Overview
Owning a Kondo component has always been one of the greatest and rarest joy in this hobby. Just ask any lucky audiophile who has the good fortune of owning one and they will tell you the same. From the moment you received your component in its factory box, you can immediately see and feel the difference in the way they are packed and the materials used. This may sound obsessive but even the cardboard use for their boxes feel different. Inside it, the component is securely placed inside precision cutout cardboards where even the AC cord is nicely bagged up. At just one level below the almighty GE-10 phono stage and at about 1/6 the price of it, the GE-1 is an incredible steal either at its MSRP or at its current resale price. The level of finesse, detail and dark silence is mesmerizing. The only way you can mess the sonic purity of the GE-1 is run a less than capable turntable setup through it. On its own, the GE-1 is MM phono stage but in this package that we are selling, it comes with the CFz step up phono (an optional add on and cost $4,000 on its own) which you would hookup to the GE-1 if you are using a MC cartridge. We are not splitting them up and will be selling them together. The pair is a clear best buy in our books and is a reference point for any vinyl enthusiast regardless of price point. Tubes used in the GE-1 are 6072 x3, 6X4 x1.
Cosmetically, the units look excellent. We have the original boxes, manuals and AC cord.
