nowhere to hide
such talent as it becomes viscerally displayed, the Denafrips products, yes like tubes/valves clothe the performance in genuine bodies, the musicians have a soul in a way that seems rather convincing, pleasurable.  It’s played great with the Zu DW’s, an affordable entry into point source signs and sounds damn fine with a more revealing ProAc 1sc such that Athena, pushing a quad of WE6CA7Plus pentodes in my Mystere PA11 with a vinyl source is some of the best sound I’ve gotten in my room over several decades.  Evan a blind mouse finds a piece of cheese now and then, so don’t tell me to drop my ‘Frips and get Kinki.  I just need to figure out where to jump into their dac lineup…

Jackd,
Thanks for your reply.  Alvin would be a great resource.

The only professional reviewer that has had both companies amps in his home and system is Srajen from 6 Moons and he personally bought Kinki integrated and B7 monos. I own M1+ integrated and M7 stereo amp so I agree with his assessment of Kinki. From my reading the voicing is different.

Although it doesn't appear that way on the surface Alvin of Vinshine actually represents both companies and Jay's Audio.  Reach out to him and see if he can convey to you what differences he hears between the two companies amps. They both appear to have top notch build quality.