Music from a farther room
- Thread starter kiwi_1282001
- Start date
Lonely Raven
New member
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2015
- Messages
- 3
Thanks Joe!
I love room treatments, and I've been designing my own for years. I love this thread...I've been going down similar learning path as Kiwi.
Since Kiwi is busy, I'll just ask here:
I've been trying to find these micro diffuser blocks for a few years now. Anyone know where I can order some in the US, or will ship to the US? I have some projects for myself and friends that I'd love to use these on! Thanks in Advance.
OK, I can't post images yet - I need 10 posts. But if you look at Post 12 on Page 2 of this thread, the black and white cube diffusers. I need a whole bunch of them for some projects. Anyone have a source?
Thanks!
~Eric~
I love room treatments, and I've been designing my own for years. I love this thread...I've been going down similar learning path as Kiwi.
Since Kiwi is busy, I'll just ask here:
I've been trying to find these micro diffuser blocks for a few years now. Anyone know where I can order some in the US, or will ship to the US? I have some projects for myself and friends that I'd love to use these on! Thanks in Advance.
OK, I can't post images yet - I need 10 posts. But if you look at Post 12 on Page 2 of this thread, the black and white cube diffusers. I need a whole bunch of them for some projects. Anyone have a source?
Thanks!
~Eric~
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kiwi_1282001
Active member
- Thread Author
- #163
Hello Eric and welcome to AS.
All I know is that the diffusor blocks were contract manufactured in Asia. I have no relationship with or contact details for the manufacturer. I will make some inquiries at the local audiophile association to see if anyone knows more and PM you if they do.
The blocks are very effective.
All I know is that the diffusor blocks were contract manufactured in Asia. I have no relationship with or contact details for the manufacturer. I will make some inquiries at the local audiophile association to see if anyone knows more and PM you if they do.
The blocks are very effective.
Lonely Raven
New member
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2015
- Messages
- 3
Awesome! Any info you can find would be greatly appreciated! What you did in your room, is pretty much what I'm looking to do - plus I have some other design ideas to use with them. I just can't find anything like them in the US, and everyone I talked to about making some for me...they wanted minimum orders of 10,000 units or something silly. Just not feasible for me at this time. I could "wallpaper" my house with that many!
kiwi_1282001
Active member
- Thread Author
- #165
A NEW HIGH END INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
High end integrated amplifiers are making a comeback in the audio marketplace. In the last few months Gryphon Audio, Hegel Music Systems, Pass Labs, Luxman and darTZeel to name a few, have all announced new high end integrated products to their respective channels. The question for many is what underpins the rational for this strategy and investment?
Perhaps the answer is provided for us by the marketing pontiffs who bellow out that they are simply responding to customer need for a cost and space conscious product option which offers both user friendliness and outstanding performance? Remove the marketing veneer and perhaps the real reason is that traditional amplifier companies want (need?) to address a broader spectrum of customers and can do so cost effectively by sticking separate parts they largely already have into a single box and ‘hey presto’ – trumpets please – a single, but not necessarily cheap, box for the common man! This hypothesis has some appeal when you lift the lid of some these integrated amplifiers and find that the design teams of such companies are choosing to leverage or slightly tweak existing technologies and topologies rather than opting to completely re-invent the wheel – an observation which leads some to believe that integrateds will forever remain the poor cousins to separates.
Looking at the proposition from another angle we might observe that the ‘come back’ of high end integrated amplifiers; assuming you believe they went away in the first place, has been hampered by a general lack of acceptance by many audiophiles who have become so accustomed to large pre and power amps equating to ‘good sound’ that their thinking can’t stretch to considering integrateds as possible high end players. Further, the more two or three piece amps audiophiles acquire, the less motivated they are in undermining the aftermarket value of their possessions by creating a break in the acquisition pattern.
