Steve Hoffman's Ongaku

[Brinkman Ship]

1 hour ago, diecaster said:

 

Your jealousy is showing and it really is not becoming.

jealous of a 70 year old grizzled burn out who can't hear out of a paper bag? Sure.

[Brinkman Ship]

1 hour ago, daverich4 said:

 

I wonder if you would be less offended if you simply stopped going to his site? Why don’t you give that a try and let us know how it turns out.  

I'm offended that you are not offended..?

[esldude]

Everything about Hoffman is offensive.  Ditto for his forum.  He is just the kind of classless guy I would expect to operate this way. 

 

Someone said the gear costing $140k probably cost $35 to make.  Normally I get it.  Then again, I wouldn't be surprised on such an item if it wasn't made for about $2k.  Or maybe even with lots of handwork and people over compensated it might be $10k.  If that is the case, all they have to do is sell one extra for the one they gifted Hoffman and they are ahead.  I just see no way for that item to have a build cost of $35k.  

 

Yeah, this is an outrage.  True one hears of more offensive things that deserve outrage than one has the time or energy to get up in arms about.  Such is life in the modern world.  But if asked, I wouldn't let that keep me from saying what a low class jerk Hoffman is for the way he operates. 

[diecaster]

You guys need to worry about the planks in your own eyes before you start judging others and how they live their lives and runs their forums.

 

Hoffman's forum is a fantastic resource whether or not you like the owner.

[Brinkman Ship]

21 minutes ago, diecaster said:

You guys need to worry about the planks in your own eyes before you start judging others and how they live their lives and runs their forums.

 

Hoffman's forum is a fantastic resource whether or not you like the owner.

When I make, sorry, inherit my millions and then beg for donations to run a rudimentary forum, which I use to procure hundreds of thousands of dollars of free goods and services..I am sure you will give me a pass.

[diecaster]

1 hour ago, Brinkman Ship said:

When I make, sorry, inherit my millions and then beg for donations to run a rudimentary forum, which I use to procure hundreds of thousands of dollars of free goods and services..I am sure you will give me a pass.

 

I couldn’t care less....

[jcbenten]

I wish someone...anyone... who owned Ongakus would invite me over for a listen.

[bambadoo]

Have listened to it a couple of times. Allthough it acted only as a poweramp. An AN M6 was preamp. Nice setup. 

Also met some of the AN guys. Nice people.

 

I guess there are alot of "hifi donations" to marketing people... sorry meant reviewers.

[semente]

8 hours ago, jcbenten said:

I wish someone...anyone... who owned Ongakus would invite me over for a listen.

 

Why?

 

I guess hype in the audiophile circle really has a profound impact in the minds of consumers...

[agentsmith]

https://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=general&m=37527

 

[agentsmith]

2 minutes ago, agentsmith said:

https://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=general&m=37527

 

Also, their AN speakers which I like are really Snell designs which Peter Qvortrup bought from Snell after Peter Snell died.

 

 

[CatManDo]

This is my favourite Steve Hoffman product endorsement

 

http://www.shakti-innovations.com/hallograph.htm

[mansr]

2 minutes ago, CatManDo said:

This is my favourite Steve Hoffman product endorsement

 

http://www.shakti-innovations.com/hallograph.htm

Expensive firewood.

[semente]

19 minutes ago, mansr said:

Expensive firewood.

 

Looks like heat shimmer... Probably improves soundstage when you look at it.

[CatManDo]

1 hour ago, mansr said:

Expensive firewood.

 

Even on the Steve Hoffman forum, nobody seems to fall for it.

 

Judging from the pictures in the endless "Post photos of your systems/rooms here" threads on the SH forum, the most popular listening room improvement device is the lava lamp.

[jcbenten]

4 hours ago, semente said:

 

Why?

 

I guess hype in the audiophile circle really has a profound impact in the minds of consumers...

 

Curiosity.  I would never buy.  If I decided to change my system I would go with active speakers.

[Blake]

1 hour ago, jcbenten said:

 

Curiosity.  I would never buy.  If I decided to change my system I would go with active speakers.

 

One of our CA forum members has the Ongaku, I just can't recall his name at the moment.  If memory serves, he is running horn speakers (Avanteguard Acoustic) and possibly lives in NYC?  

 

I stumbled on this Audio Note UK factory tour and Mercedes road trip story on Sunday when I was bored:

 

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2017/08/12/audio-note-uk-factory-tours-and-life-in-the-fast-lane-with-peter-qvortrup/

 

They do a great job of creating/cultivating an "image" for the company much like you get with other luxury good companies such as Rolex, Patek, Hugo Boss, etc.  I suspect this helps to foster the cult following and mystique and encourages some to want to be part of the club.  Great marketing, but it is a necessity if they are going to sell this crazy expensive stuff, similar to expensive Swiss watches, etc.

