Kondo Overture - Any Good

[Bling23]

Hi all,
Anyone have any experience on the Kondo Overture I’d be keen to hear your thoughts / comparisons etc.
Thank you
Sean

 

[mtemur]

It's a great amplifier but don't buy it until you are ready to buy NOS tubes for it and switch to Kondo silver cables. Actually same requirements like other Kondo equipment. After that Kondo SUT and phono pre are needed. IMHO those are needed IOT get the best performance out of them.

IMHO it's not about Overture or Ongaku is any good It's about if a person is ready for them, ready for low power exotic tube amps, spent enough time etc.

 

[Fohlenfan]

And be prepaired that there is no Auto- Bias. If you are not able to do this by yourself or have a Dealer near you, you will get in Trouble if a tube will get problems. Was the Reason for me to sell it. Sound was good but not outstanding. I had the Silver Cables and all the power Cords from Kondo.

 

[Bling23]

It's a great amplifier but don't buy it until you are ready to buy NOS tubes for it and switch to Kondo silver cables. Actually same requirements like other Kondo equipment. After that Kondo SUT and phono pre are needed. IMHO those are needed IOT get the best performance out of them.

IMHO it's not about Overture or Ongaku is any good It's about if a person is ready for them, ready for low power exotic tube amps, spent enough time etc.

I might sell a kidney

 

[Bling23]

And be prepaired that there is no Auto- Bias. If you are not able to do this by yourself or have a Dealer near you, you will get in Trouble if a tube will get problems. Was the Reason for me to sell it. Sound was good but not outstanding. I had the Silver Cables and all the power Cords from Kondo.

And be prepaired that there is no Auto- Bias. If you are not able to do this by yourself or have a Dealer near you, you will get in Trouble if a tube will get problems. Was the Reason for me to sell it. Sound was good but not outstanding. I had the Silver Cables and all the power Cords from Kondo.

that’s good info what did you go for in the end, I think ANUk Jinro might be better than my Meishu

 

[mtemur]

And be prepaired that there is no Auto- Bias. If you are not able to do this by yourself or have a Dealer near you, you will get in Trouble if a tube will get problems. Was the Reason for me to sell it. Sound was good but not outstanding. I had the Silver Cables and all the power Cords from Kondo.

What brand/type of tube causing trouble?

 

[GHasley]

Biasing a 211 tube amp isnt a big deal unless you happen to be scared of ~ 1,000 volts. LOL.

If you buy an Ongaku though, chances are you have some extra Flexjet credits for your amp technician to fly in/out for a quick bias. NOS tubes are readily available, they just cost more than they used to. And by the way, The Overture is likely to go through more tubes than the Kondo Ongaku or the Audio Note UK Ongaku/Tomei/Jinro. The Overture has more power on paper, in reality the same speakers will be driven adequately by either...but in my opinion, there are alot of great el34 amplifiers out there and while the Overture belongs in that conversation, it does not perform any better/worse than other exceptional el34 amps. Depends on what you are after.

 

[christoph]

The Overture has more power on paper, in reality the same speakers will be driven adequately by either...but in my opinion, there are alot of great el34 amplifiers out there and while the Overture belongs in that conversation, it does not perform any better/worse than other exceptional el34 amps. Depends on what you are after.

Can you name some of these excellent EL34 amps?

 

[GHasley]

Can you name some of these excellent EL34 amps?

Indeed. For an integrated at a far lower pricepoint, I have enjoyed the Leben CS600x. It has a few features that some may/may not desire but it is a terrific amp with the right speakers. For amp only comparisons, I have a pair of Shindo Corton-Charlemagne el34 monoblocks which I find far more to my liking. In all fairness, I have not heard the Kondo Overture II, just the original version. I also have not done an A/B comparison in the same room with the same peripherals but with that said, like many here, if we were to prefer a particular piece of gear, we would quietly buy it and enjoy it. No bone to pick one way or the other with Kondo, Audio Note UK, Shindo, Leben or any of the other wonderful products out there.

 

[DasguteOhr]

In particular, this complete naturalness, with which voices are physically present in the room, the depiction of acoustic instruments is fantastically seldom heard in this way. if 10 watts are enough for you and you need a phono mm stage that sounds great with a good transformer. save your money and listen to audionote oto phono se. worth it promised for me the better amp.

 

[bonzo75]

Hi all,
Anyone have any experience on the Kondo Overture I’d be keen to hear your thoughts / comparisons etc.
Thank you
Sean
View attachment 113451

I did not like it on Devore orangutans as much as I liked NAF 2a3 and airtight 300b.

 

[christoph]

Indeed. For an integrated at a far lower pricepoint, I have enjoyed the Leben CS600x. It has a few features that some may/may not desire but it is a terrific amp with the right speakers. For amp only comparisons, I have a pair of Shindo Corton-Charlemagne el34 monoblocks which I find far more to my liking. In all fairness, I have not heard the Kondo Overture II, just the original version. I also have not done an A/B comparison in the same room with the same peripherals but with that said, like many here, if we were to prefer a particular piece of gear, we would quietly buy it and enjoy it. No bone to pick one way or the other with Kondo, Audio Note UK, Shindo, Leben or any of the other wonderful products out there.

