 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
115.160.152.66
I mostly audition the Jinro - the Copper and almost attainable version of the Ongaku.
The guys at Audio Excellence in Toronto have picked up the line and go over their initial impressions. I still love the 211 amps but now with a family I am likely going to keep my aspirations to their 300B SET Meish Tonmeister or power amp version in the P3 Tonmeister.
Follow Ups:
Wish I hadnt clicked that link, jibberish. Waste of time Ill never get back.
From what I have heard I find the real deal Kondo amps to sound better than the Andy Grove designed ANUK amps...-
Which amp(s) did you hear and what stood out about them?
A fellow AA poster here used to own Kondo for a decade before moving it on for AN UK.
"My bottom line in thinking about the two systems is that in my humble judgement as an audiophile for over 50 years my present Audio Note UK system is more satisfactory to me than my former Kondo System. Not to diminish the Kondo System, which I had for over 10 years, but the Kondo System, once I was very used to it, began leaving me vaguely dissatisfied and a trifle bored with its consistent golden glow that it gave to all of my LPs and CDs. This Kondo golden glow made all music that I played have a similar very, very pleasant sound, which after living with the Kondo gear for a decade, I found far from transparent to the source.../... I am very happy that Peter Qvortrup and Andy Grove have pushed the bar quite a bit forward from that earlier era and thoroughly enjoy my present system." https://www.audioasylum.com/messages/amp/172672/audio-note-japan-vs-audio-note-uk-gear
Interestingly, folks here in Hong Kong who have owned both seem to tell me the same thing especially so with the Kondo 300B and M7 preamp that Kondo is more about - "adding beauty" which mirrors the above poster's comment about the "Golden Glow"
Personally, I have liked both brands - most recently auditioning the Kondo Kagura II monoblocks.
I see no reason not to prefer the "Golden Glow" or the idea of a system that sounds "beautiful" - I mean people buy SET because SS lacks that stuff. Finding the balance between truth and beauty would be up to each person.
Take the Audio Note UK Meishu - this is Audio Note's best-selling integrated amp (albeit I was never that big a fan of it) - they recently replaced it with the Meishu Tonmeister which uses the Ongaku power supply design. To me, it's a massive upgrade and is actually a 300B amp I would consider buying. However, using basic logic, the 300B sound that now engages me that brings more oomph and drive and ability to rock to the table may not be as warm or have that "Golden Glow" (that I found to be slow and a little veiled) of the original Meishu. Thus, the new one may not be as desirable to those who loved the original version.
I see the same sort of thing with the original Ongaku and the new one. The original has more beauty and the new one has more truth. And then factor in the AN UK 4242E tube which I am told has had transformative qualities.
Some very low-volume boutique brands ship with very expensive and very rare tubes that may be responsible for the amp's superior sound. Higher production companies like AN UK almost always ship with more entry-level - easy to get new production tubes that can be replaced easily. An unfortunate trade-off when you sell a lot is that you have to sometimes choose tubes that are more readily available.
But I think Peter Q and his dealers and customers who can afford to spend $15kUS on an integrated amp are likely far happier with Andy Grove's designs. :-)
quelle surprise.
I agree with their general assessment of the sound of these amps and the AN-E system. I've heard the Jinro and the extremely expensive Gaku-on parallel 211 amps and they are indeed magnificent. I have heard several variants of AN speakers, including the AN-E SEC (crazy expensive) and the AN-K SEC, and these are in quite a different class of AN speaker from the cheaper variants. None of the Audio Note speakers do some of the audiophile "tricks" very well--such as sound-staging depth-- probably because that requires speakers to be well away from room boundaries. But, in the most important aspects for delivering musical satisfaction--rich and "dense" harmonics, a relaxed flow of the sound, realistic dynamics, etc., AN systems deliver the goods.
My only sort of negative takeaway from that video audition involves my particular prejudices--I don't trust the judgment of anyone so obviously into the sound of McIntosh gear.
I watched a video of theirs on McIntosh and found it interesting because someone basically said McIntosh sucks why do you sell it and they answer it pretty fairly IMO.
Basically, McIntosh saved their business and High End dealers often have to carry lines they may not want to buy themselves but which keeps the lights on.
