Lejonklou Tundra Power-Amp - Opinions?

[VicB]

(2013-05-23 21:47)ozzzy189 Wrote:  Currently letting the monos settle in...... More control and a little bit more finesse than the stereo. Effortless. I think that's quite a good one word description of my short time with them so far. I'll try the stereo again after the weekend, because I want to hear if it's how I remember! God I love that amp.

Are you using the Tundra mains lead/?

[ozzzy189]

Yes, I am leaving them alone, even if I'm not a huge fan of the feet! I like my wooden cones!
They're very very good.

---

The amps, cones are decent too. Lol

[Briain]

(2013-05-23 20:16)HiddenSystems Wrote:  I've still got my old NAD 3020, use it with a pair Kans in the man cave, led power meter and all. How's this for sad - 2N3055 / MJ2955 output transistors - 15amp rated...soft clip switch whatever that did.

I'd completely forgotten about that soft clip switch (and I don't think I ever pressed it to find out what it did to the sound at high volumes); probably just enabled two back to back diodes located somewhere downwind of the volume control.

All this talk of NAD 3020 inspired me to look on ebay and see if thy were still kicking about. There are, and it looks like they they sell for about the same price as they sold for when new all these years ago. I remember the RA shop stock comprised a wall of Rega 2's and 3's up one side, and a well of NAD 3020's up the other (and a few LP12 and Kan boxes upsetting the uniformity of it all). It'd be rather nice to have a shop with sales that necessitated stocking a wall of Twins and a wall of Tundras!

Bri

NB 2N3055 were real blokes transistors (none of that part-plastic stuff that you get in modern kit). My first home brew project was a high current 12V power supply that used a big row of 2N3055's to deliver the goods. The first iteration resulted in a very hot and high power oscillator, but fortunately I figured out what was going on before it all blew up.

[sunbeamgls]

I have a 3020 in my garage that's still going strong.
NAD have just launched a desktop style class D amp with built in 24/192 DAC. Looks like that coupled with SBT would be a good office or bedroom system.

They call it the NAD D3020.

Looks as attractive as a Tundra ;-)

[Valentine]

(2013-05-23 21:47)ozzzy189 Wrote:  Currently letting the monos settle in...... More control and a little bit more finesse than the stereo. Effortless. I think that's quite a good one word description of my short time with them so far. I'll try the stereo again after the weekend, because I want to hear if it's how I remember! God I love that amp.

Hi Ozzy,

I read in your signature that you got the tundra stereo now. You must be very happy.
Do I understand correctly that you tested the Lejonklou mono's. Did you do it the same way as the Tundra stereo? I am loooking forward to read your experiences. Did you compare the mono's also with the KCT?

[ozzzy189]

I'm currently putting together a review of the monos and the reason I bought the stereo version. Not demoing these amps would be ludicrous. A dynamiked twin is over 8 k, a tundra under 3k. Please demo them valentine, you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't.

[HiddenSystems Expert Linn Retailer]

Just to clarify...

KCT is £7100 UK GBP, five yr warranty - £6100 on Klout promo
Tundra Stereo is now £2750 UK GBP, five yr warranty
Tundra Mono's are £2750 each UK GBP, five yr warranty

The June 2013 Linn promo of Klout trade in against Akurate or Klimax at £500 / £1000 respectively is for Klout working or not - they will be send to the factory. Klout was end of life May 31st 2013 and no more Linn factory repairs with this amp.

Plenty of options

Chris

[ozzzy189]

The L word !!!!!!-- Tundra Stereo, Monos, and a good Kikkin !
Hi guys, firstly i must say a huge thanks to Chris at hidden systems .
Chris kindly arranged delivery for my demo purposes, Lejonklou tundra monos, a kikkin and my old friend 'Agnetha' - a 1.2 upgraded tundra stereo, no.13 !!
I had the gear for around ten days. I firstly set up the monos, and allowed them to run in and settle for half a day.
Initial impressions were a little subdued to be honest, there was this lovely effortless nature to the music, and a lovely smoothness, but I didn't quite feel connected to the music in the same was as the stereo- from what I remembered from a month ago anyway. Not quite as exciting ?
A couple of friends came to hear the monos and felt the same way.
We all thought that the monos were better, how could they not be ? However the stereo seemed to hit a sweet spot with my equipment, and in the tiny room I'm currently using.
It was decided in discussions about the subject, that in a much larger room, the monos would have a much better chance to shine and breathe life and energy into the music. They also had more power to offer than the stereo, but i must admit, i've had both set ups running very loudly without any clipping. I enjoyed the monos immensely, and would certainly demo them in the future in a bigger room, especially if i was thinking of upgrading my trusty old Linn Ninkas. I also think the stereo matched perfectly with my Majik DS, the monos probably deserve a better source to be honest, probably at least an Akurate dsm.It's baltantly apparent that Fredrik has concentrated on signal preservation in devolping his amplifiers, the detail they maintain from the source is fantastic, i don't get bogged down with numbers and figures i don't understand, i just listen and enjoy. Linn and Lejonklou do appear to mate very well, and in this instance, Fredrik has achieved something really impressive, managing to intergrate non Linn amplification into a Linn system that sounds better than Linn's own Akurate amplification! (passive at least).
I decided to buy the stereo because, to be truthful, I, and the two other people who heard it in my system, thought it outperformed the monos. Hmm.
Controversial? I'm not so sure. Let me explain using the analagy.
As I said the monos have a lovely effortless and smooth quality to them, like an experienced craftsman going about his work meticulously.
The stereo was more akin to the young apprentice, who's really going for it, eager to get the job done and impress his boss, a cheeky young upstart if you will.
They both get the job done, but in different ways.
Does that make sense ?
I hope so.
I really enjoyed the monos, but feel I wouldn't be getting the best out of them. Maybe they're one for the future as I previously mentioned ? :-)
For now, the ex demo amp made sense, I'm undertaking a new self build and funds are ultra tight, and I'm miles away from a nice music room and a pot of cash to spend!
The kikkin was lovely, and I liked the idea of colours for volume. I'm not sure if i missed any info anywhere that tells you how the colours correspond to volume? It was very neutral and detailed, and ever so slightly drier in the bass than my exotik. A really nice surprise, and that's got me thinking about future upgrades, I'm definitely keeping my eyes out for a new tundra preamp, I'll only ever have a single source, but expect a new one may probably look at a maximum of three. As for the light, maybe a phone app for volume could work with it, and have that as a numerical display? Not sure how that'd work though or if it's possible! Just a thought.

I really recommend home demoing hifi equipment, this has been really ear and eye opening for me, and really fun too ! Again, Hiddensystems have been awesome.
Fred's gear is first class in the sonic dept, yes, it's not built to the linn standard, but to me it sounds much better, is much cheaper, is upgradable and feels more personal. I really must go and find a hat to put on so I can take it off to Mr. Fredrik Leklonjou. In my opinion he's really crafted a fantastic range of audio equipment that actually plays music, not boring hifi
Thanks Chris and Fred, you guys rock !!


Music used for this thought provoking report was , in no particular order:
HIM, DR.Dre, Eminiem, Carpenters,The Doors,Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds, Megadeth, Skid row, Jean Michel Jarre, The Cure, The Sisters Of Mercy,Adele, Erasure, Ennio Morricone and Foo Fighters.

Source-Linn MDS (Dyn)
Pre-Linn Exotik (dyn)
amps - see above you donut !!!
Speakers- Linn Ninkas
cables- 1.2 linn silver, 0.6 Linn Silvers ic's
K400 and Kinect bananas
stock lejonklou mains
Rack and support- Russ Andrews Torlyte and oak cones.