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Music
There is this idea floating about that some music is intrinsically more difficult, harder to read and understand, tough and laborious to appreciate. Some people say that the late Beethoven quartets are absolutely amazing but they also have a reputation for being difficult. They might not have been summits we've been able to climb because we haven't yet developed that musical sensibility. On the other hand, we may not have had access to the music through the electronics because string quartets are one of the most difficult things a hifi can deliver with a suspension of disbelief. But for reasons I'm still not able to explain, with the help of the Gakuoh, it's as if we've been guided effortlessly up and through it, almost like we've become more musically perceptive and intelligent. Suddenly, the late Beethoven quartets or the late piano sonatas no longer seem 'difficult' or inaccessible but unfold in their intended glory.

The Gakuohs make me feel as though I've been given a gift of insight, of sensibility, of perceptive acuteness so that I can intuitively understand the whole rather than getting lost and confused by the unfolding of the parts. So I've found I can move forward in my musical tastes with an effortless speed, with a sure footing in a way that's completely empowering. Pieces that seemed remote, exclusive and difficult turn out not to be. They just turn out to be one of the hardest things for a hifi to reproduce. The Gakuohs give you the gift of transcending the kit, relieving you of the handicap of music being mediated through electronics and allowing you to go anywhere, to explore anything.

Furthermore, the quality that distinguishes a plain good performance from a truly outstanding one becomes incredibly obvious. You can sense when someone has first night nerves or if they are jaded and tired or over-practiced. You feel you have this type of insight into the performance. You can hear if an ensemble is having fun or simply going through the motions. These subtle secret qualities make for an exceptionally personal and intimate listening experience. You get a fantastic sense of being connected to the performance, sharing the same space, aware of the musicians' foibles, their nervousness or ease. It's not about disembodied notes but human beings making music. We get access to a much greater and more amazing world than we thought existed.
In the past for example I hadn't been a big fan of Lieder. Partly this is due to exposure to some live concerts which came across as a bit stuffy, arch, camp and ho hum. Then I heard Christine Shaffer's rendition of Schubert's Winterreise on Onyx and I was taken aback and profoundly affected. So I wanted to check out some other versions. Amongst those I found a revered Dieter Fischer Diskau with Alfred Brendel. Whatever the cognoscenti feel about this version, to me it seemed like the attention was being focussed on the qualities of his voice, its richness and texturing, with the effect being that it sounds self important and ersatz. I don't get a feeling of transport.
In Shaffer's Winterreise however, we are swept along with her circumstances and participate intimately in her physical and emotional journey. This journey climaxes for me in one sob from "On the River" (Auf dem Flusse) where she sings "mein Herz" (my heart). The voice or sob
is gathered in, contained, denied. She is struggling to hold back the flood of realization. She wants to deny it and run away. As a listener you fear the consequences of her letting go. She might go mad or worse. She fights for any crumb of hope. And then the full emotion breaks and you and she are swept down an uncontrollable torrent of loss. She lives this in her musical performance and we live it through her staggering artistry. With ordinary hifi, you get a contact high, recognize that she is moved. With the Gakuohs, you find yourself participating in her experience of a major life-changing epiphany, a removing of the layers of grime to reveal the most intense experiences. It's this deepest level that produces the effect of raising the hair on the back of your neck and chilling your spine. Genius allows you to access that and it changes your perception of the world.
Conclusion
Getting that quality of experience from a hifi is a tall order but when you've heard it, there is no going back. We enthusiasts can get taken in by systems that reproduce effects that in themselves are amazing and wonderful and stimulate our interest in equipment but to get this level of emotional communication without for one instant thinking about the equipment is something quite special. There are types of musical content and performance that are pretty much beyond the capabilities of most hifi - like 99% of it. And it's here that you realize the Kondo equipment really comes into its own.
To be sure, these comments are all given assuming a carefully considered system. It
would be a mistake to assume one can reach these heights by assembling inappropriately matched components. It is really worth your while to consult someone with experience and expertise. In fact, get yourself a shaman.

The Gakuohs are frightfully expensive. A casual listen will reveal them to be very very good, living with them will reveal them to be life changing. Like Ayowaska, they are an experience that can really alter your perceptive pathways and transform your musical horizons. Wade Davis describes the effect of ingesting Ayowaska as "being shot out of a rifle barrel lined by baroque paintings and landing on a sea of electricity". Well, in the absence of Ayowaska, the Kondo Gakuohs have given me some pretty powerful insight into what he means.
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UK importer's website
Kondo website