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

I concur, having spent quite a bit of time at Nick's and when they were in the demo system at the first Ca audio show in Oakland. I only wish I could afford them...

 

I have my fingers in my ears. Please stop talking about Sootto mains...

 

Who is this Nic? Is he from Bolivia?

Does he also sell “used” Ferraris?

 

Nick is "True Sound", in Campbell (near Neli and Mike) and he is one of two factory service centers for AN (among other companies, such as Riga).

 

We both know how dangerous it is to talk to Nick and Lee

 

Oh, Nick. Yes I know Nick. He’s a dealer, but not my “dealer”. He has serviced several of my components, though.

It was this Bolivian dealer, Nic, about whom I was uncertain.

I’d like to have some of the bank account balances of a few of you. Feel free to PM PIN numbers.

This is clearly a club to which I do not qualify for full membership, but it’s fun to read of your adventures.

 

I think you misunderstand. After meeting with Nick, it is HAD, not have
In all seriousness, it is about how much you enjoy your system, not how much you spend.

 

My mistake, I thought he was “your man” but now I’m reliably informed I shall not Mention him again when referring to your options for supply.
As for a club, no clue about that, I’ve paid some significant figures into certain bank accounts and I’ve had free drinks in dodgy pubs and front living rooms in Hove but no secret handshake yet and certainly no whack jobs on the side to earn my stripes.

 

Toooo late, genie is out of the bottle……

 

Thanks guys for having "persuaded" me to take the plunge an' buy Gaia IIs for my swandfilled original Type K-stands with your useful comments on this thread.
Originally feeling a little sceptical.
Would they impair speed, dynamics and perhaps even remove bass.
Bass, from the Ks - if challenged at all, thus would be it.
I needn't have worried.
Having completed assembly today all I can say; if you haven't already leapt for an octet of what ever model suit your needs. This must be one of our hobby's easiest recommendations. Even mandatory.
Although not exactly making the cut as stocking fillings - and with Christmas passed by some two months. The price of admissions seems a no-issue in the greater scheme of things.

The Gaia's are crazy good. Brilliant in fact.
Of removing resonances - not only confined to the bass. But by cleaning up the entire freq.spectrum - taking the strain out of any tension build up over frequencies all the way up. For instance tightly hard strung playing on an acoustic guitar, that all to often can excite resonances even though centered higher up in frequency has vanished.
Making for the most clean music delivery I've ever heard.
This without taking anything away imbedded in the program material (☆).
So in order not to short changing you with removing any of your systems exhilarating excitement. On the contrary.
You rightfully get the feeling you'll be able to crank the volume even further up that what you're used to. Without fear of suddenly having to dive for the vol.control
Sorry if overlapping what others may have been writing. Just wanting to chime in with my take on the Gaia IIs. In order to further help removing any doubts others may still have. Feeling you're sorely missing out, if you haven't already taken the plunge - or having planned on getting some of these for yourself soon.
If enough independant views come to more or less the exact same conclusion, you as a buyer is far better off than reading some pro reviewers take on a product he might even have been given for free (strings attached!)
Why I have a soft spot for Mikey Fremer, when he in his video footage states - going through his set up: "This I own. I actually payed real money for it"... and that piece of equipment...
Listening to the cd I have just referred to in another post: The Proprius HD CD "Live is Life" featuring swedish saxophonist Arne Domnerus, and recorded with a set of highly special large membrane omni mics to render the acoustics wildly 3-D (wish every live event were captured with these mics) - in a wholly natural way, is downright scary to listen to, Gaia IIs implemented.
That crazy layering of the sound stage!
Which do not restrict itself streching deep backwards.
Nope.
It reaches so far forward now, as to hear all kinds of hitherto "burried in resonances" small spatiel cues right were I sit and even behind. As if this recording were made with some kind of Q-technique - or what it's been dubbed.
(Has to be heard! - to be believed)
The Gaias apparently removing so much hash to uncover a wealth of tiny infomation being obscured before.
This surprisingly effective uncovering, further has the bonus of removing so much vibration and resonances in the speaker boxes as to further disguise where the speakers are positioned by wildly opening up the sonic landscape. Making my Type K's astonishibgly more free and open sounding to completely disappear

 

Something happened to my post as to skip small corrections that I made - besides the disclaimer marked with the (☆)

So hear goes:
Sometimes wild outburst in the bass can come over a bit reduced, after installing the Gaias. Which may conclude that part of this impressive almost physical experience to a certain extent comes from other things being excited (besides me!) in the room, giving their (unwanted) contributions to the program material.