 

What I found odd was that in the listening room of the Audio Note UK CEO, and another Audio Note distributor, the Audio Note speakers were jammed up in the corners against the wall.  Is this the preferred setup for these speakers?  If not, it seems odd to me to have hundreds of thousands of dollars of gear and seemingly ignore room acoustic treatments and speaker setup (unless these speakers sound better crammed against the wall and cluttered rooms lined with racks of vinyl improves room acoustics ).

 

 

 

 

[Shadders]

3 hours ago, agentsmith said:

https://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=general&m=37527

 

Hi,

Thanks for this. It does put into perspective the behaviour of some of the high end manufacturers owners. Especially the part about the designer being ill, which is quite despicable.

 

Hiroyasu Kondo and subsequent posts indicates that Audio Note UK were as of the year 2000, Hiroyasu Kondo designs. Has Audio Note UK employed a designer since then, or are they just re-badging/re-casing the existing designs with slight component changes ?

 

I have seen elsewhere on the internet that another designer was conned out his designs by salesmen, and he obtained very little profit from it.

 

Regards,

Shadders.

[NOMBEDES]

16 hours ago, Brinkman Ship said:

When I make, sorry, inherit my millions and then beg for donations to run a rudimentary forum, which I use to procure hundreds of thousands of dollars of free goods and services..I am sure you will give me a pass.

 

I often find that "multi-millionheirs" are not.   

If anyone knows you are worth "multi-millions" then you have failed.

[Brinkman Ship]

19 minutes ago, NOMBEDES said:

 

I often find that "multi-millionheirs" are not.   

If anyone knows you are worth "multi-millions" then you have failed.

Yes, but you can't judge narcissists by the normal rules...in their minds they are always "winning"..

[the_bat]

Without wishing to act as an apologist for Peter Q who is well able to defend himself, or indeed for Steve Hoffman (on whom I have no opinion at all)

 

1. Why would someone want to hear an Ongaku based system? Because it represents the apogee of one very specific approach to amplifier design which can produce absolutely enthralling results in a sympathetic system.

 

2. Are the speakers (which are openly acknowledged to be based on the early Snell designers - PQ is unstinting in his praise for Peter Snell) intended to be placed in corners? Yes.

 

3. Did Mr. Q have a slightly different view of the separation than Kondo-san? Yes.https://db.audioasylum.com/mhtml/m.html?forum=general&n=36887&highlight=magpies&r=&search_url=%2Fcgi%2Fsearch.mpl%3Fforum%3Dspeakers%26searchtext%3DSp-1110m.  The parting was acrimonious and 20 years ago.

 

4. Have Audio Note UK employed a designer? Yes - Andy Grove has designed the products for many years.  The current range bear almost no relation to the Japanese products of the same names either in circuit design of materials selection.

 

5. Have I seen a lot of completely unconnected stuff on the internet that I can use to throw shade in someone's general direction? Oh yes.

[semente]

2 hours ago, the_bat said:

Why would someone want to hear an Ongaku based system? Because it represents the apogee of one very specific approach to amplifier design which can produce absolutely enthralling results in a sympathetic system.

 

Would you mind defining "apogee"?

We are talking about a very expensive SET amplifier with a distinctive house-sound.

How is this relevant in the context of high fidelity reproduction of recorded music?

[the_bat]

From the OED

 

Apogee Noun 1. the highest point in the development of something; a climax or culmination.

 

So, in this case, the single ended triode amplifier developed as far as it can be through exotic components and materials. 

 

Now you might not like SETs on principle, but that’s not the issue. 

 

[mansr]

22 minutes ago, the_bat said:

Now you might not like SETs on principle, but that’s not the issue. 

I have nothing against SET amps on principle. It's the low power, poor efficiency, high distortion, and high output impedance I dislike. I suppose 'apogee' might refer to all those qualities taken to their extremes.

[miguelito]

On 7/29/2018 at 8:59 AM, sphinxsix said:

Simple facts. A week ago Steve Hoffman had created a thread about $140k Audio Note Ongaku SET amp he was going to get. He has been quite active on it ever since praising Ongaku and Audio Note in general.

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/audio-note-uk-ongaku-kensei-211-valve-single-ended-triode-balanced-amplifier-now-up-running.685663/

Some time later (page 8 of the thread) he admitted that the amp was a GIFT from Audio Note.

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/audio-note-uk-ongaku-kensei-211-valve-single-ended-triode-balanced-amplifier-now-up-running.685663/page-8#post-18517942

Furthermore yesterday he 'pinned' (!) a new thread which is a list of Audio Note UK AN-E speakers versions (he himself uses one of them - the AN-E/SPx HE Alnico to be exact) atop the Audio Hardware forum.

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/audio-note-uk-an-e-speaker-choices-from-cheapest-to-most-expensive-a-handy-and-useful-chart.765769/

 

What do you think guys - will the Steve Hoffman's Ongaku ($140k is obviously a retail price) prove to be a good investment for Audio Note.?

I'm pretty sure it will

Honestly, I don't think reviews like these move much product in that kind of a price range. I think such product, especially a SET, sell much more via dealer consultation and system design than by reviews like that. The number of speakers that can be used with Ongaku is quite limited.