Hey ML,
Man we are talking about £ 72,000 worth of amplification and you are still bashing it... and for non Audiophiles..Audio Note Ongaku is hailed as the best damn amplifier ever made by some reviewers!
When the Ongaku first came out there was such a big ha-ho, I flew a long distance just to have a listen. Kondo the designer/builder demonstrated it to us. After listening to it for a long time, my eldest child who was about 8/9 yrs at the time, walked up to Kondo and said 'my fathers amplifier sounds better.' It broke the ice. Men are so sensitive about these things, if I had said it, there would have been a punch up. Anyway he was a very nice guy who knew about the Leak TL12.1s and most of the HiFi history like Western Electric cinema sound systems from which all this single-ended craze originates. Ongaku was a very big disappointment. Almost everything in it is build out of silver! The output transformer windings, capacitor foils, all the connecting wire etc. The Japanese have a Zen like dedication in these things but I feel it's a little bit of overkill. Anyway I have a lot of admiration for all those Japanese guys like Kondo, Sakuma, Shindo, Sugano et al who run a small cottage industry with these type of HiFi gear away from the mass-market.
The price of Ongaku you quoted is with a big dealer mark-up. If you go to Kondo direct you can get it for a lot less, although it is not cheap by any means. I know a guy who bought one. He bought it more as an investment, these things go up if the maker passes away, but Kondo is quite young for that. He also bought up a big collection of Koetsu cartridges. Although old Mr Sugano passed away his son still makes them, so haven't appreciate much.
As for good old Dr Bose. He is a clever charlatan if ever there was one. But who in the HiFi industry isn't? There is lot of envy in all the Bose bashing in the US, don't like to see a colored guy do it, they feel deception is their sacred turf. He is very good at what he does, good luck to him. His speakers sound like crap anyway.
So you are a speaker builder? Yep, horn loading can be a bit tricky to get right. Have you ever had a chance to listen to Edgar horns? Only horns I didn't half mind were Tannoy Westminsters, but they are usually sort of one-trick ponies.
most people are used to boom boxes with stickers saying 2000- 3000 WATTS of PMPO :) :)
I have a pair of 18 inch Goodmans in SL that can move some serious air and kill any boom box any day. I think they were used in some cinema in the olden days. Man, if you are in SL at the same time as I am, you are welcome to come and have a listen. Anyway if this damn war ever ends, I plan to take all my gear to SL where people can come and have a listen if they want to. I also have a lot of vintage gear collected in SL, I feel it's not fair to take them out. Some time ago I met an old Burgher gent who used to work for Radio Ceylon, he gave a whole heap of rare vintage stuff. A box full of PX25 tubes each worth about $400/500. There is a great history of HiFi in SL. In fact the Leak TL12.1s I first heard in SL in the 60s. My uncle's neighbour had them. |
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16 Oct 2006 12:39:40 GMT 
16 Oct 2006 12:58:45 GMT 
16 Oct 2006 13:39:59 GMT 