 

Hi Andrew!
You ask me if the upgrades mentioned in my posts could be undertaken by a competent engineer? Well:
The things outlined for the AX TWO I'm sure he could.
At least AN or your local dealer could upgrade the speaker wiring - but perhaps not the rest.

The K's (as are the E and Js) are so very special and highly complicated to get right, I would not recommend you embark on it yourself with the help of a non-AN techie.
You'll have to discuss it with your AN dealer.
But the common wisdom says it's normally only the internal speaker wire that can be succesfully upgraded without running the risk of ruining the very precise calibrations done to the crossover networks.
Which in the end is reponsible for the high price you payed for your AN speakers.
Henrik

 

collectively we must hide ourselves away from the horror that expensive power cords do make a difference. block out that spending small car money on IEC cables is possibly rational. at least we are saved from the neverending treadmill of fomo generated by companies like stage 3 concepts which offer cords that cost as much as a Jinro.

Stage III Concepts Poseidon - Nirvana Sound

here is a cross-section of the Kraken which was reviewed next to Sootto by Fred Crowder when he reviewed the M10 and s9. this is his review of the kraken Stage III Kraken Power Cable & HB Cable Design Marble PowerSlave Power Distributor Review



Fred found Sootoo and Kraken to be around about a tie i think although he used the kraken in the rest of his testing and seemed to prefer it slightly.

instead we could focus on the good news Brother @rappaport has brought us regarding the possibility of copper being a positive addition for speaker cables and or ICs in various situations. i myself can attest to the power of ISIS speaker cable. i had a single strand of ISIS lent to me by my dealer. it was phenomenal! huge earth shaking dynamics. fun fun fun! big tangible music with solidity and mass. wonderful stuff. i can well imagine never quite forgetting how good my approx level 3 system sounded with ISIS speaker cable. and i mention the level because i think it is the case that more expensive speaker cable on that system did not necessarily sound more enjoyable than the ISIS. the more expensive speaker cable came into its own when other stuff improved (for example M6 RIAA instead of ABBAS EL84 RIAA, pallas phono IC instead of silverfi R3 and S4 instead of S3).

 

Thanks ever so much Jan! Appreciated!
I've been a little hesitant over the years, while following up on all the wonderful products that has come out, if I should chime in. Old war stories... and the like ..
Afraid of boring readers.
There are so much to tell - so many sweet and funy anecdotes, that Peter even if he wanted, is far to busy to share.
I get dizzy from seeing that; what we shared in the ol' days in a tiny, highly specialized shop in Cph. have evolved into.
It's quite unique. Unfathomable actually.
I'll see whenever the next situation calls for a stroll down memory lane
Cheers Henrik

 

See the reply I gave Andrew
Cheers Henrik

 

I'm a little saddened to see, what I wrote be taken in such a wrong way.

Seeing how many that actually springs for a Tonemeister, Jinro, M6, Dac 4 and 5s - the likes of which I'll probably never be in position to acquire - and hearing how a single string of the SOOTO feeding my - by the AN yardstick

 

...my most humble Cobra and the rest of my system were taken places, not even some of the costlies amps would bring me. Changing my entire mindset. To a degree that I'd opt for something like a Sogon mains cable before even thinking of upgrading my current even humbler R Zero II !
However crazy and hard to grasp this may seem, that's what the SOOTO teached me.
And for fear of repeating myself;
If a piece of otherworldly - albeit pricey - mains cable can bring you things, not even a Jinro, Tomei - not to mention the Ongaku - can not even bring you all of - that's news in my book - and more than worthy of both mentioning - and contemplating before making the next "box swap".
As to the salty remarks of perhaps not having - or be willing to shell out this kind of cash;
Although perhaps never again being in a position to own the very best - as you could on a normal salary round 1980.
I'm not being envious of those who can afford this luxuary today.
Same with our semidetached house 150 meters from the sea, while strolling by the seaside looking at all the beautyful houses perched high on a hill overlooking the fiord. It can make me very happy for the people having the good fortune to live like that.
But maybe it's just all me being crazy.
Dunno?

