Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Kochel K 200 Speakers by Johann E

I spent a long time seeking the perfect high efficiency speaker for a single ended triode based system. I think this owner review will probably be of interest to anyone seeking a similar speaker system. I was looking for:

a)Fairly "small" floor space to fit my small room
b)High Efficiency (94dB or higher) and ease of drive
c)Relatively uncoloured sonic performance
d)"Affordable" (US$2K or less, hopefully)
e)and magic.

I found all these qualities within the first fifteen minutes of auditioning the Kochel K200 two way horn loaded speaker at Music By Design in Singapore.

Barely "runned" in, a tad hard sounding, they still won heads and shoulders above "Brand X" speakers- a similarly priced job that I had been listening to (with some pain I might add...) for five months running, and had serious doubts about.

While Brand X was highly efficient (94dB), they were also highly coloured (and FLAWED), and gave hugely varying results from track to track on any given day. It was more than a breath of fresh air to listen out for these artifacts in the K200 and found none from the second I heard them, and even now, three months after I had them in my room.

I had also auditioned the very fine Cabasse Farellas, and while I felt that the Cabasse range is distinctly of a finer quality than Brand X, there really was no comparison to be made there with the K200.

I realise after awhile that these speakers take a really long break in time, and only the last week or so have I heard them as smooth as I had hoped they would be. Now there is NO trace of hardness anywhere. Now there is that fantastic full filigree fit for a music junkie.

My previous speakers were (Stereophile Rec. Component Class B Speakers-Brand), and I had to get something at least as good as "the Stereophile Rec. Component Class B Speakers-Brand" while running off an 8 watt amp...and I m glad to say that the K200 exceeds "the Stereophile Rec. Component Class B Speakers-Brand" in timbral recovery, dynamic slam, transparency, and musical involvement.

NOw these speakers are no bookshelf units like the (...), but considering the small room I have (12 by 10), I am surprised that I still have room to walk around in here. (www.tmhaudio.com I believe has the dimensions of the K200s on site).

Now, I have to tell you something. The Kochel K300 from the first, is my reference for high fidelity speakers. If the K200 can't facilitate that emotional "tap" (tapping into my soul, my hunger, my need...) that the K300s can, I wouldnt want them, no matter how uncoloured and unflawed they were compared to odious Brand X. I can't afford to part with thousands of dollars just to find out...

I think that if someone has heard and fallen in love with the K300s, the K200 will not disappoint him or her. The K200 retains most of the bigger pair's amazing presence-not that mid treble horn peak-but that sheer immediacy and communication, and a great deal of the exquisite treble sheen and shimmer that the K300s possess, but they're still not quite absolutely there yet. The K300s have the finest high treble range I have ever heard in a speaker of any origin, by the way, and I have heard no other equal them here.

Midrange is where we live where we breathe music, and the K200s shine here, and even exceeded my previous speakers as good as they are, resolving musical lines straight through complex polyphony as I have never heard in my room. From both the humble Rotel 951 HDCD CDP, and the Michell Gyro Dec, I have not heard more off my LPs and CDs ever.

Now, I think listening to music is getting to be a frightening experience for me. I never had that present a system til now. It is actually spooky to have these people without bodies in your room hovering over your mattress as you try to sleep. You know that the entire micro to macro dynamic scale has to be pretty life like for that to occur. I m hearing Joni Mitchell trembling on notes that I have not heard before, honestly.

As for soundstaging...now I have outgrown the compulsive need to sit in a hot spot and try to figure out which instrument or voice is placed exactly where...I would say that the depth/focus/palp factor in holographic terms equal many, many "Class B" rated conventional box and planar designs so highly regarded by the "high end" audio establishment. I have long given up the idea that I could get a symphonic band into my 12 by 10 room, and am pleased to hear James Taylor voice riding above his guitar on the Yo Yo Ma/Edgar Meyer CD, "Appalachian Waltz". I wouldnt call them "soundstage champs", but then I wouldnt call any speaker that strange little name.

And unlike some other horns I have heard, these didnt have that shouty, ringing in your ear distortion. I figure that these are probably the creamiest horns I have ever heard. Save for the Kochel K300-but that is a near miracle in itself.

Personally, I would upgrade my power amp before I comment further on the K200. But having said that, I cannot imagine a more resolving, more involving "small" horn design that I could live with long term. And I am not an upgrader; I had my previous speakers for seven whole years and never felt any genuine need to change-til I heard the Kochel.

Now I have the perfect speaker to build upon. A great deal of the audiophilia nervousa syndrome seems to be dropping away. It's just those NOS tube rolling thing that is hanging me up and I ll get out of that one one fine day...just you wait...yeah...then it's back to the real world for me...yeah...sure...sure...

REVIEW: Kochel K 200 Speakers Review by Johann E at Audio Asylum