Audio Note Speakers
- Thread starter Art K.
- Start date
RGA
Super Member
Yeah the fellow selling those is buying the E/LX. A friend of mine is selling my J/Spe speakers on CAM as well. I no longer live in Canada so no point in keeping them if they're not doing anything. I like that finish though.
RGA
Super Member
Mr. Vintage plus - I visit my mom in Nanaimo each summer. I see you are also living in Nananmo - pm me and maybe we can meet up. My AN J/spe speakers just sold so I will be speaker-less this summer as I also need to repair my Wharfedales which are out of commission until repaired - the rubber surrounds cracked and broke. They lasted about 10 years and my AN J also needed a refoam after 13 years. So much for rubber being better in this department. Get a SET amp on those J's though if you can and if not at the very least a good tube amp. I can't remember what transformers McIntosh uses but if they are EI these will likely sound a lot better than Torroids which Audio Note generally rules out as being utter trash regardless of the price of the amplifiers. I generally find torroid amps poor unless they operate in single ended topology. Otherwise they tend to lack bass weight and sound thin throughout the range. I believe McIntosh uses EI and go easy on the damping factor (thus less feedback which these particular speakers prefer).
RGA,
We will absolutely have to meet up. So would you recommend a MC275 over my MA6600? I am considering a switch to a C2500 and MC275 MKVi combination. Let me know your thoughts.
We will absolutely have to meet up. So would you recommend a MC275 over my MA6600? I am considering a switch to a C2500 and MC275 MKVi combination. Let me know your thoughts.
RGA
Super Member
Well you're getting the copper wired version so it should be friendlier to SS amps. Give that a try first. But the MC275 is quite a good Push Pull tube amplifier. Many find it to be their favorite McIntosh and it is the one people seem to seek out in Asia as well.
As a small aside to tube amps and Hong Kong and Mainland China - I was looking at all the vast numbers of tube amplifiers here. Just spitballing this but tubes are generally regarded for being superior at "tone" than SS.
If that premise holds some merit - then the evidence may be linked to Cantonese which is a 9 tone language - it heavily relies on tone of a word that if wrong will mean something completely different whereas English can be spoken with intonation or monotone and still for the vast majority of instances be understood. Thus an almost a-tonal language. Mainland China (Mandarin) is still a 4-5 tone language depending where one lives.
I would be interested to see a study of preferences for music/stereo equipment designs based upon the first language of the people listening to music. Audio Note's biggest selling market by far is Hong Kong/Singapore/China (Asia). 95% of their business is Asia and Europe. And speaking to dealers here about very popular brands in the west they dismiss them pretty quick - even the dealers of the brands they sell. I asked a guy at one store about the speaker he is selling and he says "no good no good - no emotion" and this is a speaker on his floor selling for over $8,000 US. And he wasn't trying to up-sell me or sell me at all.
I think the west is a little more geared for sound pushed at you than you being brought into the music. I kind of blame home theater for this where systems are about pummeling you with exploding cars and stereos that don't crack your beer glass or make the cat poop all over the place seem to be viewed as failures.
I think generally that McIntosh has more of the body and tone than most companies (some will view it as less hi-fi or accurate) but it may explain their big lasting success in Asia.
I'd actually like to get some McIntosh in for a review. I always think they get unfairly treated because of their looks.
As a small aside to tube amps and Hong Kong and Mainland China - I was looking at all the vast numbers of tube amplifiers here. Just spitballing this but tubes are generally regarded for being superior at "tone" than SS.
If that premise holds some merit - then the evidence may be linked to Cantonese which is a 9 tone language - it heavily relies on tone of a word that if wrong will mean something completely different whereas English can be spoken with intonation or monotone and still for the vast majority of instances be understood. Thus an almost a-tonal language. Mainland China (Mandarin) is still a 4-5 tone language depending where one lives.
I would be interested to see a study of preferences for music/stereo equipment designs based upon the first language of the people listening to music. Audio Note's biggest selling market by far is Hong Kong/Singapore/China (Asia). 95% of their business is Asia and Europe. And speaking to dealers here about very popular brands in the west they dismiss them pretty quick - even the dealers of the brands they sell. I asked a guy at one store about the speaker he is selling and he says "no good no good - no emotion" and this is a speaker on his floor selling for over $8,000 US. And he wasn't trying to up-sell me or sell me at all.
