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

@Gjo fair point regarding apples and apples. i think i was trying to convey to our friend @Dewie that re: digital, even with such modest components as i suggested, sound quality good enough (more than) to enjoy Audio Note gear would result. So in a way it was a complement to digital really. i absolutely agree that my modest system suggestion can be improved on (speaking of which review of CH C1.2 in stereophile makes it sound very much like digital is miles ahead of when i last took a sip.

The fact is that my digital system is like 5% cost of vinyl and i think it sounds pretty good by comparison (not 1/20th that is for sure). although as i write this i think of your point (@Gjo ) about not knowing where sound comes from with some setups and in truth i guess one of the reasons digital sounds good on my system is i have a bunch of $ spent on power stuff. (@Dewie you can measure power noise. if your power is noisy then cleaning that up will have big benefits. i think this varies but i had like radio signal on my power lines.

@Atle Rovik yes the dealer indeed. be interested to hear what you think of the tt3. at some stage if you were of a mind to do so, it would be interesting to see what you think of the sound with the three motor covers removed. also may i ask what cart and do you run a SUT? i wish i could hear your setup with the phono input to the Jinro just for a compare and contrast with my RIAA approach.

@John Mee it is v cruel of you to talk about the PSU4 as i was just starting to feel smug about my vinyl setup. i seem to recall you indicated it was a very large improvement over the PSU3. also may i ask you a question if not too personal - have you tried TT3 with motor covers off?

 

The affect of clean power cannot be understated. From panel to components.

Low noise floor is crucial to bringing music to life.

 

@SetANE, I haven't tried it with the motor covers off. I spend what little time I have fooling with the positioning, since we moved and I got the new rack. The move also messed with the speakers, so I had to pull the woofers to have them re-foamed and one tweeter to Nick to be fixed. Now, I just sit back and ejoh=y it when I can.

Never fear about that PSU3, it is VERY good, and if I hadn't had the system I do and experienced the move from the 2 to the 3, I might not have been willing to spend the bucks on the 4. The downside is that there is no tradein like there used to be. This means that I am to the proud owner of both the 4 AND the 3, given that there isn't much of a resale mrket for a PSU3.

 

Yes. The M3 have an upgraded phono board (M6-standard), M5-standard output transformers and power supply with Black Gate WKz’s, amongst other things. In addition the line board has been changed to a board driving the transformers (not sure what it is called). The volume and input controls have been bypassed. So this is no longer an M3 Phono, it is a RIAA. Almost an M6 RIAA

 

I will try my very best! The fact that you cannot upgrade only the PSU, but would need to change both player and PSU, helps. Does anybody know if this still applies? And, of course a dangerous question, but how much is the price difference between 3 and 4?

 

Thank you. The shelf is from SolidSteel WS-5 | Turntable Wall-Shelf Equipment and it is 48 cm deep. The power connector is making it a bit too shallow, so my dealer will help me try to get an angled connector. When we do, the shelf will fit perfect! It matches the TT-Three and the other AN-components so very well.

Here you can see the fit better:

 

@SetANE I have not tried without the motor covers - yet. It’s only been two days! But I have been reading about your experience with great interest, and I am most definitely going to try at some point, soon. What makes me a bit skeptical, is the fact that the motors already make more noise than from my TT2. It does not bother me, but I could not hear them at all from my TT2.
My pickup is IO II and the S8 sut. As explained above, the M3 is now a RIAA at approx M6 level.

 

Btw, I’ll have the TT2 Deluxe with TTPSU up for sale shortly, should anyone be interested.

 

It’s possible for a dealer to purchase a TT3 without a specific power supply and so supply another customer with a perfectly functioning slightly used PSU3 at suitable rate and not have customers with multiple power supplies on hand. Just need to find a buyer for a new TT3 and a secondhand power supply, can’t be that hard.
unless new customer reads these pages and also decides they want the PSU 4 as well and then my well thought out scenario sinks to the murky depths.
As for the angle plug idea for the suspended wall shelf, it may be easier to get a 15mm piece of rock maple cut to size to sit between the wall bracket and wall and simply purchase longer screws to compensate for the extra 15 mm timber spacer in place.
Just an alternative thought.

