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

A used CDT Two (Mk1) would probably fall into that budget if you can find one and it’s half width. I use one with my DAC 2.1 Sig and it brings the AN synergy magic for me. They are getting on a bit now but built like a tank and apparently still serviceable.

 

I think these looks great

 

How old would the newest Mk 1 CDT Two be? I don't really want a really old transport, as I know lasers fail eventually. I'd definitely want something made within the last few years.

 

Out of curiosity, what happens when they blow? The only experience I've ever had with a power tube going bad on me was with my Line Magnetic amp that very politely blew an easily replaceable fuse on startup. I've heard various horror stories, but they all seem to involve vintage amps that seem horror-story-prone to begin with.

 

The amp suddenly emits a terrible sound and you turn it off as quickly as possible? Or the fuse blows without prior indications, as you say. I also think many people change tubes before the tubes break so they rarely experience this problem.

 

In my case I got a very short but bright (white) light show. The fuse blew and when I investigated I discovered that one power tube had blown up - it had burnt parts inside, so definitely a no-go.

I contacted the Sophia people on the east coast of the US and was told that I was not entitled to a replacement pair. The woman that I dealt with was quite firm that according to the serial number, I was out of warranty by 2-3 months. I explained that I understood that but that as my work takes me out of town all of the time, my system had light usage, so not that many hours on those tubes. Didn’t matter. I decided to go with a replacement pair at a slight reduction (I don’t remember the exact details as it was a few years ago) and I was sure that I had just gotten one bad tube. No way the second pair could die quickly like the first pair. The 300B is supposed to be able to last for years and years.

The second pair took out the fuse with much less of a shoe, but were just as dead. Again thus was a short while out of warranty. I understand that you can’t offer vacuum tubes with a warranty like a Bryson power amp (20 years), but at US $1200/pair, I expected better service. You know...Sorry that these have failed on you twice, so here is a complimentary pair, seeing as you have spent $2400!
They are the only ones that have failed in my amps.

Once I had an RCA 5U4GB wander out of spec, so the amp didn’t sound as good as it should, but it didn’t fail. It was being tested by my technician when he upgraded some caps and resistors of my Kassai mono blocks. He said that it was still working but that it was measuring poorly. So I bought a replacement.

I have had nothing but bullet proof service from my Kassai monos and the 1990s WE300B tubes. Great sound as well.

 

The first one made a bit of noise but the second one was silent. The fuse gave up its life for the safety of the amp : )

 

I was really impressed with an AN CDT-Zero, only £350 (GBP) used.

Before that I was using a Cambridge 840C, in to a AN DAC 1.1, and the Zero was notably better. Previously I'd read how good the 840 was as a transport. Neat, small form factor too.

Funny bonus with the Zero was although the remote control felt like the cheapest one ever made it could operate at quite amazing angles from the unit. Could be lazy with the pointing.

 

Has anyone tried First Watt amps with AN speakers, especially Es? The kits and clones seem amazing value and I like the various SQ descriptions. Alephs in particular.

Really like my current amp but what won't let me be is the thought that lower powered designs are an option, especially SE/class A.

Not interested in a valve power amp at this stage.

 

Thanks, that's more or less what I was expecting, and more reason not to let the system warm up while I'm in another room. I should probably get a visual on the fuse and a few replacements. Really, I was almost more shocked at the fact an RCA 5U4GB could go bad like that, I have one in my amp and I assumed it was going to outlive me.

I'd like to try different 300B tubes but I guess I'm not in much of a hurry. The factory tubes (AN branded Psvane?) sound good and I'm not worried they'll suddenly explode. I think I'm going to give "Western Electric" another couple of months to see if they're actually serious or else get the AN 4300E's. Right now the latter feels more likely then the former.

 

Admittedly I haven't been following it, but hasn't Western Electric been just about ready to restart 300B production for, like, ten years now?

 

It probably feels that way. I know they stopped taking pre-orders in the summertime and it seemed were going for a fall/winter release date. Now their website says they're not taking pre-orders but if you'd like to pre-order you can email them (???). I can't tell if their problem is too many or too few orders. I do know that a lot of potential customers like myself are going to move on if there isn't some communication soon.

