Kondo Ongaku and JBL 4345

Kondo Ongaku and JBL 4345

[@realworldaudio]

I heard the Ongaku 20 years ago. Transformed my life - the innocent spectator was gone forever, it started my quest to build such fantastic equipment. Everyone gets fazed by the price. I did not even think about it, only music and inspiration... It was perhaps the best influence I had on my life.

[@seedood]

Amazing! Beautiful!🙏🏻

[@dckfg01]

What a great system!

[@chrissyman77]

Nice system, love the Ongaku.

[@bolsesolheim7469]

Nothing Special if you ask me ! Rather murky

[@testtone5523]

Can you post more kondo+Jbl? Thx!

[@jameschen6981]

beautiful..

[@bolsesolheim7469]

I see my friend Fishnuts is at it as always ! He is funny! My grandson likes to fiddle with his Kondo Pre! Could be the perfect size of the knobs !

[@CuongTran-og1qj]

Jbl 4345 ,4350,4355 số 1 1 1 !!!

[@Anh-Áo-Nâu]

How is L200 or L300?

[@andromedawind]

Perfect!

[@bikemike1118]

Is that an Esoteric cd-player playing?

[@eddiecucumber5342]

Kondo amps have dynamics, unlike Audio note UK. I think AN UK have gone to far down the less is more in their amps designs. Also their output transformers are not of the same calibre. By the way I don't not own any Kondo equipment. Its just my observation over the years.

[@andygrove285]

No, that's not correct. Two of the main areas where the ANUK Ongaku differers from the Kondo design are better dynamics, due to transformer coupling, and better transformers. Kondo made several erroneous assumptions with the Ongaku optx, using a very small core with a vertically sectioned winding which limits both LF and HF bandwidth. He couldn't make interstage transformers at all. ANUK use 50% nickel (Radiometal) interstage and output transformers, not much cheaper standard silicon steel. The ANJ output is literally half the size of the ANUK one, and has four times the bandwidth. Even the inter-winding insulation materials are better., Kondo just used off the shelf Mylar, and not enough of it either. Kondo also straps a piece of crappy steel across the airgap, ANUK use bronze banding. There are a lot more subtelties involved in the transformers, but not enough time to speell them all out here. The ANJ Ongaku uses basically the same schematic as an Audio Professor 211 kit, it's a topology that was widely known in Japan. It has an SRPP connected 6072 triode followed by a section of 5687 as the main voltage amplifier, followed by a 5687 section cathode follower into the 211, which is run at quite a low voltage because ANUK use an off-the-shelf Tango mains transformer. The ANUK design is something I developed independantly, using a bifilar wound interstage transformer between the driver valve and the 211 grid. I've written about how it works should you be interested. Kondo used, and KSL still use cheap FR4 fibreglass board material, the same stuff used for your PC motherboard. ANUK don't. We use phenolic resin bonded wood and paper, as they sound better. The list goes on and on. Kondo was a legend, he was an inspiration to any, and Maski continues that to a certain extent, but he has held KSL in stasis for the last 20 years, quite possibly even regressed it, while ANUK have developed new materials and technologies over the same period.

[@SimonC-z8y]

Yes high efficiency speakers do have great dynamics, but they also sound whispy on voice, not like listening to a real person. Just my opinion from listening :-)

[@henni1964]

Agreed. Not many speakers reproduce the human voice better than my LS 3/5A monitors. 😊 Definitely not these JBL (lol). Nice turntable btw.

[@bikemike1118]

Everything is more or less a trade-off… Synergy has to be right and overall performance great - without major flaws. I think the mic that captured the music in this vid had its issues with voice and dynamics. It probably was the mic …

[@pannonianbrute]

As good as it gets

[@bolsesolheim7469]

Or is it Fishballs from Vesterålen in Norway my home country!

[@jerometroit3669]

How many watts does the ongaku?

[@drvuhoang]

27w per channel

[@russellhamner4898]

I see these Ongakus at garage sales and flea markets all the time, may pick one up next time. Think $15 is a reasonable offer? I'd probably go as high as $19.

