World Design KEL84 sounds awful !

[shadders44david]

Hi,

Looking for some advice please regarding a WD KEL84.

I recently sold the KEL84 on Ebay (item 252743175496) after using it for a short time while my main K5881 mk2 was away having some improvements made. The amp sounded very impressive indeed with zero hum/buzz and wasn`t a million miles from my main amp.

BUT today I have been in conversation with the buyer who is very disappointed with the sound quality and says it has "a spitty top end, recessed midband and poor bass response". He has tried several sources including a meridian CD player, Ipod and an old tuner which all sound bad. His speakers are 94db efficient living voice. The amp has no unwanted noises, sounds the same on both channels and has not been damaged in transit so I`m at a loss as to what the problem is.

The buyer is a genuine HiFi enthusiast who has owned some high end equipment in the past and is as surprised by the sound being produced from the KEL84 as I am as it sounded very impressive while I was using it. He is going to try it with an old pair of Quad 11L speakers to see if they improve matters but I can`t see the type of speakers being used will make that much difference.

Has anyone any thoughts on what`s occurred ??? Any help would be highly appreciated.

[Richard]

Hi David,

What amp was he using before? Can he pop it back in to compare directly with Kel84?

Perhaps his old amp was better in his system and this is an anti-climax of his expectations, or buyers remorse could be a reason, or simply he needs time to adjust or to make adjustments to his speaker positioning or source. A few days listening to varied music and putting the old amp back are really the only way to be sure about those things.

Rooms are massively different, perhaps he sits near-field in a smaller room than you which would give the results described.

I've had Kel84s and K5881s here and know they are both smooth and sweet and pretty similar in general balance, but they might be a shock if he's not familiar with valves amps. Did this Kel sound ok compared with your 5881?

Many hifi buyers would just sell it on if it was simply a matter of personal sound preference but if you take it back put it on our bb - someone else will love it

[bob orbell]

Hi David, ever time I sell something on here or ebay, I always offer a 100% returns policy, as Richard has said, someone else will love it, it may be in your best interest to refund the buyer's cash and be rid of him. BOB

[shadders44david]

Hi Richard/Bob,

Thankyou both for your observations and suggestions and in answer to your questions; The buyer says he has had many amps during his 30+ year interest in HiFi including the valve variety, but I`m unsure whether he still has his previous amp to compare - I will ask. He listened to the KEL84 for over an hour trying various inputs in an attempt to "make it sound as expected", but he is still not impressed by anything the KEL84 has produced.

The KEL84 is very similar to my K5881 mk2 in its smooth, sweet sound and did indeed sound not too far behind it. In fact if I hadn`t heard a tweaked/modded K5881 I would quite happily listen to a KEL84 and thoroughly enjoy it.

I immediately offered a full refund once the buyer had been in contact, but we agreed to hold fire until he had tried the KEL84 with another pair of speakers - I await his phonecall. After speaking to him for over an hour yesterday I believe the chap is an honest buyer and very knowledgeable regarding all things audio so if indeed the amp is returned I`ll be more than intrigued to hear it once again !

You may have a valid point about placing the amp for sale on this forum as I`m sure someone will love it on here. It`s in fantastic condition, built to a very high standard and sounded superb !!!

I`ll report back once we`ve spoken further, meanwhile many thanks guys.

David.

[bob orbell]

I do hope you get sorted soon David, I can not understand the buyer's comments, I had one some time back,( now I use a KT88,) and it too was very good, have you noticed that a new member has posted a wanted advert here for a KEL 84?. BOB

[bob orbell]

Sorry David, it seams to have been removed.

[Richard]

Here's David's Kel84 on eBay.
Perhaps send him a PM if interested

[shadders44david]

Hi all,

Last evening I rang the buyer who says he has now tried the KEL84 driving a pair of Quad 11L speakers with the same poor results. He went on to say he`d replaced the amp in his system with an Onkyo 3 in 1 cheapo combo which sounded better than than the KEL84

He doesn`t have his previous "quality" amplifier to compare with the KEL84 but he did mention that in the past he has had a couple of amp`s damaged by lightning and they had to be repaired ! I`m now wondering if there`s an issue with his mains supply which has somehow damaged the power supply in the amp causing the symptoms he describes.


The buyer has offered to return the amp, at his cost, for a full refund. Due to my work commitments the amp won`t be back until Thursday 23rd on which date I will hopefully establish just what has/is going on here and will update this post accordingly. As mentioned previously the guy has owned some high end audio equipment, is very knowledgeable and seems a genuine enthusiast so I`ll be very interested to hear the amp again.

David.

[shadders44david]

Hi all,

Today I received KEL84 back from the buyer and as promised here`s the update to the original post.

The amp was packed very well (just as I had sent it) and once unpacked I wasted no time in connecting it to my system - substituting my K5881 mk2. Once the cabling was connected I placed a CD in the tray and pressed play on the remote while holding my breath ! What was immediately obvious is the amp sounds exactly as it did the evening before I sent it to the buyer - ie smooth, sweet, liquid etc, etc ! It`s currently playing Diana Krall`s "Steppin` out" as I write and sounds lovely producing an intimate, airy, rich rendition of the album - as I`ve said previously the KEL84 isn`t too far behind my modded and highly tweaked K5881 !

I`m at a complete loss as to what the buyer claims he was hearing as it sounds nothing like his description. I have tried ringing the buyer but got no answer so have just actioned the Ebay refund. I`ll leave the amp in place for a while just to confirm all is well while enjoying its obvious qualities.

In 7 years of buying and selling on Ebay this is by far the strangest transaction experience to date

David.

[bob orbell]

I have had a couple of very strange ebayer's in the past, you can't win then all, you have done the best thing by giving the money back, now, just forget the **** hole and advertise it on this forum. BOB