Firebottle KIN is in the house :exactly:

[CageyH]

I have just had a phone call from Mrs H to let me know that a package from Mr Firebottle has arrived chez Cagey.

I can't wait to get home now and have a play.

[eu_73]

Wow!
Please post some pics of the new entry :-)

[CageyH]

With the KIN driving things this now sounds superb. I am really happy, and potentially at the end of my upgrade journey - except for MC cartridges.
The AIR is now at the latest standard, containing a little bit of the "Firebottle tweakery" that lowers the gain, but increases the depth of the soundstage. It works really well with the Frugels.
The original higher gain is also retained.

I can thoroughly recommend the Firebottle products. You are unlikely to be disappointed for the price.
Alan is a top guy to deal with, and his customer service is first rate.

[CageyH]

This weekend I have mostly been playing with the KIN.
I am really pleased that I sold my Slee Reflex M to fund this upgrade as the Phono stage on the KIN is superb.
The combination of my modded SL1200 running the Jico SAS'd Shure M55 through the KIN/AIR combo into the Frugels is superb. The imaging and depth is fantastic. There is detail being pulled out the vinyl that I don't think I have heard before.

For my late night listening I usually use headphones, and have the KIN feeding a Slee Solo Ultra-linear headphone amplifier I to either HD650 or HD540 II headphones. This combination has been a joy to listen to resulting in very late nights! The ultimate sign of a good sound.

It's taken me a few years to upgrade from my 20 year old Arcam Alpha system to a system where I think I will be happy to keep for a long time. Alan has created something special at the price point with these products. The only thing I will be possibly changing now is the DAC. After that I will just be adding more media, and a couple of MC cartridges with associated head amps/suts.

[Jimbo]

Great stuff Kevin, the KIN is a no brainer especially with that fantastic phono stage.
Glad you seemed to have got the best out of the M55 e with the JICO stylus, they certainly work well together.

How do you think it compares to the 2M Black?

If you are thinking of MC cartridge I strongly recommend the Denon 301 Mk2 -stunningly good value for money!

[CageyH]

It's certainly more musical than the 2M Black, partly due to the fact that it is less clinical.

I have been reading your thought with interest regarding the 301. However, the Hana SL still seems a very interesting prospect.

[Jimbo]

It's certainly more musical than the 2M Black, partly due to the fact that it is less clinical.

I have been reading your thought with interest regarding the 301. However, the Hana SL still seems a very interesting prospect.

Yes I have clocked that,it does seem good value although for the same price you could have a zyx bloom or a Denon DL-S1?

[CageyH]

What impressed me last night with the KIN was when listening to the headphones, certain sounds seemed to come from beyond the limits of the headphones. This was on tracks I thought I knew well. I actually removed the headphones to see if it was the wife calling me a couple of times.

The KIN has a superb phono stage built in. It's the best I have heard in my limited experience. The line stage section of the preamp is also really good, and CD playback has not sounded this good before on my system. The overall tone seems fairly neutral, but it provides impressive bass, clarity and depth. I can lose hours sat down listening to music now. The TV does not get a look in anymore (except for the 6 Nations).

Overall, I am extremely happy with my purchases from Alan. In a few months I will look at purchasing a low output MC cartridge (I have an SAE1000LT HOMC) and will report back my findings. In the meantime, if you get a chance to have a listen to the KIN/AIR combination then I hope you enjoy it as much as I am.

[CageyH]

That was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend of listening to the HiFi.
Graham (The Night Watchman) popped down on Saturday to have a listen to the Project Pre Box RS (before taking it away with him).

Graham has ordered a pair of Electric Beach FH3s, so was interested to hear them with the Firebottle AIR.
We started the day with the Pre Box RS running the standard EH6922 valves, and listed to a variety of music using Spotify premium. These included music from Jacques Loussier, Shelby Lynne, Melody Gardot, Buena Vista Social Club, Dire Straits right through to the likes of Muse.

I also demonstrated what a small sealed subwoofer could do running in parallel with the FH3s. You don't "need" it, but it adds a bit of texture and depth to the low end. This was best demonstrated by the double bass with the Jacques Loosier Trio. It took me a bit of time to get the sub integrated into my set up, but I think I have it right now. It's not obvious it is there, but it adds to the listening pleasure.

We then swapped in Graham's Cyrus 8 amplifier and PSXR power supply. We both agreed it sounded a bit harsh and bright in comparison. Not a particularly good match for the speakers.

Next I swapped out the EH6922 for some Reflektor 6N23P-EV valves and the improvement was very noticeable. It was very musical, with a nice velvety valve texture. Out came the Reflektor valves, and in went some Tungsram ECC88 "red label" valves. There was a noticeable increase in definition. The detail of the musicians was clear and absolutely fantastic. One of the tracks used as a direct comparison was taken the the "Bach books" album - Brandenburg Concerto No.5 in D major. There is superb detail in the drum solo where the Tungsram valves really allowed you to hear the brush work of the percussionist.

Graham was a happy man with this combination and the deal was struck. For the final fling, I put the Firebottle KIN back in and repeated the reference tracks. This just took things up another level. It was absolutely sublime. I think Graham quite liked it. This brought the day to a close, as Graham needed to head back home.

In short, a very enjoyable day. The Firebottle duo have done themselves proud.
On Sunday, I popped my 2M Black back on and spent a bit of time getting the set up spot on. I was rewarded with a fantastic day of sounds produced from Vinyl. The Shure M55EB with Jico SAS is no slouch, but yesterday the 2M just seemed to be better (or should that be more to my liking).

Next time I out the M55 back on, I will ensure I have the set up spot on, and potentially lighten the VTF,mas it was sounding a bit "dull". Anyway, it was a fantastic weekend of laying music without the wife requesting I turn it down all of the time. I will have to send her away on holiday more often!

I think I need a man cave in the garden, so that I can do what I like!
In short, Mr Firebottle has produced some superb kit which I think more people need to have a listen to.
I thought that my Pro-Ject Pre Box RS was good, but this weekend has shown me that my decision in upgrading to a KIN was the correct decision and has lifted things up a level.

I now think that to improve on what I have will cost me more than I am willing to pay. From now on, I will concentrate on increasing my music library and maybe get a few MC cartridges.

[CageyH]

Last night I had the opportunity to try out the MC stage in my KIN.
I currently have Reflektor 6N23P-EV valves fitted and with the 100 ohm loading plugs I was not expecting much difference to my AT150MLX. How wrong could I have been?

I was impressed with the detail extracted from the vinyl by the AT33 and the soundstage presented to me by the system. There were differences in the detail (and not fine nuances) I swear I have never heard before. Everything seems more real, more involving and more addictive. Obviously some of this change will be down to the cartridge, but the KIN is doing a superb job of getting this information across to the end listener.

It looks like another late night lies ahead of me.