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Amplifiers
Hand-builds silver-wired single-ended-triode tube electronics in Japan, a line founder Hiroyasu Kondo started in 1976.
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about kondo audio note japan
Hiroyasu Kondo founded Audio Note in Japan in 1976, building tube electronics around single-ended-triode topologies and the extensive use of pure silver in wiring, transformers, and signal paths. That silver-wired, low-power SET approach is the defining engineering philosophy of the brand and made Kondo a reference point for the directly-heated-triode school of amplification. The catalog spans preamplifiers, power amplifiers, and phono stages, much of it hand-wound and hand-assembled. The Kagura monoblocks are the flagship power amplifiers; the line also includes the Overture integrated, Souga and Ongaku heritage amplifiers, and matching preamplifiers and step-up transformers. Silver cable and accessories extend the same material approach across the system. Kondo sits firmly at the cost-no-object tier and is instantly recognized by serious US dealers and collectors of SET electronics. The Kagura monos have been reviewed in Stereophile, with additional coverage in Positive Feedback and Stereotimes. Sole US distribution is handled by Rhapsody Music and Cinema in New York. Production is in Japan, with the registered company in Tokyo and assembly handled by a small team. Note for catalog purposes: Kondo (Audio Note Japan) is a separate company from Audio Note UK following the brands' split, and this entry concerns Kondo.