Hi Everyone,

I'm putting together a second system which so far consists of either a Rega Planet 2000 or Naim CD3.5 through a vintage A 60 + amp, Naim NACA5 speaker cable and Rega Kytes.

The Kytes are currently on some cheap sound org stands that have a single rectangular center support and a T shaped base with three spikes. The speakers are spiked at the top as well.

Overall the sound is not quite right so far, lacking solidity and having a bit of glare in the upper mids. I have not yet tried the CD3.5 in the system so these comments are with the Planet 2000.

Some issues I've been pondering are if blu-tack might be a better speaker-stand interface, or maybe the Kytes do not like Naim cable. The stands don't seem to be the last word in rigidity. Maybe the A60 + may is too bright for this set-up?

Any help from experienced Kyte users would be greatly appreciated!

Best,
Moss

I very much doubt it is the Planet 2000. This is a very nice organic sounding player for the money. My bet would be speaker position and/or supports.

My favorite kyte system was planet>brio>kyte with rega couple and rega cables, if I was doing it today I would go with a planet>brio (clamshell if possible)>kyte with DNM cables. For stands I would go with the four pillar sound org stands or something similar. The old Kan stands are always fun as well, not sure if the kyte fits on that stand though... Anyway good luck.

If we're betting, then I'll place my money on your A60+ needing a service.

Craig

If I were betting it would be that the kytes -thanks to the internet- are held in an esteem far beyond their capabilities.

I would have to agree with Garyi on that one, then again that is why I paired mine with the little rega stuff like it was made to do.

Kytes are great as long as you can accept that they have no bass.
Like the Ela, they are honored by 5 guys on the internet and rightly so. Great speaker.

I liked them on heavy stands butt up against the wall pointing straight out.

Exactly - the Kytes HAVE no bass. They don't sound bad on the back of a 72/180 with CD5/flatcap though - although admittedly I only did that for a laugh. They need to be rammed up HARD against a solid wall if you want to get rid of that glare.

Elas are far superior - even with shagged tweeters.

Either way, I can tell you that my Kytes seemed OK with NACA5 :)

My Kytes sound great in my system

Don't get me wrong - my Kytes sounded good, but the Elas' top end is less scratchy even though both their tweeters are a tad iffy... GOTTA get them retweetered!!!!

My mate Lerxxt has gone through more than one set of tweeters in his Kytes, are you sure that the tweeters in your ELAs are working at all?

I have never found Kytes scratchy - If you want scratchy try JM Labs!

Dave

Kytes are amazing if you get them right. Kan stands are good, blue tack them to the top, and remember they're not the biggest boxes in the world, you can't play them too loud and they make music like very few little speakers.

I agree lord, they do make music like very few speakers.

If I were betting it would be that the kytes -thanks to the internet- are held in an esteem far beyond their capabilities.

Spot on garyi.
Kytes are superb but you must recognise that a speaker of that price and size is jugling with some pretty hefty compromises. So, while the Kyte sounds blisteringly fast, clean, tight and coherent the downside is a lighweight presentation with the emphasis on the mid.

Get them as close to a solid back wall as possible and use heavy multistrand like NacA5. Avoid thin solid core as this will only highlight the balance problems.

Thanks for all the tips. Two things have now led to quite a bit of improvement in this little system.

Firstly I discovered that I was not using the electrical cord that came with the player, I had mixed some cords up and had not checked this when I set things up.

Secondly the Couple interconnect has replaced the old red (single wire) Chord interconnect that I was using at first. The Couple (adapter to the A60+) has made the system sound much richer and more coherent with (sometimes) surprising amounts of bass now coming from the Kytes.

I'm still wondering if a change of speaker cable, stand, and (possibly) amp might be worth trying.

There is a good Rega system thread going that I shall watch. Does anyone have experience with both the A60+ and the Brio? I doubt the Brio would provide any real performance upgrade over the A60+ but maybe the all Rega system would have the benefit of similar voicing.

I suppose that may or may not be a good thing...

