Lejonklou vs exotic

Pol · Post by **Pol** » 2010-11-21 18:51

hi , I am new to this forum and I would like to know if anybody has ever been able to compare exotik (not dynamiked) to a lejonklou 2.2 ?
Would you advise me to have the dynamik installed or rather buy a brand new pre amp? I only use one source which is a unidisk 1.1 and don't plan to buy anything else at the moment.

Post by **lejonklou** » 2010-11-21 21:09

Hi Pol and welcome to the forum!

The performance of Kikkin 2.2 versus Akurate Kontrol (old version, with or without Dynamik) has been mentioned a couple of times in here. I think mainly in the thread "New Lejonklou Preamplifier".

Exotik is similar, but not quite as good sounding as an AK without Dynamik.
Exotik does sound quite a bit better with a Dynamik, the only drawback is that whenever you switch it off, it forgets all of its settings (loudspeakers, sizes, sources, names etc).

Wolfie · Post by **Wolfie** » 2010-11-22 23:22

It's worth noting too that Linn doesn't now offer the Dynamik upgrade due to the fact that, as Fredrick has pointed out, you will lose settings if the Exotik is powered down, although you can save your setiings and restore them very quickly, rendering this an inconvenience rather than a problem.
You may be able to convince a friendly dealer to perform the upgrade. I had my Exotik upgraded with Dynamik before Linn stopped offering it and I think it's a great upgrade; with it, the Exotik is an even better pre than before, and I always thought it was pretty good anyway!

Mick

Music Lover · Post by **Music Lover** » 2010-11-23 11:12

Wolfie wrote: an inconvenience rather than a problem.

Not even an inconvenience as you never turn off the Exotik anyway.
When I owned Exotik, I never even turned it into standby...(as with all other equipment)

Wolfie · Post by **Wolfie** » 2010-11-23 12:36

Music Lover wrote:
Wolfie wrote: an inconvenience rather than a problem.
Not even an inconvenience as you never turn off the Exotik anyway.
When I owned Exotik, I never even turned it into standby...(as with all other equipment)

I still turn mine off when I go away, although that's the only time I do.

Tony Tune-age · Post by **Tony Tune-age** » 2010-11-23 18:03

Wolfie wrote:
Music Lover wrote:
Wolfie wrote: an inconvenience rather than a problem.
Not even an inconvenience as you never turn off the Exotik anyway.
When I owned Exotik, I never even turned it into standby...(as with all other equipment)
I still turn mine off when I go away, although that's the only time I do.

In various locations throughout the United States, rain storms can cause disruptions in electric supply anywhere from a few seconds to several days. In those instances, the Exotik would certainly need to be reprogrammed.

Pol · Post by **Pol** » 2010-11-23 21:35

Thank you for your replies. I finally ordered one yesterday, so I'll be able to confirm that the Kikkin 2.2 is sonically better than the exotik.

rock&roll · Post by **rock&roll** » 2010-11-23 21:36

AFAIK you can't buy Dynamik for original Exotik anymore. It however can be upgraded with Dynamik if it's the Exotik +DA version. If you will buy the "+DA" upgrade for your preamplifiler it will come with Dynamik PSU for free. Settings will be saved and you can turn it off safely.
I can't Exotik compare to Kikkin, because I haven't got a chance.

Pol · Post by **Pol** » 2010-12-10 21:17

Just received and tested my kikin 2.2 preamp vs my exotik krontol; It didn't take long before I made up my mind and decided to keep the kikin.
I found the music clearer and the bass much acurate. Moreover , as some of you wrote , the exotik is not upgradable whereas the kikin 2.2 will probably become 2.3 one day or another.
Now I'll try to sell the exotik for more or less the same price as the kikin.

Pol · Post by **Pol** » 2010-12-12 17:36

I spent the week en listening my new kikin2.2 but I decided to replug the exotik "just in case". What a terrible downgrade: the bass were weak , the treble very poor and the mid too stong and the soundstage very limited.
So I'm now 120% sure that the kikin2.2 is an absolute bargain.
looking forward to hearing about new lejonkou items.

Ozzzy189 · Post by **Ozzzy189** » 2011-09-15 21:08

Interesting as I'm looking for an exotik with dynamik. Really wanting to keep system matched, but maybe not worth it. I can get a non DA non Dynamiked 2004 exotik for 650+ 470 for the Dynamik. That's 1120 pounds for something worse than a kikkin for 700 pounds? Hmm, this is testing my linn loyalty!

Charlie1 · Post by **Charlie1** » 2011-09-16 09:10

Pol's Exotik did not have Dynamik, so he was really comparing similarly priced units in the posts above. Don't know of anyone who has compared 2.2 to Exotik/D. ThomasOK did compare 2.2 with the AK/D, so that would be your closest match to Exotik/D. Search the forum and I'm sure you'll find the thread.

Ozzzy189 · Post by **Ozzzy189** » 2011-09-25 16:22

I'm really struggling to get an exotik, there may be one available, but i think kikkin really is a better product for MY needs, its the complexities I'm worried about should i buy one. Reverse phase, swapping stuff around and not being sure that i have it right. I've sent mr Lejonklou an email. :)
It's tiny isn't it! Heard nothing but good things about the unit though. Decisions decisions!

Ozzzy189 · Post by **Ozzzy189** » 2011-09-25 16:25

Charlie1 wrote:Pol's Exotik did not have Dynamik, so he was really comparing similarly priced units in the posts above. Don't know of anyone who has compared 2.2 to Exotik/D. ThomasOK did compare 2.2 with the AK/D, so that would be your closest match to Exotik/D. Search the forum and I'm sure you'll find the thread.