[@donaldbecker4966]

Buy now or cry later ! I found one at our local thrift store and took him home for 50$. Much too much, I know ! But it sounds so nice on my vintage Bose speakers. They had another one on offer for 30 bucks, but when I came back a few days later it has been gone.

[@georgemartinezza]

@Playback Vintage Hifi Hunter 99% of videos with hifi sophisticated audio systems play music that I dislike, bored music. that's not for me, I choose a different device.

[@desireemontoney8092]

Do you have $15

[@1968krug]

Please identify Artist/album.. thank you

[@socksumi]

Specially aged Italian silver used in the transformers is supposed to make the amp sound better. Not sure what science that is based on.

[@acghifiaudio-vinyland78rpm53]

Silver reduces the DC resistance in the winding which reduces magnetisation in core, flux leak and so on. Could be adressed by larger diameter copper wire but we would have to increase size of transformer to make room for mor winding and a larger transformer increases the problem mention earlier leaving us with the only solution to choose a better conductor than copper leaving us with not so many choices. But silver works fine :) there are books about transformer calculations if you want to do your own math.

[@bolsesolheim7469]

For my JBL 4350 I Use Pass XV 1 crossover and Audio Power Labs Oil Cooled Tube amps ! They sound much better than both Kaguras and Wavacs 833, The Kondo preamp is Ok for my 4 year old grandson!

[@ivonnejaramillo3925]

Vaya grave hinchado que da eso

[@marantz7783]

No Offense inteneded, but why would you put, an incredible amp with such mediocrae speakers--- try the alinco Audio Note J's( make sure everything copper( silver too bright) that room-- will blow you away --- JBL was great 60 yrs ago-- not now-- not Re-fined

[@BastianUllr]

Audio Note speakers are ... an acquired taste lets say. If we go for new tech on speakers or improved, how so you include Audio Note UK? That's heck of a rudimentary subpar 2 way meant to couple the notorious box resonances with the room. JBL is innert compared to Audio note, regardless the Alnico magnet (and I do not really wish to discuss materials, less when talking audio note.) I thought you'd go after Audio Vector, or Børresen. Audio Note... dear. Mediocre speakers... you've never heard a pair of JBL Kenrick Resto-mod, have you?

[@bolsesolheim7469]

For the select group that can afford multiple gorgeous Audio jewellery, like myself ,your comments just tells me thatat you are one pathetic certified loser ,Dr Solheim Marbella!

[@skavcic]

You have no idea what you are talking about.

[@АнатолийКузнецов-щ7ц]

Интонации присутствуют, но пластики с гармонией нет.

[@worstalentscout]

the lack of remote control must be a major pain in the butt............

[@chrissyman77]

worstalentscout I think I could live with the hardship.

[@ememe1412]

I haven't had a remote control on my amps in a decade. I've only needed it for spotify going track to track (I adjust from the phone.) Playing albums, not really.

[@bolsesolheim7469]

Kondo was my very good friend ! His amps are soft and forgiving !See no reason to sell any of my Kondos,

[@worstalentscout]

@@bolsesolheim7469 .......you're a very lucky man to own these amps.......what's the difference between Audio Note UK and Japan ?........amps from AN UK seems very Japanese in design and sound.......i've heard the AN UK Soro SE integrated amp once and it was fantastic

[@bikemike1118]

@@worstalentscout you can read the story in the internet… the AN UK owner was formerly the distributor for AN Japan and invested own money to help the Japanese company as they struggled. Therefore he asked for and eventually received the right to carry the name „Audio Note“ and build their own tube amps under this name….it’s a bit of a weird or special story…I‘ve heard that the Japanese owner and constructor is supposed to be a bit of a „strange person“…but that’s just what I heard from the German AN UK dealership.

[@bolsesolheim7469]

No remote on my Kondo preamp is irritating!

[@anathema771]

it cant be all that bad :)

[@bolsesolheim7469]

7

[@wraspire]

I don’t quite get the hype about the Ongaku, sounds slow and muddy, and the female vocal surprisingly lack emotion

[@BastianUllr]

What do you mean slow? Where? Just... trying to get what you get. Thanks.