Antipodes K41 - The Tipping Point

[KrellFan1]

Years ago working for a premier brokerage firm the principal of the firm gave us all a copy of Malcom Gladwell’s now famous book, “The Tipping Point.” It was required reading for those of us in Sales & Marketing. The essential theme of the book was that dramatic change seldom if ever occurs in a vacuum and typically occurs when several forces converge at the same time to “tip the scales” to create am epidemic, a fashion craze, a war, or in the case of audio, a point at which a device “breaks out” to establish itself as unique, as if in a league of its own. Such is the case with my personal experience with the Antipodes K41 server.

I had a “wow” moment a few hundred hours into my experience with the K22 player and was encouraged by Mark Cole @OLADRA to move into the K41 to “complete the experience.” If for no other reason it was an enticing proposition because I’d already become enamored of Squeeze as my favored music playback software compared to Roon. It was obvious to me that Squeeze delivered a significant bump in SQ relative to Roon, for which I hold a lifetime subscription. But my previous server lent no real support for Squeeze (aside from making the server app available ) so if for no there reason the K41 was worth exploring given the support I’d been told by a friend Antipodes offered.

Fast forward a few months and I took delivery of the K41. Set up was a breeze once I became familiar with the interface and the SQ was good , not great. I wasn’t concerned because I was told by my selling dealer and Mark that it would not sound great AT ALL for at least a few hundred hours. True enough, it sounded better each successive day. But things (sonically) began to shift rather dramatically, to “tip” in favor accelerating the process to greatness once I incorporated a few tweaks into the chain to tip the scales.

• 2 weeks ago I upgraded one of my two FMC’s to the Sonore Module Deluxe. I’d already had one feeding an EtherREGEN with a Cat8 cable running out of the A side to the K22 server, and with great results. Now I had a dedicated TOP SHELF PREMIUM fiber optic connection feeding the K41 server, using a Teddy Pardo 7v LPS to power the new Sonore Module which in turn fed EtherREGEN #2 connected to the K41. The scales began to tip in an accelerating manner. A veil had been pulled back and the music sounded, well, more musical, cleaner and yet… the imaging wasn’t quite yet up to expectations. But it was indeed another change of some not insignificant consequence that was clearly tipping the scales.
• Today, finally, after no more than 2 weeks of listening, I have experienced a “tipping point” of significant proportion. What tipped the scales? Well, today I upgraded the power cord I’d been using with the K41 from the Cerious Tech Graphene Extreme to their top of the line Lumniscate - matching the cable I’d been using with the K22 that had so enthralled me. I could not have imagined that a music server would respond in such a way as to so entirely “tip the scales,” and yet, introducing this cable proved to be a game changer. I mean, it was a classic watershed moment , an OMG moment, a tipping point or whatever one wants to ascribe to the transformation, but trust me when I tell you it was a “holy cow moment. So what is the end result? What is it about this server (in conjunction with being mated to the K22 that is so special?

• Every note is simply more vibrant, richer, and somehow more liquid and “full.” Full of character and far more substantial. Full of truth and realism. It’s just “right!”
• The soundstage widened and has improved SIGNIFICANTLY. Previously I was not disappointed by any means but somehow expected and wanted more - without having to deal with moving my speakers around. After all, I’d been satisfied that I’d had them exactly where I’d wanted them with my previous gear. I was just waiting for that special moment when the sound stage would “open up.” That it has done in spades.
• Imaging is now such that I can pin point where every instrument is within the soundstage and each note coming from each respective instrument is so cleanly delineated and detailed. I can “see” the musician clang out that piano note and pinpoint the pluck of the guitar.
• My (Dynaudio C2’s) speakers have disappeared. Sure, I see them, of course, visually. But for all intents and purposes, they may as well be invisible. It’s truly magical.
• The vocals…man those voices! The vocalist, male and female alike, are IN THE HOUSE.! Listening to Agnes Obel is indescribable. Any fans of Agnes will understand what I mean. In ordinary equipment Agnes is mesmerizing and her voice and soundscape is capable of simulating hours of meditation. But now, with the convergence of the K22, the maturing and breaking in of the K41, the introduction of the Sonore Module Deluxe paired with the EtherREGEN AND as importantly, the installation of the Cerious Tech Lumniscate power cord, I have reached the tipping point.
• Finally, ultimately, I suppose I’d conclude by saying that thanks to Antipodes and @OLADRA, Sonore and @Superdad and Uptone Audio”s iconic EtherREGEN and of course the INCREDIBLE full loom of Cerious Tech Lumniscate cables I have what I know to be a supremely musical experience that punches well beyond its fighting weight - certainly more musicality than I could have expected to achieve for this level of investment. Oh, and a big shout out as well to all who’ve steered me to explore the AMAZING music playback software too few are acquainted with: Squeeze. It is truly next level. Yes, we all love the GUI and interface and music discovery provided by Roon. I still use it of course to discover new music. But it pales in comparison to Squeeze. And the support for Squeeze offered by Antipodes is unparalleled.

So I hope this review is of some value for those considering moving into the Antipodes family of product. It’s been a rewarding experience and no doubt it’ll continue to improve.