But times are changing, even if some die hard audiophile opinions are not and the rise in success of integrated ‘wunderpieces’ (Devialet et. al.) provides some evidence of a market yearning for single box solutions. The once embedded and widely shared tribal code that pre-supposed that lots of boxes are needed to create ‘good sound’ is resequencing and progressively revealing the prospect of a new profile.
Within the above context steps – from out of the shadows – the true intent of this update. In the next two months my system will be privileged to host two of the arguably finest integrated amplifiers created. One of them will replace my Gryphon Diablo and become my new reference for what is possible from a single box flagship. Stay tuned!
High end integrated amplifiers are making a comeback in the audio marketplace. In the last few months Gryphon Audio, Hegel Music Systems, Pass Labs, Luxman and darTZeel to name a few, have all announced new high end integrated products to their respective channels. The question for many is what underpins the rational for this strategy and investment?
Perhaps the answer is provided for us by the marketing pontiffs who bellow out that they are simply responding to customer need for a cost and space conscious product option which offers both user friendliness and outstanding performance? Remove the marketing veneer and perhaps the real reason is that traditional amplifier companies want (need?) to address a broader spectrum of customers and can do so cost effectively by sticking separate parts they largely already have into a single box and ‘hey presto’ – trumpets please – a single, but not necessarily cheap, box for the common man! This hypothesis has some appeal when you lift the lid of some these integrated amplifiers and find that the design teams of such companies are choosing to leverage or slightly tweak existing technologies and topologies rather than opting to completely re-invent the wheel – an observation which leads some to believe that integrateds will forever remain the poor cousins to separates.
Looking at the proposition from another angle we might observe that the ‘come back’ of high end integrated amplifiers; assuming you believe they went away in the first place, has been hampered by a general lack of acceptance by many audiophiles who have become so accustomed to large pre and power amps equating to ‘good sound’ that their thinking can’t stretch to considering integrateds as possible high end players. Further, the more two or three piece amps audiophiles acquire, the less motivated they are in undermining the aftermarket value of their possessions by creating a break in the acquisition pattern.
But times are changing, even if some die hard audiophile opinions are not and the rise in success of integrated ‘wunderpieces’ (Devialet et. al.) provides some evidence of a market yearning for single box solutions. The once embedded and widely shared tribal code that pre-supposed that lots of boxes are needed to create ‘good sound’ is resequencing and progressively revealing the prospect of a new profile.
Within the above context steps – from out of the shadows – the true intent of this update. In the next two months my system will be privileged to host two of the arguably finest integrated amplifiers created. One of them will replace my Gryphon Diablo and become my new reference for what is possible from a single box flagship. Stay tuned!
Perfect Sense
Member
As high-end integrates are one of my focus areas, I'm most interested in your upcoming experiences and conclusions. I'm also here to give you my view in relation to your choices if interested.
Great post! I think you are right in that Devialet helped shed a spotlight once again on just what we can do with a great integrated. I heard the Jeff Rowland $40,000 "Super Integrated" at the show and it was absolutely superb. The design, the look, the features, and also the power (1500 watts per channel) was absolutely mind blowing.
At first I thought "$40,000 is a hell of a lot of money". But when I factored in the cost of separates, interconnects and power cords of some of the top gear like Soulution, Vitus, etc., hmmm, it may not be all that crazy. Of course you can find much less expensive integrated amps, but this new piece from Jeff is in the realm of some of the best amp/preamp/DAC combos around. It had a glorious liquid sound.
But I've also heard several other integrated amps in the $5k-$20k range that were also superb. The new Pass INT-60 and the VAC 160i SE come to mind.
If the sonics of integrated amps today can keep pace with the best separates and give up very little, then there will be a growing market.
Now, a module approach, completely interchangeable, as it relates to integrated amps (see Vinnie Rossi Lio) is one to watch in the future.
At first I thought "$40,000 is a hell of a lot of money". But when I factored in the cost of separates, interconnects and power cords of some of the top gear like Soulution, Vitus, etc., hmmm, it may not be all that crazy. Of course you can find much less expensive integrated amps, but this new piece from Jeff is in the realm of some of the best amp/preamp/DAC combos around. It had a glorious liquid sound.
