DPS 3 turntable for Hong Kong
The new and improved DPS 3 turntable will arrive in Hong Kong in the near future. The main difference between the DPS 2 (which is the DPS that has been available in Hong Kong for some years now) and the new DPS 3 is the upgraded motor/power supply. As good as the old DPS 2 is, the DPS 3 is a very substantial and worthwhile improvement. It brings the music much closer to the master tapes and still at a very affordable price, and a domestically acceptable package. For those who want the ultimate analogue payback system, we recommend serious consideration be given to the Schroder Reference tonearm or the Triplaner mark 5, using the DPS 3.
Hong Kong High End Hi Fi Expo 2006
This year we had the privilege to be joined by Masaki San of Audio Note Kondo Japan, Kevin Scott of Living Voice England, and Matsumoto San of Mactone Japan.The equipment included two newcomers to this market :-
1. The mouth-watering Kondo 'GINGA' turntable. GINGA is the Japanese for Milky Way. This design involves some unusual features including a Kondo electronics power supply and a differentially damped aluminium and copper platter. The sound is powerful, calm and assured with a beautifully natural tonal balance.
2. The Living Voice OBX-RW loudspeaker system enjoyed its first international showing. The new model from this celebrated company has been developed exclusively with Kondo KSL electronics. The presentation is musically charming with an open, luxuriously expressive tonality. Its easy portrayal of scale belies its domestically acceptable proportions - a giant killer.
The ancillary electronics were an M1000 phono, GAKUOH monos with Western Electric valves, KSL SF-z transformer, and the new IO-m moving coil cartridge. The digital source was the 47Lab PiTracer with Kondo KSL DAC.
Not surprisingly, the sound created, despite the slightly difficult show time condition, was as one would have expected.
OBITUARY OF HIROYASU KONDO
We regret to inform that on January 8th 2006, Hiroyasu Kondo, founder of Audio Note Japan, passed away peacefully in his sleep while attending the T.H.E. SHOW audio show in Las Vegas. He is survived by his wife, Kazuko; his son, Yuji; and his daughter, Hisae.Hiroyasu Kondo, the second son of a Buddhist priest, was a professor of electronic engineering and molecular metallurgy. He founded Audio Note in Japan in 1976, facilitating his desire to develop audio equipment capable of reproducing the essence of artistic performance captured in recorded music. He was often referred to as the "silver smith" for his revolutionary use of age annealed silver in his audio equipment. The Kondo ONGAKU amplifier will forever be a symbol of his success.
Kondo San had suffered ill health for some time. In order to ensure that the Kondo standard would flourish, he appointed his close colleague, Masaki Ashizawa, who he worked with for 16 years, as the President of Audio Note Japan six months ago.
On behalf of Kondo San's family, we would like to thank all those people from around the world who have sent tributes expressing their affection for Kondo San and acknowledging his place in audio history.
