Strictly for fans of Audio Note UK (all things Audio Note UK)

The late (and greatly missed) Warren Jarrett spoke very highly of the combination of the OTO Phono SE Signature with Fritz Carrera BE stand-mounts. I believe there is a post from Warren about this combination over on an Audiogon discussion forum. I would give great weight to any recommendation from Warren; he had one of the best set of ears I have ever encountered in this hobby.

Good luck with your new OTO. Enjoy!

--David B.

 

I also own the oto phono se sig and love the amp!

I know you didn’t want AN suggestions but reading what you are looking for I have to chime in and concur with Andrew M that AN K is a stellar combination. Due to world circumstances I could not stretch further than the K Lx but it really is a dream combination for me. I would only consider a larger construction (and not closed cabinet) if we move and I need to fill a bigger room than current 25 square meters.

 

Andrew M. and Tourswede,

Your suggestions have me intrigued further. If you don't mind, can you tell me or describe the presentation of your OTO's via the AN K pairings?

 

no ... but i can tell you the swarm subwoofers AK does are just incredible. im a huge bass fanatic and in the right room with the right speakers it is incredible what that sub system will do. the duke speakers look cool ... but then again, anything hooked up to an OTO will sound great!

 

I have been using 5 subs in a distributed bass system for 2 years with a set of Klang & Ton NADA speakers . Yes it is incredible .With my Ben Jacoby modified AN DAC 3.1x my system rocks out

 

Geez! - I was under the assumption that if you're watching a thread on this forum that you would receive an alert whenever someone posted to that thread. Obviously not the way it works but now I'm a bit confused.
I should have known better than to think that this thread had gone totally quiet. I haven't seen an alert for this thread since late December - but I get all kinds of alerts for other threads that I'm not watching. What's up with that?

 

I know what you mean my two fave threads are this and system pics and sometimes I never get alerts for them. So I always make sure to check my watched threads to make keep up.

 

yeah ... sounds like it. and yeah, Ben is one of the best for sure.

 

My experience of the OTO/K pairing is that it works best for near-field listening, up to 12 feet, say from your listening position. No more. It goes plenty loud in this environment, more than you'll ever need, but it wasn't designed for a Saturday Night Fever disco (showing my age). With near field listening, you'll get head-turning levels of detail, a gorgeous silvery sheen over your music plus bass a-plenty. I've never been tempted to consider a sub-woofer. The best recommendation I can give you is that I sold my OTO Phono SE Sig two years ago (to put towards our move to France) - and regretted that decision because I don't think I had given it enough of a chance - so what have I just done? Bought another OTO, a Line SE Sig through a UK dealer. If you're still deliberating, I would advise you go to your AN dealer, audition the K-SPe or - and your budget will just about stand it - the top-of-the-range SPx (Peter Qvortrup, the founder and AN UK apparently has a pair of these in his bedroom) v the more efficient hemp-coned J range, and see where it takes you. Only your ears matter - good luck with it.

 

Congrats on the new amp!

 

Pair the Oto with the Es. I've had the Ks and the Js and feel that the Es set the music free

 

Hi, I have the Node 2i into the AN DAC 0.1 Really happy with it (within my budget). My dealer advised me to get a tube buffer after the DAC. He is an AN dealer used to really expensive high end stuff, but had this Chinese Yaqin CD-2. See this thread about it. I bought it and after 3 weeks it arrived: more space and rest/peace. And really nice that you can do some cheap tuberolling with it. I settled for the Mullard 8100 tubes. Happy with this fairly cheap upgrade.

DAC 0.1: I would be interested in a comparison with the Border Patrol DAC.

 

Just to avoid any confusion it may be worth pointing out that 12ft is not nearfield.

 

I feel like I was battling low end for many years. Always moving speakers around, trying new turntable carts etc. When I finally got to demo some Ks in my apartment all that went away. I never wanted to get in to heavy room treatment as I don't think it looks very nice. Compromises eh! But the K's cleaned all that low end irritation up. Quite forward presentation, Faster and more dynamic compared to my previous harder-to-drive bookshelf speakers. Superb dynamics at low listening levels (a strong point for me).

As has been mentioned before they are not bombastic or large in ways other speakers can be but for me the most musical I've had, for sure. For me the musicality and fun outweighs most other things it seems. I realise I'm not analysing music or the sound as much as I did before. We sit roughly 10 feet from either speakers. I can definitely see how a bigger room (or a room better suited for low end) could benefit from a larger speaker but at the moment I'm enjoying not being on the never-ending search to correct things I don't like.

 

Yup, thanks for the clarification. In my experience, the OTO/K pairing works best up to 12 feet but, in my case, I tend to listen about 8 feet away which may be classified as near-field.

 

Which K's do you have exactly?

 

I have the K Lx, with the Lexus speaker cables.

 

I feel like the Ks, more so than Js or Es, have an addictive quality due to the sealed box design. That super quickness is just really delightful I ultimately went with Js for a bit more body and sensitivity, but could have easily bought and loved Ks.

 

So, I am definitely a fan of Audionote, but reading many of the commentaries, my set-up is not nearly as sophisticated. I have been following with special interest the conversations on cables and I would like to make sure I am not missing out on a big opportunity to improve the sound. With this in mind, I have two specific questions.

My setup is for all intent and purpose for vinyl and I have an AN TT3 connected by the cables provided with it to the OTO PHONO SE. Should I consider upgrading these cables or leave it alone?

I have been reading a lot of conversation that " cleaning up the electricity" would have a direct positive bearing on the quality of sound. Should I consider investing in something like a PS P300 or would I be wasting my money?

Thank you.

 

On the subject of power conditioning since I am also in DC where I am downtown the power is pretty dirty. I run my amp straight off a variac and the rest of my components off a power conditioner, an older ExactPower unit. It makes a very noticeable improvement in noise reduction and no noticeable diminution of dynamics I perceive. I've never heard nor can comment on the PS Audio unit, or the quality of power in Miami.

 

I received my second hand/dealer demo Audio Note Dac 2.1X Signature several days ago. I have been allowing the new NOS tubes purchased for it to settle in. It sounds quite nice. It completes my all Audio Note system that I have been putting together piece by piece over the last several months. I didn't intend for the completion to happen so quickly, but some of this stuff came up used and at reasonable prices, which is something that doesn't happen very often with the Audio Note gear I was interested in. The AN Dac replaces my Border Patrol, which I had just purchased a couple months ago, figuring it would be a good fit in the Audio Note system. It was the second time I purchased a BP dac, so I was already familiar with how wonderful it sounds. It did not disappoint; in fact, it bares a 'family' resemblance to the Audio Note 2.1x Sig. Dac, which makes sense since it was designed with somewhat similar technicalities. The Audio Note dac steps it up several notches, which should be the case since a new one costs just shy of around four times what my BP dac cost! I can honestly say that if I hadn't chanced upon the Audio Note dac, I would have continued to be very happy with the BP. But, now the system is complete, and I figure there are some complementary aspects to all the pieces fitting together, including cabling. My practically new Border Patrol (SPDIF) dac is for sale, as I cannot justify keeping both dacs, and have just the one system to work with.

 

The Audionote set-up is in DC - because of 5.1 home theater needs I am running a set up with an AVR in Miami.
Did not realize that DC - AC power is quite dirty - thanks.

 

Oops! I may have miscalculated the cost differential between my Border Patrol dac and the Audio Note 2.1x Signature dac. Put another way, the SPDIF Border Patrol dac I have costs $1425, and I was told that a new Audio Note 2.1x Signature has gone up from $5,000 to around $5,500 due to price increases, but not sure about that figure.

 

Doesn’t your TT3 have AN-Vx cables from the tonearm? If so, no need to replace them. They are very high quality.

 

i received the Connex “The Natural One” ( i love the names of this stuff). i will get things put together and run in. interesting for sure ...