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

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Richard Austen, Mar 19, 2015.

  1. Fred Hansen

    Fred Hansen Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    I started using philips Bluetooth light bulbs in my listening room and am very pleased because it allows me to adjust the light in the room very easily. Some evenings I want low light, other evenings I need more light so as not to fall asleep.
     
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  2. Footsurg

    Footsurg Forum Resident

    Location:
    Albuquerque

    I use them as well. In addition you can adjust the color temperature.
     
  3. Fred Hansen

    Fred Hansen Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    True!
     
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  4. Gjo

    Gjo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Has anyone ever tried Black Cat Coppertone speaker cables on their AN-E speakers?
     
  5. Litvin

    Litvin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Singapore
    Hello gentlemen! Question to you. I am helping a friend who is showing an interest in AN to set up a great and inexpensive system from used components. Has anyone had any experience with P2SE? It seems to be the least talked about AN unit and potentially the least appreciated, if one judges by the prices in the used market. In a YouTube showroom they had it set with no preamp direct from DAC and into Js (I know this trick won't work with vinyl). Any experiences there? Thank you
     
  6. Chris.p.l

    Chris.p.l Forum Resident

    Location:
    Switzerland
    Hello all,

    The AN-E SPE has been playing on my system for some time.
    I am very happy with the musicality of the whole.
    I am fortunate to have kept my AN-J LX Hemp and put them back in place now that I have a good idea of what AN-E SPE looks like in my environment.
    The AN-E are more generous, but the midrange of the AN-J is more "fair" to my ear, I understand better the musical intention.
    I also think that Driver Hemp offers greater consistency, readability and speed in the sensitive part of the bandwidth.
    So I decided to order a pair of AN-E SPE HE to continue my incredible adventure at Audio Note :)
     
    jonwoody, Footsurg, Encore and 4 others like this.
  7. JeroenPaco

    JeroenPaco Well-Known Member

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Hi, we here would you place the Border Patrol DAC compared to the “lower end” AN DACs? 0.1? (Same price) 1.1? Or is it something of different strengths? And what are they? (If you know) Thank you.
     
  8. rufusblues

    rufusblues Forum Resident

    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    I have no experience with any of the Audio Note dacs except for my 2.1x Signature model. I can say that the Border Patrol compares very favorably with the 2.1x so one would assume the BP dac would not be outclassed by the "lower end" AN dacs, and I wouldn't be surprised if it were at least comparable to them. But, that is just conjecture on my part. Maybe someone who has experience with both the BP dac and the ones you refer to can chime in.
     
  9. Gjo

    Gjo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Hello all...I was reading through some past threads and was re-acquainted with SoundCare Super Spikes as an alternative to footers/cones/springs.

    Is anyone presently using these on AN stands? Has anyone previously used them and replaced them with something they believe is better?

    If you use or have used them, on what flooring surface material are they installed.

    My floor has sisal carpeting.
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2021
    Andy Saunders likes this.
  10. Footsurg

    Footsurg Forum Resident

    Location:
    Albuquerque

    I have never used the Sound Care spikes before. I using the spikes built into the AN factory stands that are shot and sand filled. I have however, experimented with changing those spikes to cones and I've also tried cones and spikes inside of cups. What I discovered was that if you lose the physical contact of the spikes directly onto the concrete slab beneath, the LF extension suffers greatly. So if you have sisal carpet, I would advise using a spike that is deep enough and sharp enough to punch through the carpet and rest on the slab or subfloor beneath the carpet.
     
    Joe Spivey, J.Uotila and NapaBob like this.
  11. Encore

    Encore Forum Resident

    I haven't used them with my AN speakers, but they did wonders under the Verity Fidelio speakers I had in my previous apartment. When I moved to my current apartment, they didn't seem to have the same effect, although the floors should be rather similar (ca. 100 y old wooden floors, I think 'suspended' is the correct term).

    This goes to show how difficult it is to generalize, especially with speakers and their interaction with the room. However, I would say that the classic Soundcare Superspikes aren't designed to be used on carpeted floors.

    I am currently using Townshend speaker bars under my AN speakers and their stands. The Towshend bars cleared things up, e.g. by making the words in songs more intelligible. Although they maybe also removed some of the meaty sound of the speakers. At some point, I'll try to go back to the AN spikes.
     
    Gjo likes this.
  12. Gjo

    Gjo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Initially, I used the supplied AN spikes with the AN stands (filled with purified, dried play sand).

    Presently, I have the AN stands on Townshend Audio platforms.
     
  13. Gjo

    Gjo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I would concur.

    The reason I'm re-visiting this issue is that I recently removed the AN-E+AN stands from the Townshend platforms, and temporarily placed the AN stands directly on the floor (without spikes). I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the sound...meaty would be a good adjective. I should add that I enjoyed the sound of the AN-E on Townshend platforms as well, but now I'm thinking that I simply prefer the more romantic tone without the platforms.
     
    Encore likes this.
  14. Richard Austen

    Richard Austen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hong Kong
    An interesting video on the AN E measurements and why SS is particularly bad with the AN E speaker and why good iron in a tube amp matters a lot for the AN E with regards to bass.



