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

I understand, level matching makes sense in the ANUK universe. As you probably know, AN used a level 5 Meishu at the HiFi Deluxe in Munich. If you asked nicely, they might build a level 4 I Zero amp for you. ;-)

 

I was thinking some people might read this forum who are thinking about owning some AN equipment. so very briefly i wanted to talk about the Tomei and my setup. i do want to publish a review of the tomei online (i guess same way i did for m6 riaa, i.e. here) because there is so little info out there. but for now, whilst it is still in flux, i thought i would keep it brief and also mention the other elements in the system.

The Tomei is a hell of a thing. The whole system is really getting job done right now. the tt3's ability to deliver more never seems to end. new vibration management on psu3 is delivering. can't imagine how the psu4 would go. want to know. i01 cart+s4 has been reviewed many times. it is as great as they say.

black pallas (new one) is so much quieter than the old black pallas. highly recommended. just excellent.

m6 RIAA is hard to pin down for me. i'm not sure what it does. but i've introduced it into my stereo twice (it went away briefly for a service) and both times i experienced total disorientation and joy relative to the extremely good ABBAS RIAA (EL84). there is just a lot more sound and dynamics is the best way to put it maybe but that makes it seem less than it is. the ABBAS seems to spit out a lovely thread. the M6 RIAA has thousands of threads.

also the AN-E speaker (HE Spe, so close to bottom of line), has never failed to communicate all of the other systems changes. with good setup (in my case provided by @finn who is a fastidious expert), the AN-E locks in with the room and speakers utterly disappear. the bass i hear is nuts. it is like my whole room conjures the sound.

last night i pulled out dylan's "blood on the tracks" and i felt like i was at a wonderful art gallery having an experience such as i might have dreamt of five years ago. i could talk about various aspects of the sound but the main thing is it was exciting and fresh and the best i have ever heard it. it's that reviewers cliche we've seen in stereophile review of meishu and also in the tomei kensei review that is quite recent. the sound does not provoke a critique of the sound reproduction. 'cause you don't hear it. you hear the music and that's what you respond to. which aligns me with the recent review of the meishu we saw just a few posts up. in the end the takeaway is the music it reproduces, not some artifact or audible feature of the system.

 

Agreed. I miss mine at times.

 

I have a simple, or maybe not simple question. This is for anyone who has made the comparison. Is the M6. M5 or M3 RIAA vastly superior to the M6, M5 or M3 phono? The PSU looks much the same in the phono and RIAA versions. Would appreciate the opinion of anyone who has compared the M preamps with built in phono to the RIAA versions being used with an M line.

Thanks!

 

If you take a closer look at the insides of M 3-8 Phono and M 3-8 RIAA; the RIAA version is the same as corresponding M phono version, just the line stage removed. (and of course inputs, input switch and volume attenuators)

Here's on the left is the layout of M 3-8, and on the right is what is changed for making a RIAA version out of M 3-8 phono; exactly same line stage board is used for both. In RIAA version the line stage side of it is just left unpopulated. And a what is left I think is a "buffer stage", that's needed between RIAA board and the output transformers.



And below is a simplified drawing of how M 3-8 and M 3-8 RIAA works; the signal amplification side is on the left and all the power stuff on the right. One power rail for RIAA board and one power rail for line stage or in RIAA's case the 'buffer' tube.

 

Quick question for the AN crew:
I bought a relatively new I Zero from eBay recently and it has an intermittent crackling and popping problem in the right channel even with the volume on zero.

Does anyone know if AN services second hand gear? I know it’s not under warranty but hoping I could send it to them to fix.

The cardboard box says it was purchased at Audio Counsel in the UK. Not by me obviously.

In terms of the cracking: Could it be something as simple as a tube not seated correctly from the jostling in transport? Or even just a dying tube? Other than that it sounds great.

 

First try reseating the tubes (just pull them out and push them back into place). That will wipe away corrosion that might make you tube pin connection intermittent. If that doesn’t change things, swap tubes from the left to the right side. If the problem moves to the other channel, you know a tube is bad. If it is a bad tube, you can narrow the candidates by swapping just the small tubes, etc. By this process, you can figure out which tubes need to be replaced. Chances are pretty good that crackling is a tube issue—either a poor connection with one of the pins in the tube or a tube that is bad.

 

But to answer your question Tbokris, yes AN will service it if it comes to that, for a fee.

They’re wonderful to deal with too. I do find, a little surprisingly, that the best way to deal with them is via Facebook Messenger - Martin Grennall is often manning the account, and he is very knowledgeable and friendly.

 

Thanks for the tip on FB

 

Thanks! I will give this a go this eve

 

Pretty sure the I Zero stuff has the soldered in 6111/6112 valves, meaning they cannot be wiggled or reseated. I had the problem in an I Zero phono and DAC. The solution is a new valve but it need soldering in and carefully as heat can damage the valve.

 

The iZero is that series integrated amp running only 4 combined triode/pentode ECL82 valves readily exchangeable.

Henrik

 

Ah yes, sorry didn’t notice it was the amp. Just dived in on the I Zero subject and my experience. Apologies again. As you were…..

 

You're thinking of the R Zero II? Was it a good phono stage? At the moment I bought a used Schiit Mani I just to be up and running, but I was thinking of either getting the R Zero II or the SunVallery EQ1616D. But hard wired tubes seems a bit weird choice no?

 

You would buy the RIAA only if you satisfied 2 criteria, firstly, you are obsessed with reproducing records and secondly, you used something like a Jinro, Tomei or Ongaku or you came late to the vinyl party and already owned a Line pre/power or other line integrated.
As to the benefit, it’s about noise reduction and removal of switching devices. The phono RIAA are very close in construct to the Phono Pre’s so it will sound very similar but better.

 

I would offer a simple answer. In the phono versions, the line stage and RIAA stage share the same power supply, it is less than ideal, it is ideal to provide these stages separate power supply and separate boxes to avoid interference. It is the same kind of difference between integrated amp and seperates

 

@vivling but doesn't the diagram above indicate that this is not the case? so in phono riaa and line stage are powered separately.

the only difference i can see is that the phono has a second stage of amplification (ecc82) that presumably can be manipulated via volume knob whereas the riaa does not have this.

 

Yep, here is for comparison M 3-8 Line version; the other power rail is gone as there is only need to feed power to the tubes of the line stage board. Curiously though there is two power transformers still.

Even that "Galahad" board is slightly different (less parts) in line version, as it needs to handle only one power rail.

 

@JanJ
Thank you for posting the layout diagrams and descriptions of the Phono and RIAA units. It’s very interesting how the power supply configurations differ between the two.

I understand how the RIAA circuit is missing the extra gain stage in its line/buffer board. My question now concerns the controls on the front panel. Do the RIAA models also have similar controls to the Phono and Line models such as input selector and volume control or are they dedicated to phono use only?

 

RIAA models are dedicated to phono use only and have no inputs, selectors or volume controls. Just phono signal in --> equalised amplified signal out.

 

Also, get some Deoxit Gold spay and clean the pins and all input / output connections on the back of the unit with it, very well worth the little cost and time spent on doing this...

 

As per JanJ's response - there are no controls, but they do produce magical results... I know as I'm very fortunate to have one...

 

I only have a maximum depth of 350mm. I zero would fit but not the Cobra...