Kondo IO-M vs. vdH Colibri - review - geofff

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Kondo IO-M vs. vdH Colibri - review

Having heard what a Kondo (ex Audio Note Japan) system can do, I have lusted after a Kondo IO-j cartridge for some time. Unfortunately, the cost of all Kondo equipment is astronomical.
Recently, I had the opportunity to replace my transformer with a demo Kondo SFz and got a taste of the Kondo sound. Compared to my previous transformer (Living Voice), it produced a much more subtle and coherent sound with my Colibri (using an impedance of 40ohms).
Kondo has now created a new cartridge, the IO-M. Iâ€™m not totally sure whether this is a replacement for the IO-j, but I believe it is. Compared to the Â£10,000 IO-j, the IO-M is â€œonlyâ€ Â£6,000. Kondo have changed a few things about the construction of the IO-M compared to the IO-j; for example the M doesnâ€™t have flying leads, nor does it include the internal silver tonearm wire that the j did. The cartridges look the same, though, and both have an output of 0.15mv which means that a transformer is mandatory. The ideal transformer is the Kondo SFz, which continues the Kondo tradition of using age-annealed silver wiring throughout. The IO-M is also unusual in needing to see an impedance in the transformer of 1ohm, so other transformers may not be suitable. Unfortunately, the SFz is also expensive at Â£4,400.
The rest of my equipment, by the way, is SME 20/2A with SME V arm, vdH Colibri XCM cartridge, Audio Innovations P2 phono stage tweaked by Border Patrol, SJS Arcadia Model 2 preamp and Model 2 (2A3 single-ended triode) amp, Living Voice Airscout speakers (horns), Living Voice cables.
I took my turntable to Definitive Audio in Nottingham (the UK distributor for Kondo) where I heard the Colibri first, then the Kondo IO-M on my SME 20, via a complete Kondo system (M77 preamp, Gakuoh amps, all Kondo cables) into Living Voice OBX RW speakers.
Hearing my turntable with the Colibri, I thought it sounded glorious and I couldnâ€™t imagine how the IO-M could be any better. I was thinking that I would be going home without the Kondo cartridge. Then we swapped the cartridge for the Kondo IO-M. Wow! I canâ€™t talk in hi-fi terms about the differences, because this wasnâ€™t what was important. What was important and so obvious was that the music became much more communicative; everything flowed beautifully and there was a coherence to it all. There was more meaning and emotion, and instruments sounded, well, more like they really are. Everything was there as it should be and in proportion â€“ things like deep bass and high treble and all that â€“ but because it was all proportional and part of the music, nothing stood out. Itâ€™s like when you listen to live music: you donâ€™t think â€œThat bass is really deepâ€; itâ€™s just part of the whole. Thinking back to the Colibri, it sounded more mechanical, more pulled apart, less musically flowing. The Colibri is a great cartridge and I wasnâ€™t at all unhappy with it, but compared with the IO-M, there was no contest. I bought the Kondo.

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Topic - Kondo IO-M vs. vdH Colibri - review - geofff 06:18:15 02/02/07 (3)

Re: Kondo IO-M vs. vdH Colibri - review - Andrejs 06:59:11 02/02/07 (2)

Re: Kondo IO-M vs. vdH Colibri - review - geofff 07:27:46 02/02/07 (1)

Re: Kondo IO-M vs. vdH Colibri - review - Alan. 15:01:45 02/03/07 (0)

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