I have made quite a few changes to my system, including going to Halcro amplification and adding a Rega turntable setup and Linn Akurate DS and Akurate 212s speakers.
I had a Klout, recently sold it, and suspected the same conclusion that you made, but went to a Pass Aleph 30 (from the same era). I found the out that the move more lateral than better. I will be going back to the Linn amps.
It was the same with my old Karik. When the Ilkemi came out no one wanted to believe that it was better than the Karik, but it was. The Karik sounds dated by todays standards.
I will heed your advice and be looking for a 5125 or the new Chakra. It is amazing to me how amplifier sound can change so much but the better Linn power supplies and better parts probably make the big difference. Thanks for your observation.
Very nice system! Especially congratulations on the Unidisk 1.1, which is high on my list of longed for upgrades (after I get an Akiva cartridge for my LP12).
In answer to the earlier question by Mjcmt, at least for my money the 5125 is considerably better than the Klout. Some people disagree, but having heard both in my system at home I really dont understand where they are coming from, unless their opinion is influenced by nostalgia. The Klout was truly great in its time, but its time is definitively passed when compared to the newer offerings from Linn (the 2250, and especially the new Chakra line).
Oh, I also connect a 5-disc carousel from Philips and a Sony VHS VCR that my wife and children use. Not to be snobby, but I don't consider those part of the system because I don't pretend to play real music through either one.
Deven8: I will try to get photos up soon but to say that it is a hodge podge of a system is a bit of an understatement.
Mccmt: I don't have any direct experience with the Klout so anything I say would be pure speculation. Having said that, I am not exactly taxing the 5125 with the centers and the surrounds, except on multi-channel SACD and DVD-A. Because the Exotik doesn't have a digital module as of today (Linn, get that module out!!!!!), I don't have any real sense of how it would behave in dolby digital or dts recordings for HT purposes.
System edited: I recently made some changes: sold the Keilidhs and am using the Katans instead as left/right fronts. I did this because the listening room in my new house already had a built-in set of M&K surrounds. I am also moving to the Akurate line of bookshelfs and subwoofer, but that should be by the end of the year.