Best,
Moss

Do try a simple not-too-thin copper wire for speaker cable. A5 has a slightly hard signature.

My mate Lerxxt has gone through more than one set of tweeters in his Kytes, are you sure that the tweeters in your ELAs are working at all?

Yep, they're working alright - just not to optimum quality. A new pair of tweeters are now on order :)

I have never found Kytes scratchy - If you want scratchy try JM Labs!

OK, maybe they're not "scratchy" per se, but can have a "papery" rustly kind of sound, a'la some CDPs etc - hard to describe but I know what I mean :) I still like the Kytes though - and they're SORELY wasted in my rig upstairs as rear surrounds....

My Kytes are great moving from Naim 62/140 to Onix OA21 and I've tried with Nait5i.

You need to accept what Kytes are to be able to enjoy them - a little thin sounding and light bass, but they are fast and fun (can;t really describe fun).
All I can say is at that price, they are just amazing.

Few tips which works well for me:
Open frame light-weight stands - I use the Epos stands.
Place closed to wall, if you can wall-mount them, I think Rega ised to sell the wall bracket and Kytes have actually pre-drilled holes at the rear.
DNM cables works quite well, give them a try.
Don't listen to them too far away.

Have fun listening.

Papery I can see

Still great little boxes in their day.

I have to say that the JM Labs at the same price put them in the shade now though

Kytes were brilliant in their day especially on the end of a planer2/3+brio a very musical system,they were never really designed for cd hence the forward nature,your a60 is a good foil for them being a bit warm+wooly in the bass.
I found original rega cable suited best,but failing this good old 79 strand takes some beating without being expensive.
As some members have found,drive units easily blow especially when overdriven on cd output.
This can be easily remedied but trying not to advance the volume control much past the 9'oclock position,you may get away with a bit more on an a60 due to the gain set-up being slightly different to a more modern amplifier.

Steve

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for those responses, I'm happy to report that the system is singing better than I thought it could when I first posted...

The Kytes have actually surprised me with how good they can sound! Bass is obviously not too deep but articulation and even tone are amazing for such a tiny woofer. The overall sound is still a hair on the thin side but the Kytes have a "sweetness" that is quite unique. The sound is bouncy and generally smooth now, with little fatigue.

The big change came when the speakers were taken off the spikes and blu-tak'd to the stands. I suspect the Kytes are not heavy enough to have been making an even contact with the spikes when music got loud and this was making the sound very strange.

I'm sure further progress would come with better stands, I think the ones I'm using still allow for a bit of vibration. It's too bad that good stands seem so expensive these days.

Best,
Moss

Glad to hear that your system is sounding more to your liking.

I am quite familiar with your particular Sound Organisation stands as I once helped a family member select a pair of same for his Castle Durhams in place of Castle's own wooden offerings. His sit on a concrete basement floor quite firmly - in fact one would be hard pressed to cause the speakers to sway without tipping the stands up on two spikes.

Regardless, contrary to olde flat earth wisdom, I've found that it is less necessary to ensure a speaker be completely immobilised in the lateral plane than it is to have it making firm contact with the floor upon a vertically stiff structure (which IME your stands are).

One suggestion that comes to mind would be to resist the urge to press down upon the speaker such that the spikes bite into the flooring. Rather, simply adjust the three spikes for a level orientation in the desired location and then let them settle in on their own.

Carpet overlay, or no, with wooden flooring it only takes a few days for the sound to come into focus as the stands come to rest.

BTW, four baby pea sized blobs of Blu-Tack positioned near the top plate corners was the best sounding option with his speakers as well. IOW, with the Blu stuff, less is more.

HTH,

Craig

PS. I still think that the A60+ would really benefit from a trip home to Cambridge. From what I've heard Arcam offer what may be the most reasonably priced full factory service in the business.

Regardless, contrary to olde flat earth wisdom, I've found that it is less necessary to ensure a speaker be completely immobilised in the lateral plane than it is to have it making firm contact with the floor upon a vertically stiff structure

I concur.