Here is a unique, back-to-the basics amplifier design that considers every aspect of performance between the preamplifier input to the speaker input terminals. For the dedicated audiophile seeking perfection in sound reproduction, the ideal hi-fi setup includes separating the preamplifier's small-signal circuitry from the large-current using circuits of the power amplifier. Yet, in spite of all the recent improvements in amplifier performance, the perceptive listener is often left with the nagging feeling that the sound is still not at all as "total" as it should be by the time it emanates from the speakers. Breaking away from conventional "tunnel vision" in amplifier design, KENWOOD engineera intensively investigated this credibility gap between specification promises and actual results, to reach an amplifier design concept that takes into account every single stage of signal handling, including the link between the separate units, the power supply system, and even dynamic effects of the speakers themselves. The L-08 Sigma Direct Drive Amplifier System thus actually achieves what must become the primary objective in amplifier design - a stunning mirror image of the purity of the original music signal all the way to speaker system.
The L-08M is a single-channel power amplifier that "directly drives" the speaker to which it is connected. The concept of Direct Drive is based on the accepted theory that the shorter the speaker connecting cord, the better the sound quality. In the original Kenwood Direct Drive amplifier system, an excellent amplifier-speaker relationship was obtained through locating each single-channel amplifier a meter away from its speaker. However, the New Hi-Speed amplifier with Sigma Drive functions as a direct-drive amplifier in the same way, even when the L-08M is located at some distance from the speaker. As Kenwood data shows, the L-08M provides outstanding performance relative to any other amplifier setup. For example, Damping Factor at the end of the 3-meter Sigma cords is still 15,000, while even at 10-meters it is over 20,000, which is more than 100 times better than most other amplifier DFs measured at the amplifier output terminals. Moreover, such is the innate superiority of the L-08M's circuitry that even without using the Sigma cords and substituting conventional speaker cords instead (the L-08M can still be used as a " n o r m a l" amplifier), the tonal quality has a clear edge over others, as a comparative listening test will prove. Technical data...