But I've also heard several other integrated amps in the $5k-$20k range that were also superb. The new Pass INT-60 and the VAC 160i SE come to mind.
If the sonics of integrated amps today can keep pace with the best separates and give up very little, then there will be a growing market.
Now, a module approach, completely interchangeable, as it relates to integrated amps (see Vinnie Rossi Lio) is one to watch in the future.
Ralph, I'm sure you're going to be considering the new Raidho integrated in your tests. Lars and I were discussing it in detail this past weekend at RMAF. It's definitely a great looking and sounding piece.
kiwi_1282001
Active member
- Thread Author
- #169
Thank you. I recall our earlier conversations on Gryphon, Vitus, Jeff Rowland and other integrated products, and I’m really excited about what is going to slot into my system soon! :exciting:
Thanks Mike. I strongly feel the gap is closing and in some cases completely non-existent between integrated and separate performance levels. I further agree with you that if integrated amps can keep pace with the best separates or at least give up very little to the same – then this will further accelerate demand and consequent segment growth.
Traditionally integrated audio components have not offered the flexibility, connectivity or the performance levels of separates – but jamming all things into a single box is less of a compromise today than its ever been and the ease of system matching which an integrated more readily affords may tip the balance in its favour.
My feeling Mike, and I may be wrong, is that integrated amplifiers are pushing the performance envelope further and faster than their separate cousins.
I have also seen your earlier comments and recommendation of the VAC160i SE and I’m going to see if an audition of that product is also possible. Thanks for that. :tup:
I’m not considering the Aavik Integrated as the product has no local representation and I’m therefore unable to audition it.
Odyssey
Member
Ralph, what is the voltage in Singapore?
kiwi_1282001
Active member
- Thread Author
- #171
Hi Le Roy. 230 VAC, 50Hz.
MDP
Behavior Moderator (be nice police!)
Thanks Ralph, I will be watching this thread to see how this little experiment goes. :exciting:
kiwi_1282001
Active member
Odyssey
Member
Ralph, are you going to keep us in suspense? Or are you going to give us the roster of candidates for your new integrated?
:lookatthat:
kiwi_1282001
Active member
- Thread Author
- #175
A NEW HIGH END INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
The search to replace my Gryphon Diablo integrated amplifier starts – quite deliberately – in seemingly the most unlikely of quarters, a relatively low powered Pentode EL34 integrated amplifier in the form of the Kondo Overture.
Photo 1: The box containing the Kondo Audio Note Overture PM-2
This is the latest spec’d model with new output transformers and improved power supply. Rated at 30 watts per channel it would seem inadequate to drive my Raidho D2 loudspeakers but recent experience with another valve integrated amplifier, a 30 watt class A unit had demonstrated that good results were possible with lower power amplifiers. Unlike many of its peers the Raidho loudspeakers do not dip much below 6 ohm and are therefore present a comfortable 8+ ohm load across much of the audio band. However, the Raidho’s are not the most efficient of speakers and therefore amplifiers that can swing plenty of volts can be needed where desired listening levels are high and/or listening spaces are large.
Photo 2: Peeking into the audio room – the Kondo sits on a Stillpoints equipment stand
This 2nd generation Kondo Overture integrated amplifier (the first version appeared in 2011) is a push pull design based on the pentode EL34 with the gain stage using dual 6072’s and 12BH7 tubes. Surprisingly, given the amplifiers $40,000 price tag modest Svetlana and EH tubes are employed – still this is entry level Kondo with the next step up the ladder being the Ongaku at around US$120,000.
While not particularly large or heavy the Kondo Overture stands at over 200mm high and when combined with my usual third party feet is too high to fit my rack shelves so for the purpose of the audition we mounted it on a Stillpoints component stand. This arrangement also facilitated speedier cable changes so comparison could be made with reference system.
