me too

I call shenanigans, it's been over an hour.

/me hopes that everything survived the trip ok.

I call shenanigans, it's been over an hour.

/me hopes that everything survived the trip ok.

Hopefully, the Defender of the Universe isn't posting because he's in an audio nirvana with the Unicorn.

I have been waiting to use this macro.

The Unicorn Lives!!!

And it is rocking my world. I have played Bill Evans, Steely Dan, and Dave Alvin on SACD and LP and all have been awesome. I was also fixing the Reks curse which struck my HT amp by popping some fuses while I was taking stuff apart. Anyway, more thoughts later, but my family is waiting for me and I am running 8 directions at once. Pics, with a proper Voltron Lion at the end for Nate.

Woo Hoo!

It's got a lot of horns for a Unicorn.

It looks great, Al and I definitely like the way your setup looks now better with two racks.

Incidentally, the first pic looks as though there are tubes sticking out from front of the unit.

Congrats Al, that looks sweet! And of course it's good to know that it's Voltron approved as well.

Woah! Very nice!

Although I admit to fondling myself in the darkest of night to the thought of the KX-R and its many-chambered magnificence I confess I am quite interested in Mr. Doshi's creation. Any details on tube compliment and topology? Is there an optional or not-pictured PSU? Is the rectification tube or tranistor based? Details are scarce on this rare production, looking forward to hearing more about its sound at the very least!

FWIW the KX-R is - from a purely mechanical standpoint - one of the most impressive bits of engineering I have seen in audio, ever. If the White Unicorn bests it in sonic prowess I am aghast at the possibility. Congrats and let us hear some impressions!

Woah! Very nice!

Although I admit to fondling myself in the darkest of night to the thought of the KX-R and its many-chambered magnificence I confess I am quite interested in Mr. Doshi's creation. Any details on tube compliment and topology? Is there an optional or not-pictured PSU? Is the rectification tube or tranistor based? Details are scarce on this rare production, looking forward to hearing more about its sound at the very least!

FWIW the KX-R is - from a purely mechanical standpoint - one of the most impressive bits of engineering I have seen in audio, ever. If the White Unicorn bests it in sonic prowess I am aghast at the possibility. Congrats and let us hear some impressions!

That post is a bit troubling...

Congrats on your new baby Al!

Holy Crap!

I never imagined your setup could be more gorgeous, but you keep making it so. I can't wait to hear about it's splendor.

Well, the sad truth is that I got a very short listen to the completed setup but I am very happy with the initial results. The Doshi fit right in very nicely and add some welcome warmth and sophistication to the rig. The EMM Labs direct certainly sounded good but didn't have as much character and tended to a harsher edge. As far as the very limited listening I have done, the Doshi is very quiet and the sound is nicely detailed and dynamic. The mids are going to be in my dreams tonight. Wut can I say, toobs r gud.

The Ayre really has an amazing sound and I am sure that it would have some benefits over the Doshi. The really sick thing would be to use the Doshi as a phono stage and then have the Ayre serving preamp duties. I mentioned that to JP#s at one point and he nearly passed out. The Ayre really drives my imagination and it has a remote, but I am going to stick with this setup for now.

The Doshi does have a separate power supply that is in the full rig picture on the lower right next to the KGSS DX. It is solid state and built like a tank. It has a ground lift and an on/off switch. That is it. It is connected to the preamp section by an XLR cable and a power cable with multiple pins that screws down (like the Woo Audio 5). There is also a ground pin that plugs into both ends.

The phono section uses a total of 6 tubes. All tubes right now are JJ gold pins. The 4 on the right are ECC83, and 12AX7 are substitutes I will try at some point. The 2 in the middle are ECC81, and substitutes are 12AT7s. Lastly, the line stage tubes are ECC99s, and 12BH7s are the primary substitutes. There are other variations that are acceptable, but right now I don't have the manual with them all listed. I may have some more info about the internals in the Casino at some point.

More when I am able to listen more. I desperately wish it was right now.

Congratulations! If that sounds as nice as it looks, it must be a joy to listen to

Sounds like you're one happy guy. When did you get the ATC 50's? I thought you had Gallos. Very nice setup.

I don't know...I usually set the volume once for an album and leave it at that. Maybe turn it down once, but that's about it.

i'm just really lazy.

Same here and more often than not, unless I'm listening to it for the first time, I don't listen to an entire album.

So, I was able to connect up the K-XR tonight after unboxing and shelving the beautiful chunk of aluminium on Thursday. The initial power-up is supposed to automatically trigger "setup mode" in order to activate and name the inputs. Not so on mine. The two "buttons" are perhaps pressure or heat sensitive, but are not typical push-in/out style. The right button is supposed to be used to force the unit into setup mode, but not so on mine. On the good news side, the two inputs connected right now both play music and it sounds pretty sweet so far. Still, I cannot name the inputs and de-activate the other six unused ones, and as it turns out the main function of the right button is Mute but not so on mine. That button may be "stuck" or something else may be wrong but I cannot seem to get it to work properly. For the price of this thing, I have to say I am fucking pissed. Tomorrow I will speaking with the shop and perhaps Ayre.

Mebbe you're cold-blooded?

Sorry to hear of this Al. Hope you can get it resolved quickly.

I'm sure that Ayre and Music Lovers will take care of you asap. Sorry to hear about the glitch, for the cost of the pre amp Charles Hanson can fly out to fix it.

That sucks Al, but I'm with numbs, I'm sure they'll get it resolved for you.

Bummer, Al. Hard to believe. That box either wasn't checked before delivery, or it's a little too tender in it's design. I'm sure it will be made right, but still a bad first impression.

Thanks fellas. I agree it will get sorted but Gene said exactly what I was thinking last night. Oh, and JP too. I expect Charlie any minute.

I'd say call if you need back up Al, but I'd imagine once you invoke "lawyer Al" all will be taken care of promptly and with much bowing and supplication.

Think of it like a van, that should have been all shiny and new, but instead repeatedly caught fire. Demand satisfaction!

Thanks fellas. I agree it will get sorted but Gene said exactly what I was thinking last night. Oh, and JP too. I expect Charlie any minute.

Grrr...sorry to hear that, Al. I hate it when stuff doesn't work. It will be interesting to see what the level of customer service is with a piece of gear like this. Regardless, it will work out.

Think of it like a van, that should have been all shiny and new, but instead repeatedly caught fire. Demand satisfaction!