 

They shouldn’t. You should contact your dealer about this. The same reason why I don’t have my TT3 yet – noise on motors. Newer models have this issue and I believe AN has fix for this now.

 

That’s my plan B, @finn Hoping not having to.

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Strange, @richidi, since my dealer set it up, and listened specifically to the noise. Do you have more information regarding this?

 

unfortunately (for your budget), you do not need to swap out the player. The PSUs are all dropin replacements for each other. According to the last time I saw prices, the 3 was about 10k and the 4 was about 14+ (US prices), so about 40% more

 

What they want to use are AN specific bearings but unfortunately at some point they got off the shelf bearings which are not good – is what I know. It’s possible that the noise is affecting the sound quality of the player. Probably best if you figure that out with AN/dealer using the serial number of the TT. I have not listened closely the motors of TT3 so don’t know how silent they should be, others can confirm.

I have heard stories of multiple motor changes of TT3s. Hopefully the issue has been now figured out and fixed.

 

For those of you familiar with adjusting the AN-arms, how do you approach adjusting the anti skating?

 

Has anyone tried twisting together their Audio Note silver speaker cables? And if so how did the twisting affect the sound?

 

I tried and adopted this solution for the 3m Biwire AN-SPE, I think the result is calmer and quieter.
However, I tried to twist the 1m AN-V interconnect and the result seemed to lose consistency...

 

Interesting, this is something I've been about to ask other TT3 owners about, as my TT3 has had noisy motors from the get go.
At first I did not pay much attention to the whirring noise they generate (I like to listen quite loud most of the time), but later on have thought that maybe it is not a "feature" of having three motor assembly, but maybe a defect. (My TT1 DLX motor was absolutely noiseless mind you.)

Gonna have a chat with my dealer/AN about the motor noise.

 

If you are asking about the mechanism, the location of the mechanism can be found at https://www.audionote.co.uk/_files/ugd/3e7c3b_487dbe8bec9548bb9891f875c8d198ce.pdf

If you are asking what setting, I have removed the little counterweight completely which pretty much disables anti-skate (I suppose there is some residual force from the mass of the block that the counterweight attaches to...)

 

getting involved in feelings for a PSU4 is not on imo as then i could also start thinking about how the arm3 might be improved. also the tt3 is an item of near perfection and thus any talk of improvement seems incongruous. i am better to upgrade my cart and SUT so i can get on @Atle Rovik's level

i can hear my tt3 motors when i am up close i guess. but only as a very quiet soft mechanical whirring. and certainly not when playing music. i did think there was an enormous difference (and improvement) without motor covers but must admit as time goes on i lose confidence that this is the case.

@JanJ have you tried taking covers off?

would AN not have tried twisting speaker cables or do you think they'd be averse to it as i presume it could become expensive.

 

Thanks, @John Mee. I was asking about the setting, and how others use the mechanism to minimize the sibilants. The mechanism is confusing me. I feel there is no noticeable difference whatever way I move it. I heard this other user having the counterweight split in two. And you report removing it all together. Maybe this is not a very good design. I will try to remove the counterweight.

 

This would also describe how I perceive the motor noise.

 

Yes, soft mechanical whirring, but when music is not playing, I can hear it from my listening position 3m/1oft away. Faintly for sure, at that distance, but still, it's there.

 

Hi

How are those that stream & utilise CD transport within their systems coping with swapping out connections to their DAC? I gave up swapping cables and now concentrate on streaming which I feel could be a mistake (sold my transport). I’m happy with the sound but have experienced some streaming issues with Roon (suffer from clicks & pops - well documented issue as are the remedy’s - usually indicate that some processor somewhere in the chain isn't keeping up – packets are being dropped?).

Seems to be fixed now and looks to be caused by Roons latest upgrade. I’m guessing my rather lack of computer savvy contributes to the issue! I’ll discuss more on this in the streaming thread.

 

I use spdif from the CD-transport to the DAC and for streaming USB from laptop t0 the DAC. But it's obviously not an AN DAC.

 

I removed the covers from my TT3 motors not long after purchasing it. In fact I mentioned on here months back. There was a definite improvement in sq. Then like you @SetANE I began to doubt myself so I reinstalled them and left them on for a while. I once again removed them and the improvement was back, so they have remained safe in a drawer. They won't be going back on.