Solid Bronze 4-Point Adjustable Spike Support in 18 Karat Gold Plating (Spike, Bolt, Nut, Pan)

Originality and truth are only found in the details.
Stendahl, 1926

Q01: WHO ARE VASANT_K?

Vasant_K (pronounced: 'WAH-sahn Kay') was the export marque of Classic Sound Research which was the marketing branch of Musical Design Labs in Thailand.  Since February 1993, the company began to produce solid-state electronics consisting of integrated amplifiers, preamplifiers, power amplifiers, and phono stages.  The company had a modest success with its domestic marque, Granite, which included the Granite GA-120S and its final production run GA-120S II.  When production ended, a rebuilt version emerged for export as Vasant_K GA-120S Final Edition.  When Granite ceased business in 2006, it only produced vacuum-tube single-ended triode (SET) zero-negative-feedback (0-NFB) integrated amplifiers together with its accessories brand Ho.Dog. The only vestige of its solid-state past is the GA-120S in the 'Final Edition' livery for export to North America.

Q02: WHAT WAS THE GRANITE GA-120S/II?

The GA-120S/II was an entry-level solid-state line-level integrated amplifier (60 watts/8 Ohms).  The model retailed for under 10,000 Thai Baht (under $250 USD) and had a market life between 1999 to 2003 with modest sales of over 100 units.  Externally, it looked similar to its successor except having black radiused solid stainless steel control knobs, green LED, smaller power switch, lighter weight casing, single power transformer, plastic loudspeaker binding posts, and stock rubber feet and power cord.  Despite its promising performance, it was overshadowed by budget leaders like AMC and NAD and by luxury imports of several times the price like Audio Analogue (Italy), Creek (U.K.), Rega (U.K.), and Thule (Denmark).  In Thailand, it remained difficult to market locally manufactured solid-state integrated amplifiers over 15,000 THB (circa. $350 USD) due to the stigma of local production and pride of ownership of higher-priced products designed or made in Europe, U.K, or North America.

Q03: WHAT IS THE VASANT_K GA-120S FINAL EDITION?

After the limited success of the GA-120S/II, the GA-120S Final Edition was born as an entry-level 'purist' solid-state line-level integrated amplifier with minimalist features and flexibility (no remote control, preamp out, biwiring binding posts, or signal-degrading DC protection for the loudspeakers).  It was 'built for sound' for expert users.  It takes the spartan approach of using the minimum parts necessary to take the source signal and establish the most direct connection to the loudspeakers.  Most of the tweaking involves hand-selection of parts and experimentation with non-electrical (mechanical) methods of tweaking (such as material structure, mass, shape, and coupling of mass and decoupling or dampening of resonance).  The spiked feet increase weight stability and help ground the unit to the shelf or floor.  The Cardas Caps cover unused RCA jacks to prevent corrosion and RFI/EMI interference in the unit.

Q04: HOW IS IT MADE OR MANUFACTURED?

Both the amplifier and AC power cable are designed/engineered, assembled, and tested 'in-house' and are hand-made in small quantity. The approach is closer to DIY ('do-it-yourself') than mass-produced consumer electronics.  This follows from the view that total quality control is only possible with DIY and high-end products whose 'one-off' or 'cost-no-object' approach enables each production unit to be tested together with understanding of each end user of the product.

Q05: WHAT QUALITY ARE ITS INTERNAL PARTS?

They are of adequate quality.  Effort has been placed upon structural integrity, simplicity in design, and quality of raw materials, such as solid aluminium rather than solid stainless steel for control knobs (aluminium, perhaps due to being non-magnetic, sounded better than steel), 18K gold-plating (to prevent oxidisation), and 98% solid-silver (for 'speed' of electrical signal).

Q06: WHAT QUALITY ARE THE BUILD, WORKMANSHIP, AND FIT & FINISH?

They are of adequate quality.  The external structure is made of solid aluminium and folded steel.  Integrity is evident in the work.

Q07: WHY DOES IT NOT HAVE A REMOTE CONTROL?

It would compromise the philosophy of the product (it is not a mass-market consumer electronics appliance).

Q08: WHY DOES IT USE SILVER INSTEAD OF COPPER SIGNAL WIRING?

When applied consistently, silver promises a faster, clearer signal with greater bass weight, definition, and palpable 'texture' of acoustic instruments.  It can also increase the apparent soundstage size, projection, and loudness in A-B comparison with copper.  In Vasant_K products, silver is used exclusively in all signal applications including amplifier, power cable, interconnects, and loudspeaker cables.

Q09: WHY DOES IT USE ONLY 98% SOLID-SILVER INSTEAD OF 99.99% (OR EVEN 99.9999%) PURE SILVER?

Presently, 98% solid-silver is the highest grade of silver available in Thailand.  At higher purity, silver was found to become too soft to draw into wire (and 2% copper mixture was used to give it strength).  Copper wire is used in non-signal applications (e.g. copper ground wire in the AC power cable).

