Housed in identical 180mm/7” square chassis, each KA unit stands 70mm or a little under 3” tall. They are finished in striking, two-tone paintwork, the orange and grey colour-way inspired by the legendary Orange guitar amps. The more conservative amongst you can opt for grey casework on an orange base, the more demonstrative can go orange uppers and a grey baseplate. Build a system and you can mix and match to your heart’s delight. – or you can discuss custom colours if the grey and orange just don’t do it for you…
Talking of systems brings up the question of prices and what products comprise the range – and we immediately encounter two significant differences between the KA products and 47Labs. At the heart of the Konus Audio line you’ll find the Integrale integrated amplifier, Digitale DAC and Vinyle phono-stage. However, unlike the 47Labs products with their ‘bean can’ external power supplies, these are all single box designs. They also offer two (or even three) different performance levels, with the basic 1000 models priced at €2,300 (+tax), the upgraded 2000 models at €3,800 (+tax) and the Vinyle 3000 – the only 3000 model available as yet – tipping the scales at a heady €6,000 (+tax). Units can be factory upgraded for around the difference between the price levels.
The Konus Audio products don’t just look different. If I tell you that the Vinyle phono-stages are current-sensing designs and that the DAC offers only two inputs (S/PDIF and USB) but a separate decoder chain for each, you’ll start to appreciate just how unusual they really are. With each separate unit offering a standalone solution as well representing one part of a complete system, I’m going to take them individually – starting with the integrated amplifier.
The Integrale 2000 is a squat and surprisingly solid box. An all up weight of 3.1kg might not seem too impressive, but combined with its diminutive dimensions it makes for a remarkably dense (and reassuringly inert) lump. The chassis stands on three acorn headed bolts that mechanically couple it to the supporting surface. The front face sports a rotary volume control and a toggle switch to select between the two line inputs. Two? You’d better believe it. In a world where the input options on many fancy integrated amps run into double figures, the Integrale 2000 puts its minimalist credentials firmly front and centre. The back panel is similarly Spartan, with the right and left inputs and outputs separated left and right, underlining the unit’s dual-mono construction. Apart from two, nice quality phono sockets and a set of binding posts per channel, the only other connection is the IEC mains socket. Apart from that, you get an output rated at 33 W/Ch into 8Ω – and that’s pretty much it. And no – there’s no remote control (your reviewer mutters a soto voce “Hurrah!”).
What’s not to like? Well, the limited space on the back panel means that the socketry is placed close together – close enough to make it tricky for those of us with fat fingers. Using the minimalist and highly flexible SternKlang cables made things considerably easier, The fact that they were fitted with 4mm Z-plugs made things easier still. The average user will connect once and once only, but even so, the 4mm route is the one to take when t comes to speaker connections. I’d also like some kind of positional indicator on the volume control. Again, it’s easy enough to fix a simple solution, but it would be better if Konus Audio did that for us. And that’s all the nits to be picked…
