 Leben
Hi-Fi Stereo Company is a Japanese manufacturer of tube amplification.
The designer and owner of Leben is Mr. Taku
Hyodo who is ranked
as one of the best eight tube audio design engineers in Japan.
Mr. Hyodo is highly experienced Hi-Fi engineer having worked
for Luxman in the past, and is also a good player of guitar
and some different musical instruments.
In fact, he once was
a professional guitarist.
He is also a collector of premium
tubes such as 3CSS, 12AT7, E288CC, 6L6GC (5881), all of which
are (will be) used in Leben amplifiers at their best capabilities
based on Leben's technology.
 Mr.
Hyodo left Luxman and established his own "Kouri Denki
Co."(production of electric/electronic components, parts & PCBs)
in 1979 when he was 30 years old. Besides producing electronic
components and parts, he also has been continuing production
of amplifiers under "KFH" brand name mainly for private
requirements from Cafe bars, restaurants, etc.
The first commercial
based product "TRIODE 33" (under "KFH" brand)
was released in 1991 with very premium tube 3C33, and a first
model under “Leben” brand was a power amplifier RS-35a
(with 6L6GC) released in 1995, and then a preamplifier RS-28c
(with E288CC) in 1998. (RS-28c was recently renewed as RS-28CX
with G.E. 6CG7).
 His amplifiers are more of a product of passion, and not many
models are produced, however, several people in Japan have actually
gathered and set up a fan club called "Leben Audio Lovers’ Club".
Members are always waiting for a new model from Leben, which
amazes them each time. In light of these circumstances, Mr. Hyodo
has started to produce lower-cost amplifiers such as CS-200,
CS-250, CS-300, CS-300X to allow more music lovers a possibility
to enjoy Leben’s tube sound without investing too much.
All of the Leben products are hand made by well trained and
experienced people, and are all beautifully finished with high
quality components by point to point wiring. All products are
still made in Japan, and Leben product’s owners can expect
long life and high reliability as well as a highly musical and
rewarding performance. All Leben products are based on “Self-biasing
circuit” (even by sacrificing the output power on specification)
in order to allow users to replace tubes without bias-adjustment
and to continue stable operation.
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