    Art Dudley bought em not JA - is the corrections
     
    Last edited: May 4, 2021
    spartree, Kimiimacman, Litvin and 5 others like this.
  15. Gjo

    Gjo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Thank you for posting that excellent video, Richard! I think I may have learned more about understanding a loudspeaker impedance graph than I have in many, many years (including carefully reading Harley's book).

    I have used that exact graph multiple times when discussing amplifier offerings with various manufacturers. I imagine many of us have done so.
     
    Last edited: May 4, 2021
    Richard Austen likes this.
  16. Andy Saunders

    Andy Saunders Always a pleasure never a chore

    Location:
    England
    l use the Soundcare SuperSpikes under my ANK stands, which float on Townsend Audio Podiums, and will not be looking to replace them- they just work great and, if you have a timber floor they make moving your speakers easy, and should work well on Sisal carpeting.:)
     
    Andrew Mackay likes this.
  17. Encore

    Encore Forum Resident

    I should say that I had the Townshend speaker bars before I got the AN-E speakers. I bought them for my previous speaker, Verity Parsifal, but never got them to work with those speakers because their uneven weight distribution didn't work with the Townshends.

    I got the Townshends on sale but even on sale, they were not cheap. So I decided to try them under the Es, and while they made a difference, it wasn't huge, so not worth the money if hadn't had them already. But that may be very different in a different room and/or with different speakers, so I'm not knocking them.
     
  18. Gjo

    Gjo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Once again, I concur.

    I am also not knocking the Townshend Platforms.

    We all hear differently and evaluate value differently. In general, I perceive improvements in lower percentages rather than "jaw dropping"/"huge"/"like a new component". For those who perceive changes more prominently as in the second example, I respect that as well. As I said, we all hear/perceive differently.
     
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  19. Gjo

    Gjo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Does there exist anywhere a breakdown of effective wire gauge for the Audio Note speaker wire? I have no idea how 16 strands versus 96 strands relates to effective wire gauge.
     
  20. Salectric

    Salectric Senior Member

    Location:
    Maryland
    I am not aware of any such chart. You could calculate the effective gauge using the cross-sectional area of each strand, which I have seen before, multiplying that number times the number of strands, and then using an online calculator to convert area to gauge.

    Frankly, I wouldn’t bother with that because the bass quality of AN cables is not related to gauge as much as one might assume. For example, SPx speaker cable has superb bass—tight, detailed, deep, powerful. Yet, even with its outer housing, it is thinner than many interconnects!
     
  21. Gjo

    Gjo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Thanks for the tip.

    Some web searching returned the following sites that provide the info required to determine AN speaker wire gauge.
    Wires, Cables & Sleeving | Hifi Collective
    Wire Size Calculator
    Wire Combination Calculator
     
    Lowrider75 likes this.
  22. Don Parkhurst

    Don Parkhurst Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    This is a good question and a very good answer. I have been using AN gear for the last 7-8 years. I feel that I can also add to an excellent response by adding that my Kassai mono blocks were close to 10 years old when I bought them. I had a certified AN technician check every parameter and replace all resistors and capacitors that showed any sign of age, including the oil caps that were mentioned above. They are incredibly reliable. I have never had even one issue with them in the last five ears and the reissue WE 300B tubes have been bullet-proof.

    I also ran across a CDT-3/DAC 4.1/X Balanced Signature combo that was about ten years old at the same time (expensive phase of my HiFi hobby!). After some resistors and capacitors were replaced (not many), my new digital setup worked like new. The only issue that I have ever had was that the transport needed to be replaced at some point. It works like new and sounds fabulous. Almost analog like : )

    It isn’t perfect, but I do feel that the Audio Note philosophy is to build something that lasts at least twenty years.

    I am very happy with my system and feel that my system now sounds better than ever. Some minor tweaking through tube rolling always makes the sound more or less what you are looking for and it’s fun to do!

    Of course, not everyone has had the opportunity to move up several levels at once, but I wasn’t concerned about the age of the components because they are built to last for many years. I was nervous about that before but not now.

    I hope this opinion helps and doesn’t just use up bandwidth ; )

    Don
     
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  23. Litvin

    Litvin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Singapore
    As someone who is a recently joined reader of Jeff's I bumped into this and am laughing out loud! Well observed, in this and the previous comment. To Jeff's credit, I find his macro thinking very valuable. For example, classification of audiophiles into the two groups, one focused on music and the other on the sound, not necessarily musically informed. Or his observation about a scientific thought process, and the attempt to create a new relevant vocabulary for the audio. Unfortunately, this is indeed diluted in his tendency to get enamored, as someone here said, his latest love de jour. Dielund was one, now Peter Qvortrup is elevated to the demigod status. I also admire Peter, but a reviewer needs to control his passions a bit! Duty to the public, IMHO.

    To me, Wojciech Pakula (with no small help from literary quality translation by Andrzej Dziadowiec), sets the standard. Literary, personal, but structured, and on point, both technologically and emotionally.
     
  24. Clay B

    Clay B Forum Resident

    Litvin

    Agree with you 100 percent regarding Wojciech Pakula.
     
    Litvin likes this.
  25. Salectric

    Salectric Senior Member

    Location:
    Maryland
    Litvin, you have quite a nice Audio Note system. Can you post some photos?
     
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