Photo 3: The Kondo Overture connected to the rest of the system.
For the purpose of the audition the Kondo was connected to my Esoteric K-03 CDP and Raidho Acoustics D2 loudspeakers via reference cables from Nordost (USA) and Ansuz Acoustics (Denmark). Six reference audio tracks (CD & SACD) were used for the evaluation.
So, what did I think of the Kondo Overture? Find out in my next update, which will be out as soon as I can get my thoughts down on paper and carefully considered.
The search to replace my Gryphon Diablo integrated amplifier starts – quite deliberately – in seemingly the most unlikely of quarters, a relatively low powered Pentode EL34 integrated amplifier in the form of the Kondo Overture.
Photo 1: The box containing the Kondo Audio Note Overture PM-2
This is the latest spec’d model with new output transformers and improved power supply. Rated at 30 watts per channel it would seem inadequate to drive my Raidho D2 loudspeakers but recent experience with another valve integrated amplifier, a 30 watt class A unit had demonstrated that good results were possible with lower power amplifiers. Unlike many of its peers the Raidho loudspeakers do not dip much below 6 ohm and are therefore present a comfortable 8+ ohm load across much of the audio band. However, the Raidho’s are not the most efficient of speakers and therefore amplifiers that can swing plenty of volts can be needed where desired listening levels are high and/or listening spaces are large.
Photo 2: Peeking into the audio room – the Kondo sits on a Stillpoints equipment stand
This 2nd generation Kondo Overture integrated amplifier (the first version appeared in 2011) is a push pull design based on the pentode EL34 with the gain stage using dual 6072’s and 12BH7 tubes. Surprisingly, given the amplifiers $40,000 price tag modest Svetlana and EH tubes are employed – still this is entry level Kondo with the next step up the ladder being the Ongaku at around US$120,000.
While not particularly large or heavy the Kondo Overture stands at over 200mm high and when combined with my usual third party feet is too high to fit my rack shelves so for the purpose of the audition we mounted it on a Stillpoints component stand. This arrangement also facilitated speedier cable changes so comparison could be made with reference system.
Photo 3: The Kondo Overture connected to the rest of the system.
For the purpose of the audition the Kondo was connected to my Esoteric K-03 CDP and Raidho Acoustics D2 loudspeakers via reference cables from Nordost (USA) and Ansuz Acoustics (Denmark). Six reference audio tracks (CD & SACD) were used for the evaluation.
So, what did I think of the Kondo Overture? Find out in my next update, which will be out as soon as I can get my thoughts down on paper and carefully considered.
La Dolce Vita
New member
I second this opinion. I've heard the unity piece several times now and it is really amazing. You have to hear it to believe it but suffice to say it does not disappoint...
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Odyssey
Member
Ralph, thanks for posting pics along with your well expressed views. What led you in the direction of the Kondo? I'll anxiously await your next update!
I see you only have a modest amount of acoustical treatment in your new listening room. Is there any treatment behind your listening position?
I see you only have a modest amount of acoustical treatment in your new listening room. Is there any treatment behind your listening position?
kiwi_1282001
Active member
- Thread Author
- #178
Greetings Le Roy, it was curiosity that led to the Kondo audition. We constantly read that Raidho speakers need powerful neutral amplifiers which can deliver loads of current and boast large damping factors – but I was interested to observe what results can be achieved with something that is entirely different but of exceptional quality. I was encouraged by an earlier audition of a Doge integrated amplifier (photo below) which demonstrated at reasonable listening levels tubes and Raidho can dance together albeit with a rounded and less impactful bass.
Photo 1: Doge Prima Donna integrated amplifier, KT88 or KT120 valves
Photo 2: Class selector, Class A 30 watts, Class AB1 55 watts, Class AB2 80 watts (rms) per channel
What drives me on the HiFi journey is not high fidelity per se but emotional engagement to the musical reproduction and what the music continues to message to me long after the stereo system is turned off. There is something special about the seemingly fuller bodied sound valves can provide and the audition of the Kondo Overture was an opportunity to once again re-evaluate this in a setting where large solid state amplifiers were also at hand for direct comparison.
