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

Tonight (about 6-7 hrs on the Meishu):
Mahler's 5th Symphony
Mahler / Zemlinski Leider (Anne Sofie Von Otter)
Dvorak 8th & 9th Symphonies
Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade
Edvard Grieg Symphonic Dances / Six Orchestral Songs / Three Orchestral Pieces from Sigurd Jorsalfar

Approximately ± 20 hrs. away from the Event Horizon

 

@Acapella48 Finn is right as always. Just be patient and marvelous things are waiting ahead. If you listen two hours a day on average the amp will reach the first playeau of maturity after 6-10 months and full maturity after 24 months. That's just my experience, and I'm not a pro. All I can say is that with certainty is that you will not be disappointed

 

Guys for my Soro phono SE sig, I’m looking for a penny(coin) type 5881/6L6 tubes. I’m finding it difficult to get any. What were AN thinking when they fixed the coin type tubes in the amp? PQ told me only the original TS’s are short enough to use in the soro but are super expensive!

 

Meishu had to have minor surgery. Stock 5U4GB failed and had to be replaced. My Nottingham Interspace Jr. has now been fitted with a AN Arm Three/II. Maybe later today, I'll spin-up some vinyl.
It's been hot. Thursday when I drove down to pick up my TT, it was 102°F , yesterday it was 106°F and today the forecast is for 109°F

 

Sorry to hear about the hassle. I hope the path will be smooth from now on

 

Wasn't looking forward to lifting/carrying the Meishu but I had gotten some pointer's from Nick before I placed the order and a dry run with the Meishu he had in the shop at the time.
I had to drive down to pick-up my TT anyway, so it was a wash from that perspective. I've been playing vinyl for the last 3 hours of so. Waiting for FedEx to arrive with some ISIS power cables.

 

After demoing some factory ISIS mains cables, and being a little underwhelmed by the ~$7 USD connectors, I was considering building my own mains with ISIS cabling and Furutech copper IEC and male plugs. Interesting to see someone has done this (at least on the male ends). Did you ever compare your custom ISIS to factory ISIS?

 

No, I never compared my Isis power cords with factory-terminated cords. However, I can say I am still 100% happy with my Isis cords which still have the same connectors described in my post. I should add though that all of my amps, preamps and DAC have Furutech Gold IEC inlets. I tried several different types including Furutech’s own Rhodium NCF inlets which you would think would be a synergistic match with the FI-50 NCF plugs, but that wasn’t the case. The Gold inlets are important for achieving a neutral tonal balance.

 

I don't know what connectors AN supply with factory terminated cables but I only use Furutech mains connectors with any of the AN mains leads. The Isis mains sounds very good in all level 3 and lower systems.

 

I tried (EU), the Viborg schuko / IEC pure copper, gold and silver connectors

I went back to the original assembly with the silver plated Schurter connectors which gives me a feeling of liberty in the message (I'm talking about a difference subtle).
In my system the Dac2.1x sig is more to my liking with the stock mains cable, more lively and immediate.

 

Until this thread, I wasn't aware factory ISIS mains cables used silver plated Schurter IEC (I knew they were Schurter...just didn't know about the silver plating). They are available from a couple of UK-based E-Bay sellers.

What male plug is used for US distribution? I think I accidentally deleted my photo of the US plug. Wondering if there is silver plating on those as well.

 

Guy's, I've put in a NOS telefunken ECC82 in my soro and everything has just gone south!

Vocals have receded, very less bass! No detail at all!y level 2 sounds like a radio. Is it the ECC82? Does it need sometime to bed in? Or am I just panicking unnecessarily?

 

I asked that same question on this thread a few thousand posts ago and someone kindly posted some detailed photos of the connectors on his factory-terminated Isis mains cables. The IEC plugs were Martin Kaiser plugs available from Hifi Collective for just a few bucks each. I ordered a few and tried to connect them to one of my Isis cords but I eventually threw the whole bag of plugs in the trash. They just don’t have room inside for a secure connection to 14g wires and a thick power cord jacket. I don’t know how the folks at the factory do it but I can’t believe the connections are as safe and reliable as any of the other IEC plugs I have tried, which include Oyaide, WattGate, Neotech and Furutech. As I have said before, the best sounding of all these IEC plugs to my ears is the Furutech FI-50 NCF and I now use those on all my Isis cables.

As for the AC wall plug, the photos I referred to were of UK cables which use a different type of plug than we use in the US. I don’t know what AN uses for Isis cables sent to the US.

 

If it hasn't seen any action since it left the factory decades ago, then yes--it needs some break-in. Give it 40-50 hours, and if it doesn't sound good by then, then it simply isn't the right tube in your system.

 

I also thought they were "Martin Kaiser" plugs, I ordered a few to mount Belden mains cables, but the plugs fitted to my ISIS Mains are Schurter, the body of the schuko is very similar to the M- K's, while the IEC is not the same at all.

 

Chris, are those photos of the Schurter plugs? If so they certainly look the same as I remember my Martin Kaiser plugs. I just don’t think those little screws are adequate to hold 14g wires securely.

 

The top photo is factory ISIS mains?

If so, I think I may go with my original choice of Furutech Cu. I thought perhaps the factory was using silver-plated connectors.

 

The top plug (with wire mounted) is a Martin Kaiser from Hifi Collective, the bottom one is a Schurter, that of the ISIS Mains.

 

The top photo is not Isis mains cable. It may be a MK plug and the lower image is definitely a Schurter but Isis mains uses a very different insulation around the copper wire.
The slightly unusual thing about the AN mains is the fact it uses non recycled copper which is bright in how it looks and quite stiff, quite the opposite of wire made from recycled copper.

 

I will most definately do that. Give it a couple of weeks and decide. Although, Steve's reply is more worrying to me. I kept thinking that the Mullard would be dull and hence wanted to try the telefunken.

 

Well, now I know. I'll give it a few weeks and then make a decision. Else the brimar or Mullard will go in!

I have the Ecc83 from telefunken too. I'm glad at least that gets a glowing recommendation!

 

I am now making a final decision regarding building some mains cables using ISIS bulk from HiFi Collective. This is somewhat driven from a cost savings perspective versus factory ISIS mains, and also from a perspective of improving upon the cheap factory connectors. I would like to maintain the sound of factory ISIS mains as much as possible.

Presently, my inclination is to use the Schurter IEC with silver plated connectors, to maintain factory spec. I also have some Furutech AC FI-11 IEC Cu connectors I could install.

For the US AC plug, I am undecided. I have some Furutech AC FI-11 Cu male connectors, which are cost effective, and I imagine would sound close to factory as the connectors are pure, un-plated copper.

Or, I can go with something else for the male AC connectors, although I prefer to keep the cost at or below that of factory ISIS cables.

Suggestions?

 

The Furutech FI-11 Cu AC plug is very good. I have one on each of the Isis cables I use with my amps (with FI-50 NCF IEC plugs on the other ends). I compared one of these to another Isis with FI-50 NCF connectors on both ends, and I did not feel there was enough difference to justify the cost of additional FI-50 AC plugs. The FI-11 Cu sounded very similar with nearly as much detail and it actually had a slightly more robust low end.

 

That's a logical thought. Who would ever think that Telefunken made a terrible sounding tube. Very strange there's such a difference between the ECC82 & 83.

I like the Mullard longplate, square-getter. Don't go for short plates, they have the classic dull and woolly sound. Brimars are the tube world's best kept secret.