Some of the transformers have silver secondaries. The amps are held in such regard because the craftsmanship is imaculate and the sound is pure music. I have the older AN Neiro. It is just superb.
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I don't know about the newer units but on the older ones such as the Ongaku many of the components (capacitors, transformers) were all handmade by Kondo. If you are considering acquiring older (or newer for that matter) Kondo equipment it would behoove you to consider two things: a) beware of counterfeits; they are out there and look just like the real thing. Have the unit inspected by a Kondo professional; somebody like Nick Gowan at Truesound ([email protected]). I am sure there are others but I know Nick and he is good. b) An older Kondo product is certainly ready to service if it is for sale more than likely. I once asked Nick about a used Ongaku. His response was budget 20K for the purchase of the used unit and another 5K to go through it and bring it up to modern spec and do things like replace binding posts. These units can date back to the late 80s. Same thing if you acquire a used Neiro or Shinri; expect to put a material money into it going through it. At the very least you would want a complete inspection on the bench before you put it into service. Don't forget to run the serial number and verify the place of purchase as well as its ownership history. If you cannot verify all these things RUN. |