So what ever happened to Kinki Studio???

Hi @jackd , how did you go with the ex M7 ? The sound is great but with a small hiccup , for some reason when playing some low frequency at higher volumes seems to cause DC spikes tripping the speaker protection , Kinki sent me a new control board to raise the DC threshold made it better but still not 100 percent . 

@demoiree 

I have been using mine with the Supratek Chardonnay and the only issue I had with it going into fault mode was with the 5AS4 fast start-up rectifier as opposed to Mick's recommendation of the 5AR4 whose slow start up doesn't cause the EX-M7 issues.  Other than that I haven't had any problems and I don't really push the combination much past the mid-80's db mark.  I checked with Mick at Supratek before I bought the EX-M7 to see if I could expect any problems and even though he is not a fan of direct coupled amps he assured me there would be no DC problems.  I also have a PS Audio BHK preamp and a fully upgraded Sonic Frontier Line 2 SE+ but I haven't tried them with it yet.  Both are fully balanced so not expecting a problem but you never no until you try. 

@jackd 

Great to hear that you having some great results driving it with the supratek tube preamp ! From memory supratek are OTL coupled right ? 

I guess this issue is only noticeable when driving low sensitivity speakers( mine are ATC scm40 85db) as you will need to really crank up the gain to get loud . 

Correct the Supratek's are transformer coupled and fully balanced. I think the lowest efficiency speaker I have in my stable is the Fritz Carrera Be but it is an easy load.

@jackd 
how does the Kinki pair with the Fritz Carrera BE?  What other amps have you used with the Fritz Carrera BE’s and which was your favorite?

I was close to pulling the Trigger on a Kinki but other financial responsibilities came up.  Still curious though as I’m keeping the Carreras forever and have wanted a Kinki for awhile...