Audio Note UK gear coming to me for review & studio use, Ginrei, M9, AN-E SPx Alnico, Sogon wire..

Any current plans to travel with that some more? Because… um…. I'll babysit.

 

You are lucky, that you don't travel with a Ongaku Shochu, I believe they are even heavier.

 

Stop it you two! I have no reasonable reason to say this.... But.... I always wanted a Jinro!

I am very happy with what I have, but this makes me wonder how I can step up to a Jinro! Home grow op? Porn Server? Or even worse.....

 

If I may ask...which pieces are you bringing to Vancouver David? I will happily help carry stuff : ) Seriously!

 

The list is $1k but whether anyone in the US is selling the zero series seems to be the question. It WAS available - then it wasn't, then it was, then it wasn't. They are available in Hong Kong. The big AN dealer carries it and so does a lower end bigger box store (not the same as how that term would be used in the US) but rather a store with something liked 25 speakers carried all along the walls sort of thing. No space in Hong Kong.

It's a shame because the AX Two is rather spectacularly good for the money and the I-zero is pretty awesome - it dethroned my long running budget favorite the Sugden A21a. Perhaps with AN moving plants they've been unable to supply the AX Two.

My advice to Audio Note on that AX and AZ range is to to try and rethink the boring faux wood veneers and make them more appealing to younger audiophiles. Mount solid colours like Green, Purple, Pink and have the I-Zero and DAC 0.1 match. Not sure they can do that AND keep the price down but I really like the Zu Audio colour options which make an otherwise boring rectangle cabinet stand out. I know AN wants to be all serious and everything but I suspect dealers like to have more volume sales on lower margin items like the Zero line so you gotta consider the looks a little bit. I like the black and white options on the gear but wouldn't they look nice in a Ocean Blue or British Racing Green or that Candy Apple Red. Plenty of companies offer products in regular and pay another $199 or something for the premium finish and the AX Two would still be good value at $1299.

I say this because at the big box store the AX Two was sitting up there are the sore thumb ugly duckling - every other speaker looked better. None of them sounded as good. Perhaps selling on looks isn't the best move but gee you don't want to NOT sell based on looks.

 

Always nice to hear the speakers you have can sit in the real high end company-the D40R's are the speakers I own.

 

Thanks, Don.

I'll be using gear supplied by Sound Hounds, bringing my cables and music. I believe it'll be an OTO or SORO SE, one of the turntables with an IOI and S4, one of one box CD players and a pair of Js.

Shipping 6,000 miles round trip and across the blasted border twice is simply not sensible.

 

The Ongaku Kensei is 48 kgs and every time I have to schlepp mine around the back brace belt comes out along with the touching of wood and certain prayers about not dropping it and buying a smaller amp next time. thankfully the speakers are lighter but the turntable power supply is 35 kgs so it doesn't really get any better.

 

RGA - really!? MORE colors/finishes on both speakers and electronics? I believe there's a more severe option than hell for the badly behaved newly dead - planning production and tracking Audio Notes inventory across its endless permutations!

The AX and AZ speakers are made in Demark. There was a hiccup in production, but they're back. What I'd like to see would be the return of the AX Two Sig and perhaps an intro of an AZ Two Sig. The real veneer over birch ply cabs sounded and looked considerably better than the chipboard, as good as the standard version does sound.

 

Thanks Richard. I appreciate your extensive reply!

From enquiries I've made regionally, entry-level AN seems unobtanium ... I do have a line on a used set of basic AN-K's in Victoria. How much better than the AX-2's are they?

 

Ooh! When/where this?

 

Those are lovely speakers. I would have kept them if they could be satisfyingly powered by 300B tube amps, but they do like some muscle in my experience. I loved the resolution, the ease once they broke in and the coherency, all the while giving you tons of information but not in an analytical manner.

 

That just makes sense. I was hoping like heck that you would be bringing one of the big boys, like the Jinro. I will definitely stop by, as long as I can get those days off of work. Should be fun!

 

Why do you have to schlep yours around? Do you represent AN or a dealer at audio shows? Or is this inside your dealership?

