Kinki studio EX-M1, EX-M1+ differences... vs Denafrips Hestia/ Hyperion combo?

@jwlaudio

By lifting the ground I mean using a cheater plug preferably on the preamp and if you are plugging into a grounded conditioner it won’t make a difference anyway.

In the 3+ years I owned the BHK I tried it with the following amps all from memory. Mystere PA-11, Music Reference RM-10, Granite Audio 861 mono’s, Nuforce STA-200, Nord One, Nuprime ST-10, Mivera Purepower, Odyssey Kismet, Kinki EX-M7 and the BHK 250. The best match was obviously the BHK which I still have and swap in and out with the EX-M7.

Sticking with the stock tubes or the Gold Lions is a good place to stay as finding NOS as quiet will be hard and expensive in most cases. When you get the preamp I would suggest you take the tubes out and re-seat them after their ride with FedEx.

As to the cables for a start use what you have especially if you don't have a long distance to run or noise issues.  

@jackd

I take it "lifting the ground" removes noise?  Worst case I can just return the BHK Pre, or sell the F8 and buy the BHK 250, I guess.... hopefully I don't run into too many quirks.

Thanks for this info, I know what to expect.

It's for if you have a ground loop which with that combo is likely.  Like I said if you are plugging the components into a conditioner that itself is grounded then that will be fine.  If the problem does occur try the cheater on the preamp first. Not the end of the world if you like the sound from the combo.  The BHK only has about 4db gain from the SE outputs so you still may borderline on gain.

@regismc  &  @jackd 

Very interesting reading your comments/experiences on the Kinki and Denafrips gear as I'm considering heading that way.

I'm currently running Auralic G1 > Holo Spring L2 > Herron VTSP-3 > Rogue Stereo 100 > Silverline Sonata III floorstanders (8ohms, 93 dB sensitivity) & Rythmik sealed sub.

Sound is excellent but a few factors are driving me toward some changes: wifey doesn't like the big Rogue sitting on top of the hifi cabinet, the Herron is only single ended but the Spring DAC is best from its balanced outputs and the Rogue is best via its balanced inputs, there is too much gain in the system, I want to try something new. Room is 19' x 22' x 8' and acoustically treated.

My preferred sound is reasonably neutral and "in the middle", not fast/lean/ultra detailed/analytical and not overtly tubey/schmaltzy/euphonic etc. Even though the Herron and Rogue are both tubed, neither is particularly tubey sounding.

In an attempt to downsize last year I tried a Kinki EX-M1 integrated for a while and loved its low noise floor, dynamics, detail and PRaT but it lacked a touch of warmth (partially alleviated by discrete opamps) and there was something in the sound that I couldn't quite live with. Somehow it seemed excessively damped like harmonics were being truncated (sorry if that doesn't make sense but I'm not sure how to properly explain what I heard/sensed) and there was way too much gain, even on the low gain setting. As much as I loved 99% of what it did, something in my subconscious kept telling me that there was something very slightly unnatural about its portrayal. I don't know if this issue stemmed from the pre-amp or power amp section of the EX-M1 (there was no pre-out to test on another amp) so I had to sell it and my subconscious was then able to fully relax again and enjoy the music with my tube gear again.

I'm thinking that step one may be to replace the single ended Herron with the Denafrips Athena which is unity gain and fully balanced (allowing me to get max performance from my current DAC and amp) with a slightly warm and full bodied persona that might maintain much of the sound qualities I get from the Herron tube preamp, and with a lower noise floor that may convey more detail and dynamics.

Step 2 would be the power amp. Once the Athena was bedded I'd know whether I needed to go for an amp that is slightly faster/leaner (Kinki EX-M7 if it doesn't have the same issue I heard with the EX-M1) or slightly more full bodied (Denafrips Thallo). Either of these amps would fit in my cabinet with 2 or 3 inches space above for ventilation (the back of the cabinet is also open). 

I would try to get loaners to try out in my system but I'd be very grateful for your thoughts on whether you feel this strategy makes sense given my stated goals/preferences.