Spend a day with AUDIO NOTE UK at the 'Audio Home' in Fullerton. I'll be there + special guests!

Absolutely! So greatful for what you guys have put together!

 

Well, I finally found the *WOW FACTOR* I was looking for at this event. Hearing a world class cellist play his 200-year old cello in Warren's living room was the best sound I've ever heard. Wow. Steve's 211 AN monoblocs and AlNiCo AN E's were a close second to Vincent playing live. Wow. Steve's top secret stash of music - recordings of the Beatles, Nat King Cole, Sinatra, Fleetwood Mac, Art Pepper, Van Morrison...the list goes on...on some of their big hits before any studio reverb was added - would have made the event memorable even without Vincent's magical cello. Wow. Just wow. A huge thank you to Warren, Steve and Vincent and anyone else who helped put this together.

P.S. Warren was using a vintage $300 cartridge on this super system. Not revealing what it is so the price doesn't go up. Wow.

 

Well that sounds like just a great day.

 

Sugar man. Were those recordings on tape? I have had very little experience with R2R tape but the times I have heard it it was easily the best source sound I have heard. I'd love to get into R2R but I can't seem to find any music (enough that I like anyway) and the machines are shockingly expensive. There must be some sort of good affordable machine. I see Line Magnetic making one which gives me a sliver of hope that it will be affordable (at least in Asia).

 

Guys, was the vintage cartridge MC or MM?

 

The Audio Note demo in Fullerton was AWESOME!

Vinyl and CD running through the M6 preamp feeding a pair of monster AN DHT tube monoblocks. Speakers were all silver wired 2 way units, possibly the AN-E/SEC Silver.

We walked in on Vincent Bélanger playing cello and then immediately listening to his AN LP. Even though his LP was digitally recorded it was a great match for the AN system. Big, rich and resolving. This was super cool because you had the performer playing, then the recording of the same performer amplified through a stupendous system.

Mr David Shrive was there spinning LP’s with super accurate VTA. He demoed how VTA throws bass response out of whack if not set right. Once you hear his explanation and playback samples you will be forever be scared because every time you drop the needle you will be wondering “is my VTA set right?”. Since my wife came along and heard this, she is now VTA crazy She is driving me nuts about it. We played a few LPs last night and she looked at me each time, I knew what she was thinking!

Steve H’s CD collection of demo CD-R masters is TO DIE FOR! He played selections with his personal backstories and historical context. This was golden!

I got my fifteen minutes of fame because they played my thrift store LP titled “British Gold” This LP has Beatles “Ain't She Sweet”. So we all got to hear a young and uncompressed John Lennon singing his heart out.

Pictures to come later today. It was a great time, great gear and great hosts.

 

My friend and I came very late (mostly due to other family obligations), but we stayed late and enjoyed every moment of it. The system, the gracious host Warren, Steve's golden moments and all the stories behind the songs. Simply wonderful! I think I've never heard digital sound so good....folks, it really is about the source material. Some of those non mastered cuts were simply divine.

The Beatles "Come Together", wow...that track was simply mesmerizing.

Finally, after the second session was over, most people headed back out. A few of us stayed to listen to Vincent Belanger play some beautiful cello pieces.

What an memorable evening. Thank you Warren and Steve.

 

It was a DL103d. Here is a shot of the turntable

 

I was not there but this article from Rafe Arnott seems to fit this event well.

Part-Time Audiophile Video: Peter Qvortrup and Vincent Bélanger launch Audio Note Music at Montreal Audio Fest

 

Any more AN porn (or audio gear) in general to post from the get together and the house setups?

 

^ Finally a good looking AN turntable...

 

Steve, the pleasure was mine. Hoping we will share more chit chat down the line...your stories are so very memorable! Thank you for sharing those.

 

Steve,

The CD player was an Aesthetix Romulus.

 

I agree with all the reviews here - the event had a real wow factor. But how great the sound was really hit me when I attended a play at a local theater that had a great live orchestra. The sound reminded me of what I heard in the Audio Home living room. In fact, the living room was sometimes better, as the orchestra was sunk down in the pit, and some live sound wasn't quite as good as the Audio Note system.

I found that the cellist performing live with a recording quite illuminating. The volume was set up perfectly, and while live was better, the cello recording was pretty close, and sometimes I even needed to watch Vincent's hand to follow his part. (It's awesome that Audio Note UK has found a great way to support musicians while highlighting the strength of their product).

The day after the event was Father's Day, and after a breakfast out, the family asked what I wanted to do. The answer was easy -- Warren had invited us back the next day, and so I brought the family to celebrate Father's Day at the Audio Home.

We were all fascinated by watching Vincent give a lesson to a young (12 years old) talented cellist, and also got to hear some great music.

The great thing is that the Audio Home is there for people to enjoy great sound year round!

 

If you are coming to the California Audio Show at the end of this month, the Audio Note room will have a reel-to-reel deck.
In addition to the reel to reel the system configuration will be:
Conqueror Silver Signature
M6- Phono
CDT 1/II
Dac 2.1x Signature
AN-E-SPe HE speakers
TT2 Deluxe with Arm 3 and IQ3
and of course AN cabling

 

I am still impressed with the sound, the interest, and the reaction to that day at the Audio Home, about a month ago.

Of course, I put it on, so I am definitely biased and gloating. The sound, I thought, was spectacular. The entertainment was, well, extremely entertaining.

I am thinking about another event, maybe just some random weekend, or how about DURING the September audio S.H.O.W. in Anaheim? This would be either Saturday Sept 23, or Sunday Sept 24. I would like to have a limousine, picking-up attendees in front of the S.H.O.W, and transporting to the Audio Home and back.

Do people think I should just repeat the same event, with Vincent playing cello and Steve playing his stash of special recordings? Or can some of you recommend something different next time?