aural orgasm with ongaku

i would admit - if a system's tonal colour is not up to my liking, i will lose interest very fast. which is why i am keeping my aged ARC in spite of the lure of newer models like the reference 210 (which can do better hi-fi stunts such as soundstaging and bass) because, frankly, my classic 120 has the best tonal colour amongst all the generations of ARC amps, despite its obvious shortcomings as an old tube amp with old parts. there is something intricately enchanting about the triode sound which is very hard to describe unless you play triode yourself.

getting to appreciate tonal colour, or timbre, takes years. many audiophiles still don't get it after years in the hobby. i don't want to sound elitist but if you are after tonal colour, then you have to play tubes. push-pull triode or single-ended triode. period.

being a 100% tonal guy, i didn't get to listen to an ongaku until now. paiseh. never mind that it is an older gen of ongaku.

never a audio note proponent, i find the ongaku totally refreshing. it doesn't sound like a typical SET! driving avantgarde duo horn speakers, the sound is vibrant, vivacious and totally engaging. there is so much beauty in the tonal aspects. gorgeous tone. in fact, in terms of purity, it beats my classic 120. i hear you laughing. comparing a RM20K amp with a RM200K amp. look, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, ok.

i have been invited to listen to the latest ongaku driving the humougous avantgarde trio with basshorn. until then, i can't quite forget my first encounter with ongaku.