My next update is not far off. I know I’m slow with posts – but I don’t like to impulsively post thoughts on products. Whatever I finally say will be detailed and very carefully considered.
The room is an on-going experiment for me which I’ve unfortunately not had the time to report. Behind the listening chair is a window and it is fitted with acoustic curtains which provide a modest amount of higher frequency absorption.
I have dedicated audio rooms in two separate houses. One audio room is heavily treated and the other (as seen in photos above) is only lightly treated. The comparison between the two – a topic of immense personal interest to me – will be the topic of a future update.
octadyndude
New member
Mike I didn't make it to the RMAF but are you talking about a newer integrated than the U300?
kiwi_1282001
Active member
- Thread Author
- #180
A NEW HIGH END INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
Well, on then with the audition of the Kondo (Audio Note) Overture Integrated amplifier.
The six tracks used for the evaluation / comparisons were:
I’m On Fire, Edward Val, STS Digital, used for spatial and ambient evaluation
Morning Bird, Sade, Sony, used for black backdrop, piano & cello & sensory response to this
Summertime, Angelique Kidjo, Wrasse Records, used for resolution and female vocal realism
The Power of Goodbye, Madonna, Warner, used for complex layered soundscape, vocal discrimination and low bass evaluation
The Look of Love, ABC, Mercury, bad recording reference – how does the product respond noisy, grainy, 80’s synth pop?
Scheherazade Op.35, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Living Stereo, large scale orchestral and dynamics evaluation.
Photo 1: The Kondo Overture amplifier. Latest version can be identified by the push button start
THE SOUND
First impressions so often set the table for the entire meal and loading Edward Val’s take of Springsteen’s I’m on Fire, the first thing to strike you about the Kondo’s sound’ is its composed, relaxed quality, reminiscent of utterly unforced delivery. Unflustered and unhurried the reproduction takes the listener on a journey that metaphorically starts with a deep breath and continues in a natural and uncontrived fashion from start to finish of the track. The music is gloriously fluid, melodic and ethereal and yet does not sacrifice resolution with spatial cues, ambient and low level detail, ( in particular final tail reverberation) all present and accounted for and on par with the best I’ve heard. Furthermore, the vocal specificity, that is the shape, density, definition and lateral positioning of the vocal image was outstanding, considerably better than my reference integrated amplifier, the Gryphon Diablo.
The Kondo’s sense of musical flow continued in the emotionally charged and almost somniferous groove of Morning Bird by Sade. The opening piano key strokes come across wonderfully weighted, harmonic and airy as does the delicate metallic shimmer of the percussion. My senses – my litmus test of quality reproduction – immediately respond to the mournfulness of the cello and the seeming desolation and silent pain of the piano. The long rests between piano strikes create tension, intensity and a feeling of sparseness – precisely the backdrop the composer intended in order to build and sustain an atmosphere complimentary to the lyrics. While the Kondo did not paint the blackest of backgrounds in which to appreciate this track [other integrated amplifiers like the Jeff Rowland S2 are better at that], it did invite me as the listener deep into the music and held me there enthralled. Moreover, the Kondo’s resolution continued to impress with the definition of the percussion – a shivering tambourine – being particularly impressive, floating free from the kick drum with change noticeable in each shake.
