Price Paid:  $500.00 from ASUSA - Bothell, WA

Summary:
I was a neophyte to the tube world when we lived in Seattle. Then, one day, I walked into the ASUSA showroom and immediately fell in love with not only the sound-richness the K2003 delivered, but also by the looks of the small box itself. Being clueless of how to build it, I walked away, letting my wife know that I really saw something worthy of a birthday present.

Sure enough, she bought it for me. I have pretty much the most efficient speakers one could ask for (Klipsch La Scala's). My tunnel vision disconnected all the other components I'd amassed over the years, connect the K2003 to a single-disc CD player, and hook up the speakers.

Sheer audio pleasure. For several weeks, the TV gathered dust, and heavenly music dominated our small Seattle apartment.

We then moved to S. Florida where, perhaps due to climatic change, the amp developed a weakness which the folks at ASUSA attribute possibly to a cold solder in the box. In my layman terms, when I turn the volume, there's a hideous crackle. I know it could be easily fixed, so I just need to get around to it so I may reexperience those early K2003 days.

All in all, I'm delighted with this amp and look forward to picking up a couple more pieces from the folks in Bothell.

Their customer-service is pretty good, and they helped an neophyte like me better understand what good audio is!

Dan Pineau
Naples, Florida

Strengths:
Fantastic depth and breadth of sound delivery

Weaknesses:
Can't think of any

Similar Products Used:
None

Summary:
This is one beautiful little amplifier. It is cute, well made, and uses inexpensive tubes. In addition, it is a bargain with a list price of $550.

But the beauty of a single-ended amplifier is in the sound, and this little amp delivers. The EL84 power tetrode tubes are wired as triodes; it uses 5db of negative feedback, and it uses solid state rectification. The result is a genuine, 4 watts per channel.

This is one of the finest sounding amplifiers you can buy for this price, and it sounds much better than most amps costing much more. If you have sufficiently efficient speakers, this little amp will make magic. The manufacturer recommends at least 91db, but it worked great for me with 90db speakers.

If I were doing this review 6 months ago, this product would get 5 stars for value and 5 stars overall. The only reason I will give it less is because a similar product (the Zen Triode), with superior sound at the same price, deserves a higher rating. But, you can't go wrong with this amp! In fact, it has two distinct advantages over the Zen: the power tubes seem to last about twice as long (but, since there are only two power tubes on each amp, and the tubes only cost $5 to $7 each, it isn't really a big advantage); and, at a real 4 watts, it has noticeably more power than the Zen allowing it to use slightly less efficient speakers.

With the exception of the Zen, this amp is clearly superior to any other product in its price range or even twice its price range. It really does deliver with music so clear and sweet, you will be amazed. My son still doesn't like it because it is 'too small,' but even he admits it sounds great.

Strengths:
Very musical sound, price.

Weaknesses:
power

Similar Products Used:
Zen Triode amp, Dynaco ST70, Dynaco MkIII, Eico ST70

Summary:
The sound from this unbelievable. smooth, rich, articulate almost mesmerizing. i use an old marantz tuner/preamp and an old thorens turntable and a cheap cd player. the sound is so musical its hard to describe, it's compelling and utterly involving. if jacintha's 'here's to ben' doesnt raise the hairs on your arm, you might be dead. it's only 4 watts but that still gets volume too loud to talk over. maybe it's true of all valve gear, but when you turn the volume down, the tonal balance stays the same, just quieter. the bass doesnt disappear while the sound gets smaller, it stays rich, big and full just softer. it sounds best wth accoustic (like jim hall), vocal (like holly cole) or small scale jazz (like brad mehldau) or chamber music. yoyo ma's solo yoyo cd is almost creepy as is willie nelson's 'georgia'. my cats fuzz up and growl at the speakers when tom waites 'small change' is on. this is a great way to have a gloriously romantic stereo for the den or bedroom and still have your big watt stereo downstairs. I have a big ticket stereo that I love to listen to, but they are different mission systems. you could also spend 500 on this amp, 250 for a dvd player at costco for your cd player and 250 on some good used speakers and embarrass the hell out your friends that had to take a second mortgage to buy theirs. PLUS the people at Antique sound in kenmore are fabulous to deal with and you cant swing a dead cat without hitting a cool toy in the shop. im a fan. see them at www.as-usa.com

Strengths:
Stunning sound, dont need a preamp you can plug a cd straight in and use the amp's built in volume, 5 way binding posts for speakers, great build quality, cool looking, inexpensive, amazing sound

Weaknesses:
everybody that sees it wants to fuss with it

Similar Products Used:
marantz, onkyo, adcom, carver, parasound

Summary:
Incredible sounding little guy, at least with my 89db
Sound Dynamic R616's. I found it best used "as is", ie,
without a preamp....adjust volume with gain pot. Also,
worked best for me bi-wiring, which I found didn't
matter much with other amps, (Jolida, Bryston, CJ, etc).
Guess it delivers more juice that way. Uses inexpensive
EL84's for power, never need to bias, weighs only 8#'s,
hell, it looks like a TOY........but sure doesn't sound
like one!! A real bargin at $500.......compared to other
"snob" SET'S. However, it's NOT a subwoofer amp......it's
just for MUSIC!

Strengths:
sound

Weaknesses:
must be mated with efficent 8ohm speakers

Summary:
This little amp is far, far away from anything in it's $500 league. The quality of the sound blew away any of the similarly priced integrated amps from Cambridge Audio or Creek. I have not run any tests on it yet but I will post the info as soon as I get it. Watch out for inefficient speakers, it did not work well with my old ADS. But with A pair of efficient speakers, there is no telling to what this thing can do. With a pair of inexpensive Tannoy M-1, PSB's C300's, even a harder to drive speaker such as the NHT 1.3's
I heard them with it came out glorious. I am curious to what it can do with better speakers. Enough said for now.

Strengths:
A single ended, EL-85 tubed amp for $500!
Point to point wiring, volume control to allow for use without a pre-amp.

Weaknesses:
Does not play well with inefficient speakers

Similar Products Used: