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

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

  1. Richard Austen

    Richard Austen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hong Kong
    A couple of things I found on the web that may interest the AN Fans.

    They have partnered with Gearbox records in the UK to make vinyl - so you may want to check out their records as it's as close as it gets to completing the full AN chain from source to speakers - well now that includes the source disc.

    [​IMG]

    http://www.gearboxrecords.com/

    And since the piano was what ultimately convinced me to buy their speakers over everything I had heard over the 15 years prior I liked discovering this video.

    And the extend they go to just on a resister
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0uprZ6Avno
     
  2. David Cope

    David Cope Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gales Ferry, CT
    I have a good number of Gearbox's releases. They put out both new recordings and releases of recordings done quite some time ago but never previously released.

    Besides the monitoring/playback system, Audio Note also has lent them the cutting lathe, which Peter bought a number of years ago and then had completely restored.
     
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  3. suntzu

    suntzu Well-Known Member

    Well RGA,

    I'm a bona fide Audio Note fan. Thanks for sharing all this info and video. I enjoyed that piano video very much.
     
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  4. Henley

    Henley Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Audio Note ADC as well for digital?
     
  5. Larry I

    Larry I Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington, D.C.
    Thanks for the interesting tip. I will look at some of their selections. I hope that a wider audience than Audionote fans will take note. Do I qualify? I currently only have a 4-meter pair of Sogon interconnects and a 2-meter Sogon speaker cable in my system (I own a Kageki that is not in the system these days, but, I still like it a lot).

    I see in the photo you posted a lot of Audionote gear, including the AN-E speaker. The website lists, among the gear they use, Rogers LS3/5 speakers, which is also a nice choice for monitoring. These folks certainly look to be serious about sound quality.
     
  6. Raylinds

    Raylinds Resident Lake Surfer

    Thanks for this, Richard.
     
  7. Richard Austen

    Richard Austen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hong Kong
    I quite like Kathrin DeBoer and will probably get this LP when I get back from my holidays.



    And Binker and Moses
    https://vimeo.com/126112098
     
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2015
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  8. raferx

    raferx Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, Canada
    Pretty sure Don Parkhurst demoed gear in that studio and then bought some LPs from them and then ordered AN-E speakers... Don P? Care to chime in?
    :)
     
  9. raferx

    raferx Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, Canada
    Thanks for posting that video Richard!
     
  10. VinylRob

    VinylRob Forum Resident

    Nicely done
     
  11. Don Parkhurst

    Don Parkhurst Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Yes I did audition there. My job has taken me regularly to London for the last ten years so I was looking at possibly purchasing AN gear from them and having the factory ship to me in Canada. In the end, due to changes at work, I ended up going with an Audio Note dealer one city away.

    Anyway....back to Gearbox Records. They have a studio in an upcoming industrial part of London and do everything to the highest standard. The room has been custom designed and treated acoustically. The mastering desk that you see has wheels to allow it to move out of the way of the main listening couch for demoing Hifi gear.

    They use AN-E SPE HE speakers, either a Meishu Silver integrated or a 211 tube based amp (forgot the exact model), an M6 or M8 preamp, TT-2 Deluxe and lots of Sogon cables! The A/D and D/A processor is a high end English boutique model. The owner has an AN Ongaku at home! He is a seasoned studio drummer and a personal friend of Peter Q. In fact he called Peter while I was there. I believe that Peter asked to use his mastering studio as a part time Hifi store, in order to increase brand visibility in London.

    I spent about two and a half hours there and thoroughly enjoyed the music and all three guys working that day. I ended up buying half a dozen records as well : )

    Needless to say, I highly recommend them and their records.
     
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  12. Larry I

    Larry I Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington, D.C.
    This past week, I did a lot of listening to the AN-E/SEC speaker at a local dealership. The dealer asked me to listen in on a comparison of pairs of 5 meter interconnects (Acrolink and AN Lexus) between the linestage and a Kageki amplifier. Regardless of which interconnect was in the system, the sound of the system was fantastic. While I still like my setup more than the one at the dealership, I could easily live with this speaker (I already have a Kageki amp). Both the owner of the shop and I actually preferred the Acrolink to the Lexus interconnects in this particular setup, but, several of the shop employees preferred the Lexus (warmer sounding, but not as clear sounding and extended on top as the Acrolink). I can see how the younger crowd, like the shop employees, would prefer a softer top end (better high frequency hearing). Because the system sounds nice and dynamic and reasonably clear and detailed without having an over-etched and edgy sound to the initial attack of notes, it sounded great with just about any music and any recording--this is not one of those systems that demand perfect recordings. Every time I hear these speakers I am amazed at how good a "simple" two-way system can sound.
     
