Mar 25, 20193 min read

EX-M1, HK feverSound Review

"It turned out that since the start of video review of the audio equipment, I've had not been writing the review in text for almost two years. This time, in response to the request of the distributor, I've to write the "Kinki Studio" integrated amplifier EX-M1 review"

When I searched the information of this integrated amp online to learn more about it, I realised that the users comments of this amplifier are largely all positive, and it was to the extend of almost exaggerated. In such case, my expectations for her increased accordingly.

Kinki Studio EX-M1 Integrated Amplifier

First, let's talk about Kinki Studio. Kinki Studio incorporated in 2008, since then, Kinki Studio has been committed to the development of advanced audio equipment, and is very focused on quality inspection. What piqued my attention is, how is the sound quality of this integrated amplifier with a price tag of less than 20,000 yuan and a huge driving capacity of more than 200 watts? What is the real deal of this integrated?

Upon unboxing, the EX-M1 looks simply elegant. The front panel has basic source selection and volume control, and the extra-large LED Dot Matrix display, plus a thick aluminium panel, the overall feeling is quite high end, plus its weight of 25 kilograms, all were positive remarks.

On the back of the machine, the same design philosophy applied - simplicity. Three sets of RCA stereo analog input, plus a set of XLR balanced stereo analog input, with large speaker cable terminals, the middle IEC power plug used Furutech products. For Hong Kong/Exports model of EX-M1, the internal components are specially chosen with precision matched parameters and tight tolerance, so that the performance is excellent and stability is enhanced.

Remove the top cover, we can see the internal of the machine, that is, four large independent transformers. One Talema the display/remote control, one for the the preamp stage. The left and right channel power amplifier are powered by the two UK made Amplimo toroid transformer. Note that the highest-end models are Made in the UK, and the sound is known to be very lively, dynamic and impactful. In fact, the UK made Amplimo toroid was designated for the Swiss Goldmund products in the early years, its high sound quality, has long been affirmed.

As for the power transistor, the EX-M1 uses Exicon MOSFET Lateral from the UK, in each channel, it is using four push-pull amplification. The heat-sink is a huge piece of aluminium block through-holes throughout chassis to ventilate the heat effective.

Aluminium brick remote control

The sound of the EX-M1 is neutral, I match it with the some type of cables

In terms of sound test, I simply tried several pairs of speakers on my hand and decided to use B&W's 805D3 as the main one to review. I tried a few songs, the EX-M1 didn't take more than half an hour to enter the steady-state. I chose a few female voices, chamber music and some audiophile recording, reason being because these are all easy to reproduce categories.

To my surprise, the EX-M1 rendered these so effortlessly. The sound is vivid but lively, the tone is neutral but the fluidness is preserved.

So I thought i should give it a harder job to render some large-scale classical music and chorus, even some rock music too.

I felt strongly and appreciate the high damping coefficient of the EX-M1, its ability to control is very strong. With the two-way bookshelf such as B&W 805D3, it did not overly-control the driver units, instead, the sound image is very vivid, and the harmonic is rich. To be honest, it has strong sense of European sound tuning .