 

I must be recalling an earlier re-issue that dragged out for a long time. I didn't realize that there was another afoot. I guess their manufacturing line is idle most of the time. Sort of a shame.

 

I read a review of the 90's WE tubes the other day that suggested they were basically delayed until the early 2000's. But the reason I put "Western Electric" in scare quotes is I don't sense any of these reincarnations have anything to do with the original company or to each other, so I'm not sure if there's actually any precedent there. This current incarnation has not shipped anything yet.

What I do know is that a company that goes from being quite chatty in terms of site updates, email updates, and social media presence to suddenly going dark doesn't inspire potential customers. Sadly for me, spending $1000 on a pair of tubes that say Psvane on them isn't really my first choice either.

 

I thought the same way about the 4300 tubes but so far they work well. After the disaster that was the 100% failure rate of the Elrog 300b tubes, manufacture outside of China does not mean a great deal in the world of 300b's. At least AN has a good working relationship with Psvane and that actually counts in maintaining quality and I'm sure Psvane values the association with AN and wants to be seen as providing a high quality product. Overall, sales of better quality 300b's have stood still as anyone requiring them has been waiting for the WE release and some distributors around the world are sitting on multiple deposits for them and nothing to show as yet. Let's hope they come good.

 

Good points. And I want to mention I'm definitely not the sort who takes the "Everything made in China is bad" attitude, but I've just heard so many horror stories - mostly about Shugaung but as I understand it they're the same company as Psvane. And as I think about it, I'm not just waiting for WE to actually ship a product, but for positive reviews and reports of durability to come in, so I could be waiting a very long time. Or I could by the 4300's that you and others already have "soak time" with and have instant gratification as I save $500.

I suppose I could also try the Gold Lion 300B that is cheap and gets rave reviews, but for some reason that isn't really on my radar, which probably means that for some reason I'm skeptical of tubes that aren't expensive.

 

Just a few weeks ago I had an RCA 5u4GB go out in my amp with a flash of light took a fuse out and that was it. Not sure how many hours were on it however.

 

Shiver,

I never heard First Watt amps with Audio Note speakers, but, I've heard them in other high efficiency systems built around tube gear. Just for fun, I borrowed a J-2 to use in my system (99 db/w speakers) and it acquitted itself quite well. It is not as tonally warm as some Audio Note amps, but, it was not much different from my Audio Note Kageki amps running somewhat leaner 2a3 tubes. I have heard a home built SIT amp that was built using the First Watt-supplied schematic and it sounded quite good in my friend's system (ultra high efficiency-105 db/w). If I were in the market for something solid state to run with AN-E's they would certainly be under consideration. A lower-powered Ayre amp would be another candidate. I know some people would have a fit, but, I've heard the lower-end Bel Canto amp (Class D) running AN-Ks and the combination sounded quite good too.

As for 300b tubes, let's all hope that the reissued WE tubes are as good as the '90s reissue tube. The ones from '90s were built on original WE machinery and critical parts were from a large vintage stock. Those tubes are incredibly durable; I know a lot of people who are still running those tubes today after two decades of use.

 

I'd like to briefly mention my experience with my pair of Empress Silver. They do everthing right: Low bass, clean bass, magic midrange, and extended but never aggresive highs. They are extremely lively, and reproduce the tinyest subtlties with great resolution. And they are a lot less expensive than many of Audio Note's other mono amp models. I highly recommend them, as you can tell.

 

Wow, that does look great. What model is it?

 

Hi Warren

This was the model prior to the CDT Two/II. It was called the CDT Two





I liked the looks of the old Zero series. The set-up had CD transport and DAC along with preamp and monoblocks.
I actually wish AN had stayed with this funky look. Perhaps it was too expensive to make.

 

i LOVE it ... Black Gate inside so awesome.

 

I think that my 5U4GB that was supposed to be NOS was not actually NOS. I just installed one of my other NOS 5U4GB and it’s been perfect ever since.

I don't worry about the tubes anymore. All of this happened about five years ago (I think). Bullet proof since.