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  13. Don Parkhurst

    Don Parkhurst Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Larry
    Thanks for sharing. That must have been quite enjoyable, as the Kageki is already a fantastic amplifier and the version of AN-Es that you listened to are pretty fabulous as well!

    I myself prefer the silver cables with my Meishu Silver Phono. But I'm 51 so perhaps I might feel differently if I was 21!
     
  14. Larry I

    Larry I Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington, D.C.
    Don,

    I like certain silver cables too, although I have heard all kinds of material and designs that sound very good. I run a mishmash of cables that I have collected over the years, but, I am slowly upgrading in tht area as well. For the main run, a 4-meter cable between the linestage and amp, I am now using Audionote Sogon. For speaker cables, a 2-meter run of Sogon. Next up would be the runs from the phonostage and music server to the linestage.
     
  15. Don Parkhurst

    Don Parkhurst Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    I would really like to hear Sogon cables in my system. I'm running 2 meter SPx speaker cables and a 1 meter interconnect of AN-Vx from my VPI Classic 3 to my AN-S2/H SUT. I'm planning on upgrading my cartridge and SUT later this year as my upgrade savings allow. Once that is done, then I will get one more silver Audio Note interconnect to run from the SUT to the Meishu Silver.

    Until this year I had always preferred a well designed copper interconnect or speaker cable. But, the SPx speaker cable really impressed me. Best speaker cable upgrade I have ever had.
     
  16. Richard Austen

    Richard Austen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hong Kong
    4 product of the year products chosen - 2 from Audio Note (start at 5:30).

     
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  17. Richard Austen

    Richard Austen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hong Kong
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  18. Raylinds

    Raylinds Resident Lake Surfer

    Veeeeeerrrrryyy interesting
     
  19. Richard Austen

    Richard Austen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hong Kong
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  20. triple

    triple Senior Member

    Location:
    Zagreb, Croatia
    "The speakers are not particularly heavy, and not very onerous to position, both desirous properties."

    I don't understand this, so I guess I need to work on my English.

    On the other hand, the 4.1 top loading cd player looks pretty good. The ones with drawers were pathetic, I got to play with one and I didn't like it.
     
  21. klonk

    klonk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Switzerland
    I like your review Richard Austen.
     
  22. Richard Austen

    Richard Austen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hong Kong
    Not heavy to move around in terms of weight.
    Not onerous to position in order to get them to sound good. (ie; room friendlier than most in terms of sonics)

    Granted putting two ideas together in one sentence isn't the greatest but most experienced audiophiles would get the meaning which was why the editor and checkers didn't take issue with it.

    I agree with you on the front loaders from Audio Note - I am not a fan of their drawers - the mechanism itself though is a good one - the Philips 1210 used by Bryston and Sin Audio and a number of others. I prefer the top loading Philips Pro2LF - probably the best mechanism left that you can actually get. CEC and VRDS are as good at least but lots of luck buying a replacement. So you're left with the Pro2LF. I believe the cheapest one from AN is ~$4000 or so called the TT/Two II transport which is on my list of upgrades. I never thought transports made a huge difference - largely because most machines use the same mechanism. Opera consonance out of China uses the Pro2 as well and costs less but the resale value will be such that the AN makes more sense and probably winds up costing less money overall - though I LOVE the look of the Consonance

    [​IMG]


    Opera

    [​IMG]
     
  23. triple

    triple Senior Member

    Location:
    Zagreb, Croatia
    I was puzzled by the words onerous and desirous, which I had never heard before.

    I have never heard of Sin Audio either, but perhaps it got its name erroneously? Either that, or it must be one perverted company.
     
  24. Richard Austen

    Richard Austen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hong Kong
    onerous = burdensome, oppressive, or troublesome

    Desirous = Having or expressing desire; desiring: Both sides were desirous of finding a quick solution to the problem

    And Sin Audio - should be Sim Audio - but as there are no mistakes according to Freud - my error probably reveals my nightlife somewhat.
     
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  25. Richard Austen

    Richard Austen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hong Kong
    So the new Audio Note Cobra Push Pull amp is coming and the thing looks likes an absolute beast. This is the new entry level amp from audio Note. Push Pull class A 25 watts per channel (Price to be confirmed -- but apparently affordable) . Apparently you can order it with either remote or USB DAC built in or get both. This thing is massive looking and those transformers are ridonculous. This thing utterly dwarfs my old Audio Space Mini 2SE or the likes of the Line Magnetic 211 or 216 or event the 218/518.

    [​IMG]

    The trick will be to capture some of the SET sound while provide the PP drive. The rest of the factory tour in photos is here

    Mono and Stereo High-End Audio Magazine: Audio Note UK factory tour »
     

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