Kudos to George!

[sleepysurf]

Just got back from hearing Rampage60/George's Aeon i system, as he hosted our monthly Tampa Bay Listening Society meeting. His system is powered by his new Pass Labs X350.5 amp, along with a Simaudio MOON P-3 Pre. All I can say is WOW! His Paradigm Sub was dialed in perfectly with the Aeons, together yielding palpable bass, with extraordinary detail and imaging. No tubes in his system, but I dare say his setup matches (arguably exceeds) both Craigs, and certainly my, Summits. He definitely made a lot of ML "believers" amongst the TBLS members (who can sometimes be a tough crowd).

The Pass X350.5 is a BEAST, and those first 50 Watts of Class A power are a force to be reckoned with!

Once I have my Belles 350A Ref back in hand, I'm looking forward to a SS shootout with the Pass Labs, but I think his 150 lb behemoth might trounce my 65 lb "weakling". Time will tell!

 

[Joey_V]

Wow..... an Aeon based system matching Craig's Summits....

 

[sleepysurf]

Yep! Shows to go ya that even a smaller ML (albeit in a smaller room), with CAREFULLY matched components, can compete with the big boys. For those with Aerius', Aeons, and Vistas, don't despair... give 'em Class A power (or good tubes), matched with a great sub, and they'll give the Summits/Vantages a run for the money!

 

[twich54]

Craig, good to "hear" that George's system is a stellar performer. As you know there has been a fair amount of discussion lately regarding the proper use and integration of a sub for two channel listening.

These local / regional 'get togethers' are with out doubt a benefit to all ! For all our discussions here on the forum, nothing beats the actual thing ! So for those that attend the "Nat'l Get Together" next month, bring your notes !!

 

[Brad225]

It sounds like I missed a great get together yet again. For some reason the beginning of the month is always crazy time.

Hopefully sometime George might want to open up his listening room again. I would like to hear some more ML systems.

Thanks for the report Sleepy.

 

[Joey_V]

Yep! Shows to go ya that even a smaller ML (albeit in a smaller room), with CAREFULLY matched components, can compete with the big boys. For those with Aerius', Aeons, and Vistas, don't despair... give 'em Class A power (or good tubes), matched with a great sub, and they'll give the Summits/Vantages a run for the money!

Just another piece of support for the upstream electronics ARE important camp! I have heard speakers that cost $500 driven by $5000 upstream electronics, beat out $5000 speakers with $500 upstreams.

It's all about where you want to spend your money and where it makes most sense to spend it. For some, they can go balls-to-the-wall on ALL components! For others, maybe not so much.

Joey

 

[amey01]

Just another piece of support for the upstream electronics ARE important camp! I have heard speakers that cost $500 driven by $5000 upstream electronics, beat out $5000 speakers with $500 upstreams.



Joey

Upstream components and synergy! I've heard many a megabux system that doesn't sound as good as a well matched system in which every component is more modest than the poorly matched megabux system.

 

[paulo m]

Upstream components and synergy! I've heard many a megabux system that doesn't sound as good as a well matched system in which every component is more modest than the poorly matched megabux system.

And the room! Just the other day I heard a pair of Sonus Faber Amati Homage Anniversario driven by two McIntosh 501 monoblocks and something was badly missing... Not engaging at all, sounded not better than a plain vanilla hifi with a bit of soundstage. The room was the culprit, as it was set up primarily for HT, with a couple of LCDs and no treatments to be seen. It was extremely disappointing, and I was wishing really hard to be wowed by the speakers (I once heard--and drooled, and mesmerized, and...--over a pair of Guarneri Homages being driven by the Ongaku).

 

[MiTT]

(I once heard--and drooled, and mesmerized, and...--over a pair of Guarneri Homages being driven by the Ongaku).

Oh I bet that was truely special. I've never heard the Ongaku, only seen pictures - but it is the stuff of audio legend!

 

[Pcar928fan]

Oh I bet that was truely special. I've never heard the Ongaku, only seen pictures - but it is the stuff of audio legend!

What the HELL is that?!

 

[Joey_V]

What the HELL is that?!

Legend!! :cheers:

 

[DTB300]

What the HELL is that?!

Google is your friend....http://www.dagogo.com/AudioNoteONGAKU-Review.html

 

[Spike]

Not so fast...

