Paul Messenger on AudioSmile Kensai

Hi Guys,

A lot of you post on PFM where you will find and identical thread to this, but for the few that are native to ZG, I just wanted to share this with you.

Not too long ago I was invited to take my little Kensai speakers to see Paul at his home. On the day he seemed very impressed by the sound, and he has very kindly written about them in the latest issue of Hi-Fi Critic

www.hificritic.com



You have to subscribe or buy the current issue, and my copy arrived in the post today. I haven't asked for permission to reproduce the full text, but I'm sure no one will object to a few quotes.

Paul Messenger said:

"AudioSmile is well named, because the tiny Kensai speaker makes you do just that"

"Dynamics are remarkable from something so small, and the power handling simply makes one grin in disbelief"

"Few if any are more able and willing to belie such tiny dimensions"

So, I'm a happy boy today!

 

Well done Simon.

 

They're pretty little things too! Have you sold many so far Simon?

 

Never seen before!
Looks pretty... how does sound?

yekk!! .. typical Tube louspeaker .. 6 ohms nominal but look the graphic!

 

Thanks Andy. Only sold a few so far, but the publicity is only just getting going. I just sold a pair to a music reviewer in Japan who works for quite a prestigious magazine similar to our Gramophone.

Hi,

If you ask me, they sound great! They are incredibly open and transparent without being hard or harsh, and it actually quite likes loud complex music which is uncommon for such a tiddler.

High impedance is not really a problem for most amps, low impedance is what you need to watch out for. It looks spiky because of the range of the graph, but many speakers will have equal or higher peaks. It is almost unavoidable as the highest peak is the natural resonance of the bass driver, and all speakers will have a similar resonance. Most tube amps will have no problem with it, but you will want 20watts or more. This is not a 1 watt SET speaker, as nearly no small speakers are.

P.S. Here are a few randomly chosen impedance measurements for contrast:

http://stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/1008fried/index5.html Fig. 5
http://stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/408sil/index4.html Fig. 1
http://stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/508ush/index4.html Fig. 1

 

Ah! Sure! .. Tenson!
You can use a light amp for those loudspeakers.. better a tube one than a solid state
Surely you don't need my Parasound Halos JC1s!!! .. or you 'll find cinder cones instead drivers

 

They don't need lots of power to sound good, but they do love power, and can handle it too The mods I do to the bass driver is to improve power handling and decreese thermal compression.

I run them on a 150watt amp in my second system. I'd love to hear what they do on the end of a 2KW PA amp :JPS: I think they'd like it! Andy, fancy bringing over a Lab Gruppen?

 

Tenson, I'd quite like to hear them on my Krell KMA160 monoblock's... I presume you don't have a dealership network...?

 

Hi,

Not in the UK, I like to make the most of this being AudioSmile 'home-land' and give a better price by selling direct. I have demo facilities in Gravesend, Kent and in Walthamstow, London.

If you are seriously considering the speakers then of course we offer a sale or return policy. If done on card this will present nothing more than a £36 postage bill should you want to return them, which if you are looking for a speaker of this size and price I don't think you will!

There is no reason they won't work well on your Krell monoblocks. They should love it really, 160watts gets them singing in a very dynamic way. I should imagine that amp is making your listening room a little hot in this weather!

 

Yes I don't use the music room so much in the summer these days and the radiator is off in that room in the winter...
If you could give me the details of your demo facilities that would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

I have sent you the details by personal message. It should appear at the top right hand of the webpage. Cheers.

 

Terry if you audition these let me know and would like to come along for a listen if ok - live a few miles from you!

 

I saw the review in the mag - great result!