I'm new to the WBF site and looking forward to hearing others' views and experiences with these and the other NOLA speakers. I recently bought a pair of the KOs based only on 1) hearing them at the 2013 CES where they were used by Nordost to demonstrate the differences between interconnects, and 2) my prior experience with Alon and Dahlquist (for those of you of a certain age) speakers. Of course, HPs review didn't hurt.
In any event, I find them to be marvelously alive and throw a large but precise soundstage. They have inspired me to explore lots of different new music and revisit my record / CD collection. While I'm sure that the ribbon speakers in the NOLA line have even more magic, these are magical enough for me and didn't require me to turn lead into gold. My other gear is generally pretty vintage, a CJ PV5 preamp and Manley 75 +75 power amp, SOTA Sapphire turntable, Sumiko FT-3 arm and Benz Silver cartridge. Nothing too far up the food chain but decent for the 1980s(!) - as you can see, I don't swap things out too frequently.
Cheers,
Phil
In any event, I find them to be marvelously alive and throw a large but precise soundstage. They have inspired me to explore lots of different new music and revisit my record / CD collection. While I'm sure that the ribbon speakers in the NOLA line have even more magic, these are magical enough for me and didn't require me to turn lead into gold. My other gear is generally pretty vintage, a CJ PV5 preamp and Manley 75 +75 power amp, SOTA Sapphire turntable, Sumiko FT-3 arm and Benz Silver cartridge. Nothing too far up the food chain but decent for the 1980s(!) - as you can see, I don't swap things out too frequently.
Cheers,
Phil