Google is your friend....http://www.dagogo.com/AudioNoteONGAKU-Review.html

The AudioNote OngaKu in this Dagogo review is a re-incarnation of the original OngaKu made by Kondo-San's AudioNote Japan since 1988. The OngaKu mentioned in this article is made by Peter Qvorkup, AudioNote UK. Good piece, but nothing compare to the original Kondo OngaKu! I was made aware of Kondo-San's Ongaku in the late 90s and even then, it was WAY out of my reach at...$90,000!

Recently, there's is a review of Kondo OngaKu-Pre (KSL-M77) on 6moons. Joey, take a look here if you are looking to upgrade your preamp? Toward Christmas time perhaps

Here are a few links to the original Kondo OngaKu which started it all...
Audio Note Japan's OngaKu
TNT-Audio 2001 Factory tour of Audio Note Japan
Steven Rochlin's 1995 review of the OngaKu

Spike

 

[Audioseduction]

Just got back from hearing Rampage60/George's Aeon i system, as he hosted our monthly Tampa Bay Listening Society meeting. His system is powered by his new Pass Labs X350.5 amp, along with a Simaudio MOON P-3 Pre. All I can say is WOW! His Paradigm Sub was dialed in perfectly with the Aeons, together yielding palpable bass, with extraordinary detail and imaging. No tubes in his system, but I dare say his setup matches (arguably exceeds) both Craigs, and certainly my, Summits. He definitely made a lot of ML "believers" amongst the TBLS members (who can sometimes be a tough crowd).

The Pass X350.5 is a BEAST, and those first 50 Watts of Class A power are a force to be reckoned with!

Once I have my Belles 350A Ref back in hand, I'm looking forward to a SS shootout with the Pass Labs, but I think his 150 lb behemoth might trounce my 65 lb "weakling". Time will tell!

Thanks for the commits on the listening audition. I really enjoyed having the TBLS members over for the monthly meeting. I will have another audition in the near future for those who missed it and others that just would like to attend again. :music:

 

[DTB300]

The AudioNote OngaKu in this Dagogo review is a re-incarnation of the original OngaKu made by Kondo-San's AudioNote Japan since 1988. The OngaKu mentioned in this article is made by Peter Qvorkup, AudioNote UK. Good piece, but nothing compare to the original Kondo OngaKu! I was made aware of Kondo-San's Ongaku in the late 90s and even then, it was WAY out of my reach at...$90,000!

There were many "hits" with Google on the Ongaku, the one I posted was the first one I ran into. And the one you talk about is $18k higher!!!! I wonder how good it could be for the money commanded, considering the parts involved.

Dan

 

[Joey_V]

Recently, there's is a review of Kondo OngaKu-Pre (KSL-M77) on 6moons. Joey, take a look here if you are looking to upgrade your preamp? Toward Christmas time perhaps

Spike

I pretty much threw up in my mouth.... .

 

[paulo m]

There were many "hits" with Google on the Ongaku, the one I posted was the first one I ran into. And the one you talk about is $18k higher!!!! I wonder how good it could be for the money commanded, considering the parts involved.

Dan

There's also the Gaku-On, for those who want to upgrade from the Ongaku .

The version I heard was not the UK reincarnation (this was sometime in '95 or '96).

 

[zzvelik]

Sleepy,

Thanks for that post. Makes me wonder if I'm doing the right thing by offering my Aeon i's and the Depth for sale both here and on Audiogon. The main reason why I offered them for sale is to save space by getting a pair of Vantages especially since my family is away and I don't have to deal with the WAF!!! I thought about hosting a regional get together for the southern CA people. I can still host this weekend only, but that would be a short notice (This is NOT a sales pitch for my ad). I've noticed that Jeff Zaret, Risabet and some other members live in Southern CA. In any case, if anyone's interested... give me a holler.

Z

 

[Craig]

Unfortunately, this is the second time I had to miss a Tampa Bay Listening Society get-together at Rampage60's house. I've been on business travel the last couple of months and that is also the reason I haven't been online lately. Hopefully, there will be another opportunity for me to see and hear his system.

The Aeons and Ascents are no slouch when driven with serious gear such as his. Just for a refreshing change, I sometimes swap my Aeons with my Summits and put the Aeons in my two channel system and let the Summits do thier thing in the HT system. I still don't have a sub but with the Summits in the HT system you can certainly get by without. You should hear the scene from the movie "Polar Express" where the train is pulling up. With the volume up it sounds as if the train is literally coming through the house with the house shaking. It's impressive.

The Aeons in the 2 channel system (still no sub) have a different quality to them. The mid-range is excellent but the soundstage, imaging, bass and size of sweet-spot are not quite up to par of the Summits. But they are still a joy to listen to with the tube gear.