Hey Folks,
I just arrived back home from my visit with Klaus today. The idea of visiting Klaus began when my Stratos Extreme developed a problem with the right channel. Klaus tried to diagnose the problem over the phone but we were unable to fix the issue. Instead of shipping it to Indy I decided since I live in Chicago I would ask if I could drop it off personally. I have always wanted to hear Klaus' speakers as well as the new Kismets. I called Klaus and we arranged for today to be the day and I packed up my Stratos and headed on out.
The drive isn't bad at all from Chicago only taking 2.5 hours and before I knew it I was outside his house. I was welcomed by Klaus and two fantastic dogs who ran out to greet me. I brought a stack of 6-8 CD's to demo and Klaus set up the sweet spot in front of his brand new Kismet speakers. Powering the new speakers were Kismet Mono's
hooked up to a Tempest and an amazing Symphonic Line CD player. For those curious, the Kismet chassis looks much better in person than in the pictures that I've seen. I can't wait to see them in black with chrome posts, they should look bad ass. Klaus started the 2 channel session with John Lee Hooker's "The Healer" and immediately I was blown away. After the John Lee Hooker song Klaus handed me the remote and let me play whatever I wanted to so I went right for my pile of CD's. I could only really get a great gauge of this complete system by playing songs that I was very familiar with.
We listened to Dave Mathews and Tim Reynolds, Damien Rice, Andrew Bird, Spoon, Jack Johnson and a few others. More often than not Klaus would ask to rip a CD after I finished playing it and then he would recommend a CD. Before I knew it I had spent about 2 hours of Klaus' time (my apologies) since I had become entranced by the amazing sound that his system created. The Kismet mono's drove the new Kismet speakers effortlessly without any sign of compression no matter how loud we listened. I heard new nuances from music I was very familiar with that I never new existed.
The words dynamic and neutral come to mind when I think of the sound coming from those Kismet speakers and amps. The bass was very impressive as well as it easily matched my Mirage's 12" woofer.
Long story short this was a very memorable experience. How often does someone get the chance to not only sit and talk with the designer/builder of their amps but also listen to his own 2 channel system. Klaus is a true gentleman in every sense of the word and his wife is just as kind and hospitable. Thanks for allowing me to take up your time today I had an absolute blast. Your customer service is the definition of legendary.
P.S. Klaus, the soup your wife made was fantastic and your hand-ground coffee was great as well. Thanks as well for introducing me to some new music today.
Regards,
-Pete
