Victor Kung was thrilled to see me at THE Show and was showing a very cool selection of gear from Sun Valley, Elekit and others sold at VKMusic. Victor specializes in these DIY kits, though he can also provide built kits for a small additional fee.
Words and Photos by Grover Neville
Sun Valley is a particularly interesting story—they are a wholly owned subsidiary of the Toyota Corporation, which is perhaps one of the only reasons they can exist. What I mean by that is that for the price you get some astonishingly expensive parts. Old school Japanese circuits and parts, with transformers from the renowned Hashimoto company.
For a fee of $400 you can have the kits built for you, but regardless of whether you do this or not, it’s astonishing to see 845 and 300B amplifiers offered for under $4000, and again with those amazing Hashimoto transformers. I’ve looked inside and these are the real deal, old school, timeless designs, with great parts. Just supply tubes and you’re good to go.
Victor runs VKMusic as the importer of these products, and I’d highly encourage you to check them out. He’s both very knowledgeable and incredibly nice, as he was more than willing to answer my barrage of questions. I can’t think of too many better bargains in the hi-fi industry, especially if you run modest to high efficiency speakers.
System Components and Prices
- Sun Valley 845 Kit Amp – $1,725
- Sun Valley SV-Pre1616D Linestage – $900
- Sun Valley EQ1616D Phono Amp – $985
- Sunvalley SV-S1616D 300B Amp w/ hashimoto Transformers – $1,975
