Despite its far lower power spec, the Bakoon easily scored equally high notes on torque, propulsion and thunderous jabs, then pushed further. Key advantages resurfaced in grander more spatially alive soundscapes, still lower bass and a more civilized approach manifest in outlines as explicit but filled with finer more suave pigment. The Bakoon had all the EX-M1's best skills and in fact surpassed some of them. On overall refinement, maturity and ability to showcase all music from its most attractive side, Soo-Inn's deck then pulled far ahead. So unlike the more nervous juvenile EX-M1, it was just as happily obedient to repertoire demanding calm meticulous touches, not just ferocious slam and crack. Minimalist acoustic guitars, celli, double bass or sensuality encapsulated in gentle female vocals easily showcased that gap. Several hours in, the Kinki struck me as a product which would very much love to be as tastefully voiced and posh as its rival but simply wasn't. Just as had been the case when these two amps worked on floorstanding speakers a few months back, their different refinement tiers clashed again. One was clearly better.

I can't say that the Kinki Studio EX-M1 got beat up enough to be irrelevant for today's purpose. Far from it. The team it formed with Susvara was far too good to jump to that conclusion. Nonetheless, the AMP-13R was at least one step ahead on each count I could think of which is why the Kinki now stepped down to make room for my next contender of Trilogy 925. During this skirmish several things happened which I didn't see coming. The British integrated by then had serviced dozens of different speakers, DACs, cables and many other products. So naturally I thought that my knowledge of this machine's virtues and limitations was a foregone conclusion. Yet Susvara proved me wrong.

Trilogy's 925 sonic profile lists the following descriptors: roundness, authority, calmness, on-stage presence, spatial generosity, gravity, moisture, textural earthiness and a tonal balance a fair bit below the middle. This list can be narrowed down to a voicing quite the EX-M1's opposite. These two are seriously dissimilar. The only common ground is their shared power to fill my room with large virtual landscapes. Trilogy's personality is very expressive, enjoyable and on speakers always dominant. Now Susvara's far higher impedance toned down the 925's signature substantially. Early on I didn't quite recognize my trusty integrated because it sounded far more fit, fresh and alive than normal. The experience was as new as it was entertaining.

I returned to my senses past switching from 925 to AMP-13R for the first time. The Bakoon was still quicker, a bit stiffer, spatially grander, more explicit, insightful, open, less dense and not as round. Naturally the Brit felt slightly veiled, enclosed, dark and less shiny by contrast. It emphasized textural warmth and chunkiness whereas the Bakoon did the same job in more organic and moist fashion – less syrupy but very complex and alive. If the 925 was a person hitting the gym once or twice a week, the AMP-13R was a fitness freak who's done it at least three times weekly for already a decade. Picture healthy muscle-to-fat ratio versus each muscle fiber being visible under paper-thin skin with nearly all the fat burned off. Let's not even mention the disparate commitment towards the same workout.