The Audio Note UK M6 RIAA Phono Stage. One of the best I've ever heard.

In the throes of deciding on an M1 RIAA with a Silvercore SUT or something along the lines of a Parasound JC3+ or Sutherland 20/20... I'm all about emotional connection to the music, so perhaps the AN M1/SUT combo is the path after all.

 

I wish I could, but close to impossible here in Vancouver unfortunately. I'm going to try for the AN UK M1 demo, but even that seems remote. Plus no one keeps 20/20s in stock for demo, ditto the Parasound.

 

It's not easy being an adventurous audiophile in Vancouver.

 

Not that keep 20/20s in stock, and no one carries Parasound here. Ditto for AN UK, I have to make the three+ hour trip to Victoria, and they don't keep much AN gear in stock AFIAK. Perhaps Seattle? I'll have to look into it.

 

Fair enough, I hear you Steve, and thanks for that.
But I'm not really interested in Naim, Clearaudio, or Rega phono stages, which is pretty much all there is to demo in Vancouver unfortunately.
The number of hi-fi shops has shrunk drastically here in the last couple of years.

 

Amen brother.

 

If you want to demo the 20/20 you could contact Angie - maybe she has a demo she'd send to you if you paid the freight:

CANADA
Audiopathways
506- 9251 Yonge Street,
Richmond Hill, Ontario. L4C9T3
Phone; 905-737-5222
Contact; Angie
email: [email protected]

 

Hi Steve,

What cartridge were you using in the comparison of phonostages? Were you using a SUT, if so which one? I hope you get to try the M6 with their very best SUT, it is quite special.

The Audionote phonostages, particularly when used with their best SUT sound very good. The dealer in the Washington D.C. area has sold quite a number of M8 phonostages. I have heard that one in numberous systems. I like the one I own (Viva Fono), so I have not been inclined to get the M8, but it certainly is a contender. This same dealer once had in the M10 phono and the M10 linestage. This is a totally ridiculous system, particular with regard to size (both the phonostage and linestage have two very large power supplies). This dealer still has the three motor Audionote turntable with the three large power supplies (one for each motor) and the large control box. One certainly needs a LOT of money and room for an all out Audionote analogue front end.

I know you are building a quite nice all, or mostly, Audionote system. Will that include an Audionote turntable and cartridge? Have you tried any of their cables? I have started using some of their cabling. I run a four meter pair of Sogon interconnects from my linestage to the amp. I also have a pair of 2 meter Sogon speaker cables. I like their cables a lot -- fast, open and clear sounding without being strident or edgy.

It sounds like you are having a lot of FUN.

 

Just nipping down the shops & buying one of these phono stages along with tonight's dinner!....seriously enjoy the phono stage.

 

Thanks Weirdo, I'll give her ring.
Know anyone who'd be able to let me demo an M1 RIAA/SUT?

Cheers,

–R

 

What is a phone stage and why is it so expensive?

 

Audio Note's top-of-the-line stuff is all pretty expensive, bar a piece here and there.

The phono stage of a pre-amplifier or a stand-alone phono stage reverses the RIAA equalization used in cutting a vinyl record. Some are set up for a standard moving magnet cartridge (47 ohm impedance), some require a step-up transformer for a low-output moving coil cartridge, and some use a variety of other strategies to boost the cartridge's signal (JFET, MosFet, etc.). Some use tubes in the process, some are entirely solid-stage, and some combine the technologies. The end point is to accurately reverse the RIAA equalization to restore the frequencies and amplify the signal without adding (too much) distortion to it.

 

Me or the original fella who asked the question?

 

I'd never really heard much about Audio Note until fairly recently, and now I seem to "see" them all around. One of those "don't notice it until it's pointed out to you" deals. I just read Art Dudley's review of the Jinro, and he says in it that the AN Ongaku was 30,000 pounds sterling back in 1988. Holy frijoles...that makes Shindo gear look downright affordable to us proles!

 

Thanks for the recommendation!