My dealer in Victoria, BC carried several lines they personally HATE but that they make the most money on. When they picked up Magnepan - Don walked by (he's been selling audio for 45 years) and said "this is the worst sounding speaker we have ever sold" but they sell truckloads and the margin is very high. They also sold McIntosh and Terry (the store owner) just said - well they're a soulless corporation but the stuff sells.
I never hated McIntosh - none of it is bright or fatiguing - and it's not THAT expensive that it is in la la land - as much as I like AN, $150k integrated amps are in la la land.
It's kind of unfair to compare $10k amps to those many multiples of the price.
I like their responses to McIntosh haters. I feel like McIntosh gets dumped on - personally, I far prefer what I have heard from McIntosh than the likes of ARC or Prima Luna which get a lot of hype and are always meh to me.
Skip to 3:30 to bypass the preamble
I agree that McIntosh gear is a reliable seller. The stuff looks good and keeps it value well. Audio Note also retains value, primarily because they keep the same model in their line up for a long time, and with price increases, the old stuff also becomes more valuable. Few things in audio retain value, except for very highly collectible brands like Western Electric. I have some Western speakers and an amp and linestage that are more valuable now than when I bought them because of they contain very collectible Western Electric parts.
That's one of the advantages of going with certain brands over others - not just the sound but the "actual" price.
I reviewed the PureAudio One integrated amplifiers - actually a GOOD sounding SS class A dual mono amplifier - a SS amp that Tube lovers could love. The lead designer left Plinius to make his own products. $10,000 and worth it.
Unfortunately, he died. The company is now gone. What is your support going to be for that amp? What is the resale value going to be? For the same price, you can get an Audio Note Meishu (which still sounds better albeit with 8 watts, not 100). In ten years the Meishu will cost double what it does today. You sell it and you will "likely" get your $10,000 back. The Pureaudio One? what maybe $2,500 assuming anyone other than a few reviewers and some folks who attended the odd audio show remember it in 10 years? And no spare parts.
Nothing against the amp which is terrific but it's just a reality that you're taking a huge loss on these smaller brands.
It's why I would recommend Accuphase over the Pureaudio to people more often. Not because it's better but because a lot of this stuff is already "good" to "great" and if you are not directly A/Bing it would probably be very worthy to own and enjoy. So, it then becomes a little more about cost, resale value, ergonomics, aesthetics, customer support etc.
For SS - and Class A - Accuphase is an easy brand to recommend because they hold value incredibly well (especially in Asia), they are built well, they don't sound harsh or bright, no listener fatigue - they even manage to not make B&W sound awful. They look great - timeless. Class A and 1ohm stable. Speaking to some retailers here they noted that if you get something like a Mark Levinson or even a Parasound there are certain proprietary parts on 8-10-year-old amps you can no longer get so if the amp breaks it's a giant paperweight. Not so with Accuphase or AN etc.
So while it's fine to chase whatever one considers being the "best sound" it's important to know that most people don't want to buy a total albatross.
Still remember the days when I had Cabasse Iroise speakers and Bow Technologies ZZ One amp. My friend brought over cheapest McIntosh integrated amp ( the one without autoformers on the output). It simply killed that Scandinavian designer box.I sold all the shebang shortly after. Maybe I should have kept Iroise. They imaged like MOFOS, almost surround sound from 2 speakers but were slightly tiresome. Now, when my hearing went to shambles they would be right on target.
McIntosh holds value reasonably well so they are not quite as expensive as the initial sticker shock may seem.
If you buy a McIntosh for $4k and sell it 5 years later for $3k - that's better than some boutique brand that you pay $3k for and only sell it for $1k 5 years later.
And going back to Audio Note - not all that many systems have the advantage of the very superior vinyl and digital front ends (Digital CD and Turntables).
I remember auditioning new Tannoy Eaton speakers at a show and it was connected to Youtube videos as the main source - and sounded quite good but I thought "How good could this be with an AN CD player and amplifier!
McIntosh, IME, never really gets connected to anything I like. IME it has always been connected to the mainstream brands like B&W or Sonus Faber which are "style-first" speakers.
Was that the guy at the California Audio Show that was showing the $30,000 video projectors?
Damn good picture!
"Reality cannot exist because it cannot keep up with the lies on the Internet."
I believe so - He played Adele a LOT.
I don't think anyone can hear this song again after this performance:
| FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]