** ROTM March 2018 AWARD: Audio Note System Review

[mpw]

good one audiopro..

regards

 

[audiopro]

I have heard audionote only once in my life. This was in Singapore. At a dealers place and he had some 4 pairs of speakers in the room so my experience was a mixed one. Only 1 pair was setup corner loaded. The positives were the brilliant tonal quality and the intimacy of the sound.

However, there were 2 things that had bothered me. I am sure these things are very setup related so I am hoping the 2 gents on this thread who have lot of experience with AN will be able to provide some insights.

1. The bass! Upper mid bass and higher was fantastic. But the lower the bass goes, it started to bother me. It could be that I am a little sensitive to this area of music. I am a big fan of bass that comes from open baffle speakers. This means that bass has to be open. As you go lower down the octaves ( especially on the standing bass or even the drum), the bass has to sound open, extended, textured and detached from the speakers. Just like how you hear at an unamplified concert. The audionotes I heard sounded a little closed in and a wee bit boomy as you down the octaves. This is just an observation of mine after hearing a few of those speakers in that room. I am sure this is a setup thing!
2. The soundstage behind the speakers. This bothered me as well. The sound was upfront like you are sitting in the front row. I like sound that extends a wee bit in front of the speakers but extends well behind the speakers. I know that you need to give that much space behind the speakers for this to happen. With corner loading, I am not sure how to make this happen. What is the dope about this area and audionote ?

Saw that you are in Bangalore. I think AN will have their base system on demo there If he sets it up well see if it delivers on the characters that I shared above. Suggest you listen to the TT as well if its on demo. The ANJ is a lovely lovely speaker. So well balanced. Infact even better balanced than the ANE IMHO unless you need the sensitivity and larger speaker.

 

[audiopro]

good one audiopro..

regards

Was I close to what you experienced with this statement?

"Hope this helps. It's all about synergy. I feel our conscious brain wants characters like soundstage, frequency extremes, etc based on what we read but the subconscious focuses on timing, image size, etc. More real information that we receive from being alive. Hence sometimes people will say I don't know why but I'm enjoying this setup and I can assure you the system will have timings, proper image size, free flowing and bass that starts and stops accurately which is also linked to timing."

 

[mpw]

its the connect with the music and especially with how each one subconsciously visualizes music to be like..

remember - nobody knows - " what the artist intended "

what we actually hear is what is put on the vinyl or CD or digital... which may not necessarily correspond to what the artist intended..

njoi !

 

[coaltrain]

Great setup; great write up, audiopro!
The console and room look stunning, too.
Isn't it possible to hide the black box and wires, though?
Nevertheless, a picture of musical bliss

 

[audiopro]

Great setup; great write up, audiopro!
The console and room look stunning, too.
Isn't it possible to hide the black box and wires, though?
Nevertheless, a picture of musical bliss

There used to be a rack in front of the box till I figured it sounds better without one!

 

[square_wave]

Was I close to what you experienced with this statement?

"Hope this helps. It's all about synergy. I feel our conscious brain wants characters like soundstage, frequency extremes, etc based on what we read but the subconscious focuses on timing, image size, etc. More real information that we receive from being alive. Hence sometimes people will say I don't know why but I'm enjoying this setup and I can assure you the system will have timings, proper image size, free flowing and bass that starts and stops accurately which is also linked to timing."

Yes, I agree wholeheartedly. I have gone through this phase. I tend to like music systems that I can connect emotionally rather than systems that are trying to sell itself by ticking all audiophile checkboxes. Flesh and body to all musical images, timing, tonal purity are highest priority. I also look for a natural soundstage that is in the recording. All recordings have a defined sound stage due to the way the microphones are placed. Some speakers do this well in a natural way. Some over-do this by tracing artificially sharp images in space. However, this comes at a cost. Most of the time, body / density of images and emotional connection is the price you pay.

I will check out the Audionote room at the show. TT as well as the ANJ.

 

[newlash09]

Hi audiopro....

Hearty congratulations on getting a system that is giving you hours of musical enjoyment.

Really enjoyed reading it.

And judging by field reports of folks unable to leave the audionote room in the recent hifishow, I must agree that the system as a whole must be engaging on a emotional level .

Guess lots of us will be knocking on audio note's doors sooner than later looking for the same bliss.

Atleast iam sufficiently tickled to give them a try

Thanks for taking the time to pen your thoughts.