I think they're saying that the akurate Kontrol was about the same /slightly worse than the kikkin, but a Dynamiked AK Kontrol was a little bit better. Massive price differential though. For it to be even mentioned in the same breath as ak and klimax gear is an achievement in itself though.

Charlie1 · Post by **Charlie1** » 2011-09-25 17:39

Ozzzy189 wrote:its the complexities I'm worried about should i buy one. Reverse phase

This is really easy. Just swap black and red around on the back of the Ninkas. Do that for all three pairs. Anyway, you had a Kairn previously - that is reverse phase too I think.

Ozzzy189 · Post by **Ozzzy189** » 2011-09-25 18:08

Charlie1 wrote:
Ozzzy189 wrote:its the complexities I'm worried about should i buy one. Reverse phase
This is really easy. Just swap black and red around on the back of the Ninkas. Do that for all three pairs. Anyway, you had a Kairn previously - that is reverse phase too.

Er, yeah, but it's gone now and I haven't changed anything! Oops. I get confused, on the back of my speakers it says 'reverse polarity on treble connections'
The bass mids are normal.
Arghhhh! But they're still reversed phase from when I had a kairn. So I need to swap all of them round? What a bellend I am! Doh.

Ozzzy189 · Post by **Ozzzy189** » 2011-09-25 18:16

Swapped them around, but left the treble out of phase. I thought it meant that the interconnects were out of phase not the speakers too?

Post by **lejonklou** » 2011-09-25 18:44

Hi Ozzzy! I'm replying here instead of by email, I hope that's ok.

Ok, first of all: LK1, Kairn and Kikkin all reverse the absolute phase. This means that RED at the back of your power amp should go to BLACK on the speaker input. And BLACK on the back of your power amp should go to RED on the speaker input. This is how you make all speaker connections in your aktiv system, on the treble amp, the first bass amp and the second bass amp.

Secondly: With aktiv Ninkas, the connections for the treble is reversed compared to the passive connection. At the back of the speaker, it's clearly marked how you should connect them, with + and -. Now, when you connect bass and treble correctly, according to the + and - signs, you will notice that the colour of bananas going to the treble input are opposite to the bass connections below it. It looks funny, but it's correct. You follow me so far?

Now, due to these colours looking funny (bananas going into treble look "wrong" compared to the other bananas), Linn decided to add a label: 'reverse polarity on treble connections'. This was a bit stupid, to be honest, because a lot of people misunderstand it. They think it's an invitation to reverse something, while it really is a confirmation that says "It's ok that the connections to treble seem to be reversed. They should be!".

So, please forget that text and connect everything just the way it says with + and - signs at the back of the speaker. Then, if you're using an LK1, a Kairn or a Kikkin, reverse black and red on each input at the back of the speaker. Treble, upper bass and lower bass. Done!

Charlie1 · Post by **Charlie1** » 2011-09-25 18:44

Yes, that's how I remember active Ninkas, the treble was reversed. So from that starting point, you'd then for reverse all the pairs when using a Kikkin or Kairn.

Ozzzy189 · Post by **Ozzzy189** » 2011-09-25 19:21

I'm really confused now! Have black into the -, red into + on the bass/mids. Now I have different cable on the treble, so without that messing with my head - it says reverse polarity, the terminals are reversed, red is still a + but opposite way round to the ones below. I have the black into the + and red into the -.
I'll take a picture maybe?
Thanks for the help.

Charlie1 · Post by **Charlie1** » 2011-09-25 19:26

Here you go - this was taken whilst phase reversed:

All amps would have been normal, so red to red and black to black.

Post by **lejonklou** » 2011-09-25 19:35

This is easy to show in real life, and such a challenge to describe in text!

Anyway, the above was about speaker connections. The interconnects are simpler - and you can't reverse phase with them, as positive is always the pin in the middle.

Connect one channel at a time. Make sure the interconnects have the right direction (arrow pointing in the direction of the signal).

Starting with Right (red):
Source to preamp in
Preamp out to treble power amp in
Treble power amp out to upper bass power amp in
Upper bass power amp out to lower bass power amp in

Then do the same with Left (white).

Ozzzy189 · Post by **Ozzzy189** » 2011-09-25 19:39

Cheers boys. Think mines ok. Better tempo, foot tapping now.

Post by **lejonklou** » 2011-09-25 19:39

Charlie1 wrote:Here you go - this was taken whilst phase reversed:

All amps would have been normal, so red to red and black to black.

That sure looks right! It's connected for normal phase (no LK1, Kairn or Kikkin in the signal chain).

The thing is that the RED and BLACK plastic rings on the round "nuts" have been swapped. Perhaps in an attempt to help you when you were using a Kairn?

Post by **lejonklou** » 2011-09-25 19:55

Ozzzy189 wrote:Cheers boys. Think mines ok. Better tempo, foot tapping now.

This does not seem right. The treble connection is out of phase. Swap RED and BLACK on treble, and you end up with a CORRECT connection for normal phase (no LK1, Kairn or Kikkin in the signal chain).

This and my previous comment on your old picture assumes that at the back of the power amps, RED outputs go to RED bananas. That is, no inversions there.

Lejonklou vs exotic

Lejonklou vs exotic

re exotik

kikin 2.2 vx exotik

kikin 2.2 vx exotik