Vasant_K 98% solid-core silver (2% copper) interconnects with set screw termination RCA male connectors (1.0 M):

Q10: WHY DOES IT HAVE SPIKES FOR SUPPORT?

They permit unimpeded heat ventilation from the underside of amplifier, increase weight stability, and allow rigid mechanical grounding to the floor.  Given their adjustable height (shown at their minimum height in the photographs), it is not necessary to place the amplifier on an equipment shelf - it can be grounded directly to the floor.

Q11: WHY DOES IT COME WITH AN ELECTRICAL CONTACT CLEANER/CONDITIONER?

During system set-up, a contact cleaner should be used for all external electrical contact points (e.g. RCA female/male jacks, loudspeaker binding posts, cable terminals, and AC pins in the 320IEC receptacle and power cable).

Q12: WHY DOES IT COME WITH AN AC DUPLEX OUTLET?

The Vasant_K AC power cable is heavy and tends to fall out of the standard household AC duplex outlet.  The Hubbell HBL8300HI 'Green Dot' Hospital-Grade AC outlet (20 Amp) provides a better electrical contact with the AC pins and also locks them to the wall outlet.

Q13: HOW IS IT 'VOICED' DURING ITS DEVELOPMENT?

During monitoring, priority are placed upon the following criteria: (1) transparency ('seeing through' the recording to the master tape or recording event including recording artifacts); (2) resolution detail; (3) soundstage (instrumental focus/placement and stage width, height, depth, projection, and overall image stability); and (4) 'emotional involvement' (esp. transient attack and decay, polyphonic melodies, articulations, inflections, and breathing of the human voice).  For source music, 'voicing' (tweaking) is done primarily with 2-channel recordings (e.g. BIS, Harmonia Mundi, Opus 3, Proprius) of solo instrumental, ancient instrumental, vocal, ethnic/folk, and classical.

Q14: WHAT LOUDSPEAKERS ARE RECOMMENDED WITH IT?

In a budget context, it matches well with the Loth-X BS-1 and Amaze (half-way down page: www.songaudio.com/products.html).  In a 'high-end' context, it matches well with the Song Audio Type II Silk DM (reviews: SoundStage 2003 and Dagogo 2006).  Given its adequate power into low impedance loads, it can drive most panel loudspeakers which do not fall below 2 ohms.

Q15: DOES IT HAVE ANY ADVERTISING ARTWORK?

Artwork produced in-house at I-Audio print magasine in Singapore (July 2003 Vol.3 No. 3) can be downloaded from the PDF file (2.8 MB).  The advert refers to an early production model denoted by production run number '0.1'.  This model had a single power transformer, and all units were subsequently upgraded to the current dual power transformer model.

Q16: DOES IT HAVE ANY HIFI TRADE SHOW COVERAGE?

Coverage include: "In the other Song Audio room, a very nice sounding, modestly priced system included a Rega Planet CD player, Vasant_K integrated amplifier and $1,600 US Song Audio monitors." (Enjoy The Music, 2003) and...

2003 Le Festival Son & Image in Montreal, Quebec, CANADA (text coverage by Enjoy The Music 1/2 way down page)
2004 Le Festival Son & Image in Montreal, Quebec, CANADA (photo coverage by 6 Moons Audio 1/2 way down page)
2005 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. (photo coverage by Dagogo 1/3 way down page).

Q17: HAS IT BEEN USED AS AN ANCILLARY/REFERENCE COMPONENT IN PRODUCT REVIEWS?

The first mentions of the GA-120S Final Edition '0.1' (early production single power transformer model) appear in the Goodsound! loudspeaker reviews of the Magnepan MMG (December 2002) and Athena Technologies Audition AS-F2 (May 2003).

Mention of the GA-120S Final Edition can be found in the review of the Jungson Moon Harbor CD deck (2006) 1 2 in the Singapore print magasine SPL!

Q18: DOES IT HAVE MAGASINE REVIEWS IN ITS OWN RIGHT?

A review of the GA-120S Final Edition '0.1' (early production single power transformer model) was published in July 2003 (Volume 3 Number 3) in I-Audio which can be downloaded from the PDF File (2.6 MB).

Reviews of the current GA-120S Final Edition were published in March 2004 in Soundstage! which can be downloaded from the PDF file (890 KB), in April 2004 in 6 Moons Audio, and in Autumn 2004 (1) (2) in I-Audio.

Q19: WHERE CAN IT BE AUDITIONED OR PURCHASED?

At the moment, distribution is limited to Canada and U.S.A. (and special-order to Singapore, but not in Thailand).  In North America, it can be auditioned or purchased at Song Audio in Toronto, Ontario.

Basic Set-Up: Below are a rebuilt Rega Planet CD deck, Vasant_K GA-120S Final Edition solid-state integrated amplifier, Poem AS Type I FWK acoustic-suspension monitor, high mass acoustic monitor support, and Argent Audio RoomLens.

Simplicity and Truth

Le Festival Son & Image 2003 (28-30 March) at 4 Points Sheraton Hotel (Room 411) at Montreal, CANADA

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Copyright ©2003-7 (All Rights Reserved) F.W. KIM