This is the second part Strictly for fans of Audio Note UK (all things Audio Note UK) PART TWO
If you are interested in the technical questions to put to AN - You should try the thread on the Steve Hoffman forums as it is designed for AN fans - dealers and very occasionally Peter Qvortrup will respond. They even have levels! Many other companies buy Audio Note Transformers for their amps (hush hush). They buy AN Transformers/caps/knobs/connectors/wiring.resistors for their amps for example. Some companies like SW1X Audio almost outright. Sometimes I see the correlation to what I consider to be the best sounding stuff - NOS filterless DACs - a testament might be how so many companies have copied Audio Note over the years. What I have largely done is listen and say "does this sound like the artist is in the room?" and "Does this move me" if the answer is yes then I'll look at the design. What I mean is that I audition the gear and I want to largely be "blind" to the technology when I listen - I don't want my preconceived past experience bias to come into play too much. I suppose, being a reviewer, I should care more about the technology but I really only reverse care. Otherwise, the many other brands who used the TDA 1543 or 1865 would sound as good - and they don't.Īudio Note has been working on new DACs - they have spent some years on a resister ladder DAC and almost brought them out but are now onto a MaSC DAC design. Everyone talks about DAC Chips for example but that's not "really" what makes the DAC sound as good as they sound. What I gathered from our conversation is that Audio Note doesn't let on what exactly is the thing that is most important in their DACS. Indeed, a current K/Lx sounds much better than my older K/Spe (which is the higher mode). Over time things changed and now he has finally been able to get foam surrounds - and the new AN K is dramatically better than the K I owned. Peter said that this was a compromise because at the time - to get foam - he needed to buy 500 of them and the K wasn't a big enough seller to put the cash out for them. This was the case with the AN K/Spe speakers I owned back in 2003 - they used rubber surrounds back then. Sometimes they have to do a second choice. In the case of the entry-level model, they use the TDA 1543 and Peter noted that they slightly prefer the TDA 1541 but it was mostly a supply issue and being able to service their DACs. I asked about DAC chips and rest assured they have tried ALL of them - all the new ones all the old ones. I spoke to Peter and Andy Grove about this at the airport in Hong Kong - they were flying out back to the UK and I live near the airport so popped by for a chat. I own the same TT3 turntable and PSU1 power supply(bottom right)Ĭables are all Lexus copper - Not too pricey for AN - Biwired (Fairly sure they would be under $800). I am still kind of amazed that people are still buying $13k CD players um $35k CD players - still they are quite special.
#Audio note cobra review pro
AN E/SPE HE Hemp (HE=High Efficiency, SPE = the silver cable used internally, Hemp = woofer cone material)ĬD player used is the CD 4.1x which houses the CDT Two/II Transport (A Philips Pro 2LF) and DAC 2.1x (non-oversampling DAC 1865N) with valve power supplies $13,000. And also against the Jinro which is the Copper version (and dramatically less expensive version) of the Ongaku. I will be comparing the Meishu Tonmesiter integrated to the M6 Preamp(which I own) with a P3 Silver Tonemsiter (which is the power amp version of the Meishu Tonmeister). Interestingly, the dealer prefers the basic version to the more expensive silver version because while the silver has more hi-fi strengths - air and separation - it loses some of the midrange magic. I have never been a fan of the 300B until the Tonmeister finding the 300B a little too soft and vague and completely ill-suited for rock - the Tonmeister fixes all that. The Tonmeister is the newer version and uses the Ongaku Power supply design. The Meishu runs $9k-25k depending on version and is the number one selling Audio Note amplifier that was designed by Guy Adams of Voyd Turntables for Audio Note. Still, I enjoyed my audition on Monday with the 300B Meishu Tonmeister (~9k) basic model. Not the top of the line anymore - the Legend runs $850,000 or so. Still, the best-sounding integrated amplifier I have auditioned. You gotta love the cheap ass box it comes in.
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