Sounds like 'careful' work. Scary stuff if you drop something

 

It's the Vancoiver Audio Show, May 8-10. Come on up!

By the way, Sound Hounds has a used set of AN-K SPe speakers for sale I believe. Give them a call. Speak to Don or Paul.

 

Thanks, I just might!

I spoke to them yesterday, coincidentally. Very tempting, for about the same money as a new pair of AX-2. Have you heard K's?

 

Yes I have, but not a lot. I spent an afternoon listening to Js last year. The Ks won't go as deep but I have heard nothing but good things about them.

 

They do need power but at 4 ohms not too much I found my Luman L505U simply couldn't power them but a Rega Osiris was far too powerful-no headroom on a lot of recordings settled for an Esoteric A-100 which brings the balance of enough power and quality which results in quite an opulent sound.....I agree they deliver detail in a musical fashion. Tricky to match though I think either suited to a high quality Class A (I liked the Luxman L590AX with them but couldn't agree a price on it and the model I auditioned had an intermittent crackle) or tubes with a bit of power.

 

What Ks need depends on a number of variables which no one asked about. SMH.

What sort of music do you play, in what size room, and from what distance do you listen? One person may put them on shelves flanking a computer monitor, listening at background-ish levels to small scale acoustic music. Another may want Wagner and Mahler at concert volume from 30 feet away in a living room the size of an airplane hangar. This is not a one size fits all, cookie cutter question. It always amazes me when people approach it as if it were, and it's done all the time.

Any K, and certainly the SPe version, is a significantly more sophisticated speaker than the AX Two or even the late lamented AX Two Sig. Driver, parts, cabling, cabinet and finish are all at a higher level with the K.

 

bhazen

I owned the K/Spe for 6 months and went to the J/Spe because way back in 2003/2004 but I was able to upgrade to the J/Spe at good price based on the dealer buying up all the unpopular colours. Ie; they bought all the black J/Spe models and so it was too good a deal to pass up. I could live with the K/Spe and living in Hong Kong where my entire apartment is 600 square feet I was strongly considering buying the K's again. I initially bought the AX Two because I didn't know if I was going to stay here or not and didn't want to pay too much for a system. Fortunately, the AN E/Lexus is working well in the small space and even in the nearfield where it's not really meant to be heard.

Personally, I like the NEW K/LX over my old K/Spe. My K/Spe has the silver wiring advantages but the new K/LX is 100% Russian Birch all around and it uses foam surrounds as opposed to the older model which uses rubber. The old K/Spe had Birch on the front and back but MDF on the sides top and bottom. To be fair though the gear here in HK is level 4 up where at Soundhounds it was level 3 down.

The AX Two isn't destroyed by the K in my opinion - when you hear the two you say wow that AX Two is holding up well against a speaker three times the price. BUT, it's when you listen a bit more to nuance where the Ks pull away - it also has about 15hz more bass which is not unnoticeable. The speaker is "faster" perhaps due to the sealed box acoustic suspension design.

There are people out there that actually like the K the best of the entire line. But you really have to be the one to hear them yourself - no matter how much of a love fest there is for something - it doesn't follow that you will feel the same way.

And then just to throw a fly in the ointment there are the AZ floorstanders - the AZ Three uses the Hemp woofers and the same tweeter as the J and E. Big bass down to 20 hz and 94dB sensitive (and you don't have to buy a stand which from AN are something like $650).

 

Actually, both the AZ Two and AZ Three are available with either paper or hemp cones.

I'm thinking of getting a pair of AZ TWo Hemp shipped here for shows.

 

Be honest: The Audio Note option matrix is actually the necronomicon, isn't it?

 

Thank you Richard & David, for the helpful advice re: K's ...

My music runs the gamut: Baroque orchestral stuff, acoustic folk & jazz, Electronica, Led Zeppelin II. Fairly small room (18' x 15'), with high, sloped ceiling. I don't sit in a sweet spot. Hybrid or solid-state amp(s) for now (Croft or Rega Brio-R).

 

That room isn't that small. You should be able to comfortably run Js or Es in there. I would defer to Warren or to David of course as they earn their living setting up those speakers, but I would be quite surprised if that wasn't enough room.