Kinki Studio EX-M1+ Integrated Amplifier $2898 Review
December 25, 2020 § Leave a comment
When I listened to the EX-M1+ through its home-theater bypass, using it as a power amp and my Oppo UDP-205 as a preamp-DAC, the Kinki retained its ultraclean, powerful sound, but lost just a touch of the weight that gives music its remarkable “jump.” With only the UDP-205 directly driving the EX-M1+’s power-amp section, the bass beat of Yello’s “Waba Duba” was slightly lighter, depriving this track of a little of its infectious rhythm — but aural images remained clean and precise on an extremely wide soundstage. When I switched back to one of the Kinki’s variable unbalanced inputs and used its preamp stage, the sound was indistinguishable from the variable balanced input I’d previously been using.
Make this one-plus my plus-one
Kinki Studio’s EX-M1+ is a straightforward, all-analog integrated amplifier whose reasonable price and high power rating might make you think it would produce merely adequate sound. But I found it to provide a stunningly big helping of audiophile sound quality for the price.



Leave a Reply