 

I don't see any mentioning of the system used. (Or perhaps I scrolled by to fast for comfort)
Anyways;
If splitting hairs between different brands of hi-end cable the tiny differences and preference for the Kraken might have come down to it (perhaps?) being feeding other than a full AN chain?
The SOOTTO being made to meet and fit in with the sound ethos of AN products. Forming a synergy effect far outperforming what could be obtained with both AN products put into action in seperate non-AN systems.
I can attest to not reaching quite all of the same benefits, and exhaulted heights with my SOOTTO feeding amps of other brands.

 

It's reactions like this, having me hesitate and shy away from taking part in this and any other AN related threads online -
Although having followed Steve's various threads with interest through the years.
Having been met elsewhere with all manner - let's just suffice to call them; "frustrations"
To make me give up on supplying what ever info, advice etc. I have on offer after 54 yrs with audio that might be of interest.
I'd be rather sad if forced to make that decision again.

 

Without knowing of your past experiences on forums over the years, I can say and have invited many clients to read this thread in order to gain knowledge and history given generously by thread contributors without ego and with honesty behind each and every post. Very rarely does one feel the sense of community that is displayed over and over again by the many participants who write of their journey and equipment and frustrations and there is always an answer to be offered and experiences to be put forward and received without derision so please consider this thread a community as it is certainly not a club.
Aside from that, I’ve watched plenty of Netflix and not once have I seen a Viking pick up his axe and go back home. It ain’t in the DNA.... just saying.

 

Please don’t. Your experience and enthusiasm is a pleasure to read.

My attempts at humor, and in this particular case self-deprecating humor, don’t always land. It’s an inherent risk of posting in an internationally read forum. Regardless, I keep throwing spaghetti at the wall hoping some sticks. The recent batch landed on the floor.

My apology to you @rappaport for offending.

 

I for one didn't experience any ill will in the humor that was shared. I was thinking of posting a humorous entry myself. The point is well taken though that this being an internationally read forum, there may be differences in how humor might land, let alone differences in how we hear it given each ones' own sense of humor, which can be so subjective. It's one of the downsides as well of social media in general, so easy to be misunderstood. But I will say that I actually appreciate the humor that is displayed at times on this forum. It's always been in good jest. Bryan at times makes me almost laugh out loud with his humorous comments. Speaking just for myself, this hobby can be taken so seriously at times, it's a relief to be able to have a chuckle now and again, as long as it's not at someone else's expense; and I've not experienced that to be the case.

 

Well, there is more to be had if you use Isoacoustic Orea's under pieces of equipment. I would also imagine you could get a simlar effect to Orea's under the equipment with Gais's under equipment stands?

You could even be tempted by both - Gaia's under the stands and then Orea's under the individual pieces of equipment, it's certainly crossed my mind, gulp...

 

Townshend Audio Pods are another option. Some folks believe they’re even more effective than Orea’s. I have not tried either.

I have tried Townshend speaker podiums, and I presently use Gaia II.

Townshend Audio is in England…if that matters to anyone here.

 

Thanks, wasn't aware of the Townsend's, and yes, there is also Stillpoints, which i know have really great reputation and in fact I have an IG acquaintance with a high-end AN based system that swears by them.

There are two main things I like Isoacoustics - I personally think they fit into a system better from an aesthetic point of view (and I even camouflage mine ;-)) - my system has to have 'WAF' as it sits in the main room of the house. I do also like things to look 'right' (eye of the beholder and all that). I think the others, particularly the Townsends are a little more obvious to the eye.

And the other thing is value for money... I'm definitely not saying the other solutions are not good at what they do, they wouldn't exist if they weren't, and again they may even out perform the Iso's but notwithstanding that, the Iso's do a fantastic job for the money and I for one am personally very happy with them. To the point where I probably go the whole-hog as I mentioned in my previous post.

The love of this 'game' of audio, is that its very personal which is great.

have a great weekend all...

nige