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a visit by Richard Mak

Writer's picture: HenryHenry

We were fortunate and honoured that a distinguished audiophile and respected reviewer visited our demo/lab/RnD room in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia.


"...Alexandria will also be a name up and coming, judging by how they do things." by Richard Mak -


This is part of article by Richard Mak for Part Time Audiophile - https://pt.audio/2025/01/22/the-indonesia-audiophile-home-visits-iheac-2024/


photo by Richard Mak
photo by Richard Mak

With only 3 hours before my flight out of Indonesia, we managed to squeeze in one more visit to Kenneth Lin, designer and co-founding partner of Alexandria Audio.

This was another “to die for” custom-built sound room in Indonesia, with measurements down to the finest detail. Countless months of meticulous research went into its creation, ensuring every aspect of the room was optimized. The design process involved a thorough analysis and balance of both absorption and diffusion properties, leaving no stone unturned in pursuit of sonic perfection. The result was a space where every element worked harmoniously to deliver a truly exceptional listening experience.


Kenneth spent a lot of time explaining his design philosophy and the all-new NERO preamp to us. All his designs strongly emphasize power supply management rather than “Brute Force.” When asked what he meant by brute force, he explained: “Instead of suppressing the power supply with regulators and huge stiffening capacitors, he regulates the supply through stages of cascade filtering, using voltage buffers in a way that doesn’t restrict the voltage swing. Whenever a burst of dynamics is required, there’s always enough energy in store to meet the demand.”


In the NERO, the power supply is carefully fine-tuned using oscilloscopes, audio spectrum analyzers, and extensive listening tests, ensuring a balance of musicality, authority, and control. The power supply is built with three stages of filtration to achieve a high signal-to-noise ratio, delivering clean power without background noise. Each stereo channel has a dedicated tube linear power supply featuring customized Japanese ISO Tango power transformers, hand-selected tubes, and intricate multi-stage filtering, including ISO-Tango Choke Inductors and Oil Smoothing Caps, for superior clarity and dynamic range. Additionally, the Nero boasts a range of premium components, including Tokyo Ko-On Denpa TKD selectors, ultra-low output impedance via line transformer coupling, and a true dual-mono design that ensures channel isolation and precise, holographic sound projection. The use of top-tier parts like Black Gate capacitors, AN Tantalum resistors, and high-quality internal wiring, combined with attention to shielding and resonance management, further elevates the performance of this exceptional linestage.

photo by Richard Mak
photo by Richard Mak

How was the sound? Have a listen yourself. These guys mean business. People tend to think you go to Indonesia to buy pineapples and exotic woods, not amplifiers or speakers. But the country is filled with plenty of both. For example, SB Acoustics is one of the biggest manufacturers in the world, and it supplies drivers to Wilson Audio, Vandersteen, Sonus Faber, and more. Alexandria will also be a name up and coming, judging by how they do things.


a video on Richard Mak's channel - https://www.youtube.com/@richardmak9866 -

We were fortunate to experience his cost-no-object power amplifier in Indonesia, The Kingdom (a non-production model). This remarkable amp features independent ISO TANGO transformers for each stage of the circuit, ensuring optimal performance at every level. The design is entirely tube-based, with the 845 SE tube as the main power tube, contributing to its exceptional warmth and clarity. The level of craftsmanship and attention to detail in The Kingdom is evident, making it a truly unique and awe-inspiring piece of audio engineering. Sonically, it is another step above the Legato power amp you saw in the video. It is the kind of stuff he will do for himself, but it may be too costly for mass production.

I truly appreciate Kenneth’s comprehensive, all-encompassing philosophy as a designer. He firmly believes that a well-designed system must consider the room’s acoustics and precise measurements, which are essential for positioning speakers to optimize the room’s response. While most manufacturers focus their marketing efforts on the technical specs of their products, leaving customers to figure out the rest. Kenneth views this as only part of the equation. The other crucial component, in his view, is the careful placement of the speakers and the fine-tuning of the system, often using a subwoofer to correct for any low-frequency standing waves. This thorough approach ensures that the system delivers the best performance, tailored to the unique characteristics of the listening space.

His sound room in Indonesia perfectly demonstrates the old adage, “The proof is in the pudding.” Every detail of the room showcases the results of his meticulous design philosophy, where theory meets exceptional, tangible performance. But to ruffle his feathers a bit, I teased him, saying he’d never truly reach perfection without a turntable in the mix. Frankly, that’s about the only thing that I could conjure up as a criticism. The room acoustics and the overall performance of his system, including the speakers that Alexandria designed in-house, are truly extraordinary.


I could find no fault with the soundstage, tonal balance, or the level of involvement; everything was simply flawless – except for the tease. Hey, I’m the AnalogMagik guy.

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