Photo 2: The Kondo presents a pleasingly simple user interface
Turning now to dynamics, Madonna’s The Power of Goodbye is a challenge for any audio system to reproduce. The Orbit inspired masterpiece invokes a massive layered soundscape with complex texture and minutiae detail even whilst the underlying beat propels the tracks momentum with solid energy. Spectral analysis shows enormous energy in the sub 32Hz and the 63-160Hz parts of the audio spectrum requiring amplifiers to make heavy continuous demands on the output stage and the power supply in order for the speaker woofers to draw sufficient current to cleanly reproduce the music. The Kondo’s discrimination, that is, its ability to cleanly separate instruments was outstanding. Madonna’s voice floated effortlessly above the complex cacophony of electronica to impart deep and poetic lyrics of separation pain. Less impressive was the Kondo’s reproduction of low bass which lacked the immediacy and impact of the Gryphon. Whilst still pleasingly musical the Kondo’s low bass lacked heft and concussive force – possibly indicating a less than optimal pairing with the Raidho speakers, but what the Kondo gives up in an ultimate sense of grip and control it arguably gains in a sense of harmonic freedom and flow leading, I feel, to a high level of listener involvement and emotional engagement.
Finally, the other tracks used for evaluation were also revealing. ABC’s Look of love demonstrated that the Kondo does not wall paper cracks the same way some valve amplifiers seem to and the Kondo lacked nothing in its reproduction of the demanding Scheherazade – which came across as life like in terms of snap, aliveness and room filling scale.
CONCLUSION
To my ears the Kondo represents a balance of virtues – not so warm as to sound woolly and not so transparent as to sound stark or clinical. The Kondo may lean towards traditionalist ‘valve sound’ but it doesn’t venture so far as to morph into some sugar coated euphonious hifi treatment – in the vain of some all valve softies. Rather, the Kondo offers an analogue like sensibility sans the pops and rumble and proffers an uncanny and delightfully musically pleasing way with midrange (notably vocal and piano) reproduction which will be as irresistible as it is unfatiguing to some listeners. The Kondo’s resolution, that is its ability to resolve the subtlest, most delicate parts of the original sound – which are usually the first things lost by lessor components – was off the charts good. Only tracks with a prestigious amount of underlying low bass did the Kondo feel under damped, however, what the Kondo lacked in an ultimate sense of low bass grip and control it arguably gained in a sense of harmonic freedom and flow and the forest is more important than the trees.
When sophistication and musically sympathetic reproduction is called for, perhaps the only five letters you will ever need to own are KONDO and throughout the audition it took considerable will power to stop my mind switching from listening to the music to musing whether I should simply write out the cheque to buy this amplifier immediately. Yes, it is that good. The prospect that the Kondo could possibly be further improved with more expensive tubes and greater run in time further fuels that temptation; but for now I must resist because next week sees the arrival of an entirely different integrated amplifier – one that is already being described by some as the end game of all integrateds….
Well, on then with the audition of the Kondo (Audio Note) Overture Integrated amplifier.
The six tracks used for the evaluation / comparisons were:
I’m On Fire, Edward Val, STS Digital, used for spatial and ambient evaluation
Morning Bird, Sade, Sony, used for black backdrop, piano & cello & sensory response to this
Summertime, Angelique Kidjo, Wrasse Records, used for resolution and female vocal realism
The Power of Goodbye, Madonna, Warner, used for complex layered soundscape, vocal discrimination and low bass evaluation
The Look of Love, ABC, Mercury, bad recording reference – how does the product respond noisy, grainy, 80’s synth pop?
Scheherazade Op.35, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Living Stereo, large scale orchestral and dynamics evaluation.
Photo 1: The Kondo Overture amplifier. Latest version can be identified by the push button start
THE SOUND
First impressions so often set the table for the entire meal and loading Edward Val’s take of Springsteen’s I’m on Fire, the first thing to strike you about the Kondo’s sound’ is its composed, relaxed quality, reminiscent of utterly unforced delivery. Unflustered and unhurried the reproduction takes the listener on a journey that metaphorically starts with a deep breath and continues in a natural and uncontrived fashion from start to finish of the track. The music is gloriously fluid, melodic and ethereal and yet does not sacrifice resolution with spatial cues, ambient and low level detail, ( in particular final tail reverberation) all present and accounted for and on par with the best I’ve heard. Furthermore, the vocal specificity, that is the shape, density, definition and lateral positioning of the vocal image was outstanding, considerably better than my reference integrated amplifier, the Gryphon Diablo.