I think the west is a little more geared for sound pushed at you than you being brought into the music. I kind of blame home theater for this where systems are about pummeling you with exploding cars and stereos that don't crack your beer glass or make the cat poop all over the place seem to be viewed as failures.
I think generally that McIntosh has more of the body and tone than most companies (some will view it as less hi-fi or accurate) but it may explain their big lasting success in Asia.
I'd actually like to get some McIntosh in for a review. I always think they get unfairly treated because of their looks.
RGA
Super Member
Well an update:
A friend in Canada sold my AN J/Spe speakers for nearly 20% more than I originally paid for them back in 2004. So 12 years of a speaker and I did better on them than my mutual funds - if I had only known I would have bought ten pairs of the things. Even in the worst colour scheme black. People on all these forums always get on my case for being an overly enthusiastic fan of Audio Note but this is precisely why. For the same exact money back in 2004 ($2500) I could have bought the Reference 3a MM De Capo - I saw this speaker asking $700 recently (so they likely solf for $500-$600 - as opposed to the AN J/Spe - $2900). Not too shabby eh?
So I have put the money and more money and have traded my E/LX speakers(over two years old sold for what I paid) in for the AN E/Spx AlniCo Hemp. They will arrive Tuesday. This will be the most expensive thing I have ever purchased. But with luck they will be last speaker (at least for this size of room). Fortunately the trade back of my E/LX and sale of the J have helped make it not too crazy. I spent the day listening to the dealer's Einstein speakers that cost a bomb but they didn't do anything to persuade me from the E/Spx AlniCo.
I did entertain some very worthy contenders but the problem was size and positioning requirements and or price that would not work in the space.
So it's Poplar Burl finish
A friend in Canada sold my AN J/Spe speakers for nearly 20% more than I originally paid for them back in 2004. So 12 years of a speaker and I did better on them than my mutual funds - if I had only known I would have bought ten pairs of the things. Even in the worst colour scheme black. People on all these forums always get on my case for being an overly enthusiastic fan of Audio Note but this is precisely why. For the same exact money back in 2004 ($2500) I could have bought the Reference 3a MM De Capo - I saw this speaker asking $700 recently (so they likely solf for $500-$600 - as opposed to the AN J/Spe - $2900). Not too shabby eh?
So I have put the money and more money and have traded my E/LX speakers(over two years old sold for what I paid) in for the AN E/Spx AlniCo Hemp. They will arrive Tuesday. This will be the most expensive thing I have ever purchased. But with luck they will be last speaker (at least for this size of room). Fortunately the trade back of my E/LX and sale of the J have helped make it not too crazy. I spent the day listening to the dealer's Einstein speakers that cost a bomb but they didn't do anything to persuade me from the E/Spx AlniCo.
I did entertain some very worthy contenders but the problem was size and positioning requirements and or price that would not work in the space.
So it's Poplar Burl finish
Fusion
Active Member
Congrats on the new speakers, RGA. I am envious. Would love to own a pair of those some day. Just had to say though...people shouldn't go selling their mutual funds to buy speakers. A 20% return in 12 years is pretty poor by mutual fund standards. In 12 years there are many funds out there that have more than doubled (i.e. 100% return). The AN resale value is impressive when compared to other audio gear though!
RGA
Super Member
Yeah - lucky with speakers - unlucky with mutual funds apparently. Speakers come tomorrow. Listening to the AN E/LX now for the last time. They found a buyer for them in about 15 minutes here so that is cool - they will be going to another audiophile who has been waiting for some nut like me to upgrade.
RGA
Super Member
Naturally my LM CD 215 is starting to go on the fritz but while it works - guitar and piano have made immediate noticeable strides and they were already strengths of the E/Lexus.
However, a transport is soon on the list. Several CDs played with no problem on the Audio Note and now skip or lock on the 215. Audio Note CD Two/II Transport may be next. LM uses the Transport mechanisms that Audio Note stopped using - perhaps this is the reason.
However, a transport is soon on the list. Several CDs played with no problem on the Audio Note and now skip or lock on the 215. Audio Note CD Two/II Transport may be next. LM uses the Transport mechanisms that Audio Note stopped using - perhaps this is the reason.