Thanks for your expansive answer.

 

[mtemur]

I did not like it on Devore orangutans as much as I liked NAF 2a3 and airtight 300b.

I heard Overture and top Kondo with Devore O/96s and a couple of my friends did hear it too with different combos of Kondo and Devore. We also heard same setups with other speakers for the last couple of years. So we know how Kondo equipment sound with better speakers. As a result we reached the conclusion that Devore O/96s are very forward sounding and doesn’t require high quality components. Long, low priced but good Belden 9497 speaker cables and Belden 8402 interconnects are a good match IMHO.

I wouldn’t call NAF low quality actually I like that brand a lot but it’s sure not the best and a relatively recessed mids make them a good match for Devore O/96s. I heard NAF 845 SE with orangutans.

BTW I think it’s a good idea to get a low priced, matching amplifier with orangutans and appropriate cables is a better way instead of buying top components.

I think best Leben amp is cs 300X, Shindo is highly colored for my liking, Airtight is ok but I prefer NAF. Line magnetic is another choice regarding the reasonable price. I think orangutans require control, I heard it booming badly with Cary SLI 80. After all it’s also related how good you provide electricity to your setup. It’s applies to all setups.

 

[DasguteOhr]

I know the overture very well, I listen to it every two weeks at a friend's house, also the upgrade mk II. I've been following the upgrade for 4 years. The Living Voice speakers are a perfect match. With normal standard Kondo power ,silver RCA and speaker cables, the difference with the Oto-Se signature amplifier is very small. With really good cables like the Synergistic Research Gallileo Powercord, Echole Omnia RCA and Speakercable, it can then clearly set itself apart from the Oto amp. Please do not forget that wiring costs used 20k€. P.S older photo

 

[bonzo75]

I heard Overture and top Kondo with Devore O/96s and a couple of my friends did hear it too with different combos of Kondo and Devore. We also heard same setups with other speakers for the last couple of years. So we know how Kondo equipment sound with better speakers. As a result we reached the conclusion that Devore O/96s are very forward sounding and doesn’t require high quality components. Long, low priced but good Belden 9497 speaker cables and Belden 8402 interconnects are a good match IMHO.

I wouldn’t call NAF low quality actually I like that brand a lot but it’s sure not the best and a relatively recessed mids make them a good match for Devore O/96s. I heard NAF 845 SE with orangutans.

BTW I think it’s a good idea to get a low priced, matching amplifier with orangutans and appropriate cables is a better way instead of buying top components.

I think best Leben amp is cs 300X, Shindo is highly colored for my liking, Airtight is ok but I prefer NAF. Line magnetic is another choice regarding the reasonable price. I think orangutans require control, I heard it booming badly with Cary SLI 80. After all it’s also related how good you provide electricity to your setup. It’s applies to all setups.

i agree Shindo is coloured and NAF is better than airtight.

the Devores I heard weren’t forward sounding at all, though it was with the Kondo overture. With NAF 2a3 ( KR tubes), it was very transparent to recordings. They need a lot of space from sidewalls and front wall

 

[mtemur]

They need a lot of space from sidewalls and front wall

That’s very true and they also need some space at the back.

 

[mtemur]

I know the overture very well, I listen to it every two weeks at a friend's house, also the upgrade mk II. I've been following the upgrade for 4 years. The Living Voice speakers are a perfect match. With normal standard Kondo power ,silver RCA and speaker cables, the difference with the Oto-Se signature amplifier is very small. With really good cables like the Synergistic Research Gallileo Powercord, Echole Omnia RCA and Speakercable, it can then clearly set itself apart from the Oto amp. Please do not forget that wiring costs used 20k€. View attachment 113542 View attachment 113543 P.S older photo View attachment 113544

I believe Living voice is a very good speaker and matching it with Overture is a smart decision. I’m not very fond of SR and Echole cables. IMHO replace all with Kondo silver cables, provide decent electricity and if it ain’t sound great than look for where is your mistake.

 

[DasguteOhr]

I believe Living voice is a very good speaker and matching it with Overture is a smart decision. I’m not very fond of SR and Echole cables. IMHO replace all with Kondo silver cables, provide decent electricity and if it ain’t sound great than look for where is your mistake.

Peter is a good friend of me. You are cordially invited to convince yourself that I am not talking nonsense.

P.s
of course you can also listen to my bad diy stuff

 

[mtemur]

Peter is a good friend of me. You are cordially invited to convince yourself that I am not talking nonsense.

P.s
of course you can also listen to my bad diy stuff

Thank you for the kind invitation.

 

[Amir]

Kondo is king but you should consider the speaker amplifier matching and the real power you need for your room and speaker.