The Kondo’s sense of musical flow continued in the emotionally charged and almost somniferous groove of Morning Bird by Sade. The opening piano key strokes come across wonderfully weighted, harmonic and airy as does the delicate metallic shimmer of the percussion. My senses – my litmus test of quality reproduction – immediately respond to the mournfulness of the cello and the seeming desolation and silent pain of the piano. The long rests between piano strikes create tension, intensity and a feeling of sparseness – precisely the backdrop the composer intended in order to build and sustain an atmosphere complimentary to the lyrics. While the Kondo did not paint the blackest of backgrounds in which to appreciate this track [other integrated amplifiers like the Jeff Rowland S2 are better at that], it did invite me as the listener deep into the music and held me there enthralled. Moreover, the Kondo’s resolution continued to impress with the definition of the percussion – a shivering tambourine – being particularly impressive, floating free from the kick drum with change noticeable in each shake.
Photo 2: The Kondo presents a pleasingly simple user interface
Turning now to dynamics, Madonna’s The Power of Goodbye is a challenge for any audio system to reproduce. The Orbit inspired masterpiece invokes a massive layered soundscape with complex texture and minutiae detail even whilst the underlying beat propels the tracks momentum with solid energy. Spectral analysis shows enormous energy in the sub 32Hz and the 63-160Hz parts of the audio spectrum requiring amplifiers to make heavy continuous demands on the output stage and the power supply in order for the speaker woofers to draw sufficient current to cleanly reproduce the music. The Kondo’s discrimination, that is, its ability to cleanly separate instruments was outstanding. Madonna’s voice floated effortlessly above the complex cacophony of electronica to impart deep and poetic lyrics of separation pain. Less impressive was the Kondo’s reproduction of low bass which lacked the immediacy and impact of the Gryphon. Whilst still pleasingly musical the Kondo’s low bass lacked heft and concussive force – possibly indicating a less than optimal pairing with the Raidho speakers, but what the Kondo gives up in an ultimate sense of grip and control it arguably gains in a sense of harmonic freedom and flow leading, I feel, to a high level of listener involvement and emotional engagement.
Finally, the other tracks used for evaluation were also revealing. ABC’s Look of love demonstrated that the Kondo does not wall paper cracks the same way some valve amplifiers seem to and the Kondo lacked nothing in its reproduction of the demanding Scheherazade – which came across as life like in terms of snap, aliveness and room filling scale.
CONCLUSION
To my ears the Kondo represents a balance of virtues – not so warm as to sound woolly and not so transparent as to sound stark or clinical. The Kondo may lean towards traditionalist ‘valve sound’ but it doesn’t venture so far as to morph into some sugar coated euphonious hifi treatment – in the vain of some all valve softies. Rather, the Kondo offers an analogue like sensibility sans the pops and rumble and proffers an uncanny and delightfully musically pleasing way with midrange (notably vocal and piano) reproduction which will be as irresistible as it is unfatiguing to some listeners. The Kondo’s resolution, that is its ability to resolve the subtlest, most delicate parts of the original sound – which are usually the first things lost by lessor components – was off the charts good. Only tracks with a prestigious amount of underlying low bass did the Kondo feel under damped, however, what the Kondo lacked in an ultimate sense of low bass grip and control it arguably gained in a sense of harmonic freedom and flow and the forest is more important than the trees.
When sophistication and musically sympathetic reproduction is called for, perhaps the only five letters you will ever need to own are KONDO and throughout the audition it took considerable will power to stop my mind switching from listening to the music to musing whether I should simply write out the cheque to buy this amplifier immediately. Yes, it is that good. The prospect that the Kondo could possibly be further improved with more expensive tubes and greater run in time further fuels that temptation; but for now I must resist because next week sees the arrival of an entirely different integrated amplifier – one that is already being described by some as the end game of all integrateds….