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RGA
Super Member
Having come back from my Christmas in Melbourne and being one card away from a flopped Royal Flush and $25,000 (if only I had the Queen of Spades instead of the 8 of spades!!!!). Reduced my odds from 647,000-1 to 48-1 - arghh.
Anyway, my first night back using digital only this evening with my LM 215 giving out. Listening first to Agnes Obel "Citizen of Glass" which is kind of appropriate given she is Danish (and Peter Q being Danish - tip of the ole hat). The pin drop speed of these things is why I went with them and they are not disappointing. I loved these speakers when I first heard them at the home of the ex pianist of the Beijing Symphony Orchestra listening to massive hard hitting direct to disc dynamically unlimited Chinese drum music.
The thing I said years ago when I really liked the J/L and then heard the J/Spe is that it would be tough to go back once you heard the Spe. And this holds even more so now. Even with digital, admittedly FLAC, and with mostly pop/hipster kind of stuff (which is what I mainly put on computer) it remains musical and you don't focus on the recording weaknesses. It's AN's great strength - let you hear the recording weaknesses but not let your ear get bogged down in that weakness and still remain enjoyable to listen.
The sound talk can wait for the eventual review (which I hope doesn't take two years like the E/Lexus). However, I do want to put a better source in first as well as a preamp. But the short of it is the immediacy and lock you in the chair factor. I am both not wanting the song to end and can't wait to hear the next artist the next track. I want both now. And that's from digital!
There will be no commentary on break in - this was the dealer demo model so break in should be complete which is why the sound is complete. Drat 10 pm - too late for AC/DC. Chick music for the rest of the night. Hanne Boel or Carol Duboc or something. Piano is just killer!
Anyway, my first night back using digital only this evening with my LM 215 giving out. Listening first to Agnes Obel "Citizen of Glass" which is kind of appropriate given she is Danish (and Peter Q being Danish - tip of the ole hat). The pin drop speed of these things is why I went with them and they are not disappointing. I loved these speakers when I first heard them at the home of the ex pianist of the Beijing Symphony Orchestra listening to massive hard hitting direct to disc dynamically unlimited Chinese drum music.
The thing I said years ago when I really liked the J/L and then heard the J/Spe is that it would be tough to go back once you heard the Spe. And this holds even more so now. Even with digital, admittedly FLAC, and with mostly pop/hipster kind of stuff (which is what I mainly put on computer) it remains musical and you don't focus on the recording weaknesses. It's AN's great strength - let you hear the recording weaknesses but not let your ear get bogged down in that weakness and still remain enjoyable to listen.
The sound talk can wait for the eventual review (which I hope doesn't take two years like the E/Lexus). However, I do want to put a better source in first as well as a preamp. But the short of it is the immediacy and lock you in the chair factor. I am both not wanting the song to end and can't wait to hear the next artist the next track. I want both now. And that's from digital!
There will be no commentary on break in - this was the dealer demo model so break in should be complete which is why the sound is complete. Drat 10 pm - too late for AC/DC. Chick music for the rest of the night. Hanne Boel or Carol Duboc or something. Piano is just killer!
RGA
Super Member
I just youtube her stuff. Google her albums then type tracklist. Then see if it is on youtube - it's a great way to screen stuff before you fork over buying anything.
I quite like Aurora at the moment who is in the same ballpark - she is a bit quirky so not to all tastes to be sure but she is a 19-20 year old and popular in Norway. You might like her if you like Obel. There are documentaries on her and she recently was on Fallon. She's really into butterflies collecting them. What I like about her is voice is front and center - she wears clothes, no body paint.
You may also like Lapsley
And Birdy
I quite like Aurora at the moment who is in the same ballpark - she is a bit quirky so not to all tastes to be sure but she is a 19-20 year old and popular in Norway. You might like her if you like Obel. There are documentaries on her and she recently was on Fallon. She's really into butterflies collecting them. What I like about her is voice is front and center - she wears clothes, no body paint.
You may also like Lapsley
And Birdy
frankbooth
Super Member
Thanks for the heads up on Agnes Obel.
I've been getting into Aurora. Her cover of Bowie's Life on Mars is incredible.
PS Love those speakers.
I've been getting into Aurora. Her cover of Bowie's Life on Mars is incredible.
PS Love those speakers.
