The L word-- Tundra Stereo, Monos, and a good Kikkin !

[Ozzzy189]

Hi guys, firstly i must say a huge thanks to Chris at hidden systems .
Chris kindly arranged delivery for my demo purposes, Lejonklou tundra monos, a kikkin and my old friend 'Agnetha' - a 1.2 upgraded tundra stereo, no.13 !!
I had the gear for around ten days. I firstly set up the monos, and allowed them to run in and settle for half a day.
Initial impressions were a little subdued to be honest, there was this lovely effortless nature to the music, and a lovely smoothness, but I didn't quite feel connected to the music in the same was as the stereo- from what I remembered from a month ago anyway. Not quite as exciting ?
A couple of friends came to hear the monos and felt the same way.
We all thought that the monos were better, how could they not be ? However the stereo seemed to hit a sweet spot with my equipment, and in the tiny room I'm currently using.
It was decided in discussions about the subject, that in a much larger room, the monos would have a much better chance to shine and breathe life and energy into the music. They also had more power to offer than the stereo, but i must admit, i've had both set ups running very loudly without any clipping. I enjoyed the monos immensely, and would certainly demo them in the future in a bigger room, especially if i was thinking of upgrading my trusty old Linn Ninkas. I also think the stereo matched perfectly with my Majik DS, the monos probably deserve a better source to be honest, probably at least an Akurate dsm.It's baltantly apparent that Fredrik has concentrated on signal preservation in devolping his amplifiers, the detail they maintain from the source is fantastic, i don't get bogged down with numbers and figures i don't understand, i just listen and enjoy. Linn and Lejonklou do appear to mate very well, and in this instance, Fredrik has achieved something really impressive, managing to intergrate non Linn amplification into a Linn system that sounds better than Linn's own Akurate amplification! (passive at least).
I decided to buy the stereo because, to be truthful, I, and the two other people who heard it in my system, thought it outperformed the monos. Hmm.
Controversial? I'm not so sure. Let me explain using the analagy.
As I said the monos have a lovely effortless and smooth quality to them, like an experienced craftsman going about his work meticulously.
The stereo was more akin to the young apprentice, who's really going for it, eager to get the job done and impress his boss, a cheeky young upstart if you will.
They both get the job done, but in different ways.
Does that make sense ?
I hope so.
I really enjoyed the monos, but feel I wouldn't be getting the best out of them. Maybe they're one for the future as I previously mentioned ? :-)
For now, the ex demo amp made sense, I'm undertaking a new self build and funds are ultra tight, and I'm miles away from a nice music room and a pot of cash to spend!
The kikkin was lovely, and I liked the idea of colours for volume. I'm not sure if i missed any info anywhere that tells you how the colours correspond to volume? It was very neutral and detailed, and ever so slightly drier in the bass than my exotik. A really nice surprise, and that's got me thinking about future upgrades, I'm definitely keeping my eyes out for a new tundra preamp, I'll only ever have a single source, but expect a new one may probably look at a maximum of three. As for the light, maybe a phone app for volume could work with it, and have that as a numerical display? Not sure how that'd work though or if it's possible! Just a thought.

I really recommend home demoing hifi equipment, this has been really ear and eye opening for me, and really fun too ! Again, Hiddensystems have been awesome.
Fred's gear is first class in the sonic dept, yes, it's not built to the linn standard, but to me it sounds much better, is much cheaper, is upgradable and feels more personal. I really must go and find a hat to put on so I can take it off to Mr. Fredrik Leklonjou. In my opinion he's really crafted a fantastic range of audio equipment that actually plays music, not boring hifi
Thanks Chris and Fred, you guys rock !!


Music used for this thought provoking report was , in no particular order:
HIM, DR.Dre, Eminiem, Carpenters,The Doors,Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds, Megadeth, Skid row, Jean Michel Jarre, The Cure, The Sisters Of Mercy and Foo Fighters.

Source-Linn MDS (Dyn)
Pre-Linn Exotik (dyn)
amps - see above you donut !!!
Speakers- Linn Ninkas
cables- 1.2 linn silver, 0.6 Linn Silvers ic's
K400 and Kinect bananas
stock lejonklou mains
Rack and support- Russ Andrews Torlyte and oak cones.

[HIDDENSYSTEMS]

Good honest review. Ought to have sent a ADS, ADSM, KDSM sorry but hey MDS and Exotik are very enjoyable and affordable. At some point later this year HiddenSystems will head north and meet up. Over to Fredrik re: new pre. no rush

[Ozzzy189]

Forgot to mention I played some classical - ennio morricone, and some good old pop, Madonna and lady gaga mainly.

[lejonklou]

Thank you for a great review, Ozzy!

I am very pleased to hear you enjoyed Tundra so much. That it's better than a pair of Tundra Mono is something I can't agree with, but do understand. I've done a couple of demo's where it's been clear that Tundra adds a bit of "spark" to the music and they guys listening have also commented on that. But the more one listens and the better and more revealing the system is, the more obvious it becomes that a pair of Mono's are just the experienced craftsman that you mention. :)

I'll do my best not to disappoint with the pre, but it's certainly no easy task. I've set a goal that currently feels impossible to reach, but from experience I know that I will get there if I just keep on pushing. Try this, try that, fail and start over. Revise, refine and repeat. Eventually I will have a break through and will jump around with joy when listening to the prototype. Perhaps to one of the artists you just mentioned? Some goodies in there. I really long for that day!

[Ozzzy189]

Thanks for the reply Fredrik.
We all thought the monos were limited by the room first and foremost, and to a lesser extent, the source and speakers. Definitely something to re-dem once more in the future.
I'm glad you think the stereo has a certain spark, it did have a little cheekiness to it the monos didn't !
All told, it was great to hear them and at least it's more of a clear upgrade path in the future !
Guys, try these amps, they rock !!!!!

[lejonklou]

I'd say it has nothing to do with the room.

The rest of the system, and in particular what's before the power amps (source and preamp), is what's most likely to affect your impression of the differences. Source first works that way.

If you add power amps or loudspeakers that are much better than the front end of your system, you magnify both the good and the bad. Faults in the source become highlighted and the result can be disappointing.

You can never have a source that's too good, however. All that happens is that your system hides some of its qualities.

[Ozzzy189]

I'd say it has nothing to do with the room.

The rest of the system, and in particular what's before the power amps (source and preamp), is what's most likely to affect your impression of the differences. Source first works that way.

If you add power amps or loudspeakers that are much better than the front end of your system, you magnify both the good and the bad. Faults in the source become highlighted and the result can be disappointing.

You can never have a source that's too good, however. All that happens is that your system hides some of its qualities.

Well, for now i'm really happy with the amp and speakers, next year could be very interesting ! I shall continue to enjoy my music and peruse this fine forum and take on board what people have to say. Thanks for the feedback. :)

[lejonklou]

Cool Ozzzy.

Thank you!