It takes some self restraint to hold off watching these until I can savor them on post-work Friday w/ a beverage. Always some of the best RU-vid content. ❤
Thanks for reviewing Audio Note stuff, Tarun. As an amateur builder I have been using their components for decades and they never disappoint. They have also produced a number of kits over the years for soldering-iron wielders like myself. The Kit One single 300B power amplifier has legendary status.
Audio Note I believe are unique in their approach and knowing Daniel and Peter personally and been to the factory as well, it's no surprise that you are a fan so far. Peter sees audio design in a very different way to every other manufacturer and without getting into the politics ( let's be neutral) his philosophy in my opinion has immense merit. The sound of Audio Note UK speaks for iteslf and if any readers here get a chance to hear the products at a show please make an effort and prepare to be surprised.
It's such a strange coincidence that at the very moment I am auditioning an AN level 1/2 system with an AN-K and a Cobra. My observations echo yours - I expected them to be soft and wooly but they turned out to be superbly dynamic and clean with a wonderfully inviting tonality. Loving my time with them.
I bought (used) Oto and K 18 months ago, never been more musically satisfied with any other components, very easy to hear why it's an 'end game' brand when you want to get off the merry go round and just enjoy your music..
Finally! It has been quite a while since I've seen some AN component reviews. I love their old school approach to sound, and how their components are built. Looking forward to the next one as usual. Good job Tarun. Thank you.
Thank you thank you ....Thank you! for doing this review, Audio Note while out of the reach of most is such an intriguing company with products and philosophy that truly make them unique in the market. Every time you hear the name you automatically think $$$$ but you still want to see and hear it. Looking very much forward to this system review.
I have owned the DAC 0.1x for several years (6 or so) - it's meant to be left on so you don't really need to worry about the switch on the back very much - the expected tube life is 100,000 hours or 11.5 years of continuous use. It sounds better left on. This DAC I believe has been sold since the year 2000 and has sold continuously for 24 years. The zero series has been around since then as well - though some of the components have changed - the AX One and Two now have a "/II" as they've been upgraded. I also like to point out that Audio Note UK was the first maker of the NOS DACs (without analog or digital filters).
I find myself looking forward to Saturday mornings (in AU) when i can enjoy the latest BA review with my morning coffee. As always, great work! Tarun, you have become my favourite HiFi reviewer. Cheers!
This DAC is amazing, and then to think that the TDA1543 was designed by Philips as a budget DAC (well, this is AN's budget model line so in a way a perfect match). It seems we have been running in circles, where is the progress? The CD player does my head in. I do not understand why they did not opt for a CD transport in this set up. It would have also been nice to see a CD transport / pure streamer AND a pure streamer only, Primare can do it. All in all it is a very nice start to this system. Kudos to Audio Note for their endeavor in this price class. PS, (no pun intended) Paul from PS audio had a video yesterday that was regarding this AN DAC in disguise (He did not mention the brand and was called out for it in the comment section). But it is interesting to see the difference in philosophy between AN and PS Audio from the horse's mouth.
Finally someone has compared a TDA1543 DAC with some more popular well reviewed DACs. You might be the first ever sir.Many thanks! Would love to see a review of the Audial S5b. Many claim its end game for around $2500. I will ask the owner of the company to send you one for review so you can tell me if I should buy it ;) The Audio Note is very tempting right now.
Outstanding as always Tarun. I am floored to find out there is a small audio company in England who make & assemble most all of their parts & products "in house". Mind blown for sure. Unless I win the lottery the entire Audio Note Zero system is out of my budget but the 0.1X DAC may be worth saving up for and I can't wait for part 2. Thank you and keep up the great work. Cheers...
I really do like both the AN UK folks a lot, and their HiFi gear -- their rooms are always my HiFi show high lights. And their music choice at these shows is very entertaining. Regarding "make almost everything in-house" -- well, at least the more affordable products seem to be made somewhere else. For me that's not an issue at all, just saw the hint "Made in EU" / "Made in Lithuania" on the devices' back panels.
I've had the dac 0.1x on home demo this weekend and it's really good. It's being fed by a bluesound node 2i, and a definite improvement over the 2i's internal dac. I will be sad to give the 0.1x back but it's set the benchmark for me.
Tarun….Loved the mini-factory-tour (so British!), and the comparisons. I keep threatening to upgrade my Pontus II to a Venus…you always rave about yours, soooo! A Venus can be had at a very attractive price on the secondary market, these days! 😀
Insightful and informative. This is analysis at a very high level and not only critiques the units under scrutiny, but also provides a clear guide on how to listen for pleasure. Thank you.
„Old“ DACs are lovely? YES! Still use an heavily digitally upgraded Farlowe Exposure CD with two channel separated and paralleled TDA1545, with direct-to-DAC-clocking with a low jitter clock and galvanic separated grounds. Long live DIY!
Great stuff, Tarun. Now if I were to go digital in my main system, I think this DAC has my name on it! Proof if it were needed that the race for the latest chip being peddled by virtually every other manufacturer is pointless.
Thanks Tarun, really interesting for me as I demoed the Audio note DAC a while ago. You may remember? The only shortfall was lack of inputs for me. Things have changed as to what I am needing now so I might have to revisit this!
At last an Audio Note review from a respectable U.K audiophile. I’ve owned this DAC. It was outstanding. I traded eventually for an AN 2.1 Signature DAC and never looked back. With a good / very good CD transport (my flavour) the digital front end is wonde. I can’t get a streamer close to it in terms of enjoyment, resolution and involvement. Looking forward to pt2.
I enjoyed watching your review of the AN DAC. I love their design philosophy and old-school engineering simplicity. I looked at buying an AN 0.1x DAC but ended up getting an ANK 2.1x signature DAC in kit form. I appreciate they are different companies but the design approach is similar and I enjoyed building the kit (and you get a bit more for your money). I ‘m eagerly awaiting part 2 of your review.
Excellent review Tarun. It looks like the valves are solder to the board and would need to sent in for repair if/when they fail. Looking forward to part II.
Thanks for another great review Tarun. You got me intrigued with the Mogami Neglex 2534 Coax cable. Is this something you could provide a retail link to because I've searched in vain to find one 😂
Very interesting and informative as usual. I just have been using a pioneer Elite Blu Ray as a transport with a budget DAC . I wish I had FU money like that. But I'm happy just to have something and I have nice speakers and I think that's a good step in the right direction. Stay positive 😂
Audionote obviously have a passion for what they do and it produces results. Seemingly DAC chips from a few decades ago had achieved an advanced performance .
Before A/Note there was Audio Innovations. I had their 500 integrated amp, with upgraded valves that PQ brought back from s trip to Amsterdam. This was classically paired with a Voyd TT, which I still have, and a pair of Snell Ks. Wondful system and still missing the AI 500😢
Hi Tarun. A great analysis and review as always. I have a question for you. I have just come across in a shop in hong kong the proac response 1sc final edition. I was informed that it is new and current production. Have you heard of this at all?
Hi Tarun, great review! In a comment on of your previous videos I asked if you would consider testing the new Epos ES-7N. After seeing this video I want to point that out again. The speaker has a 87-89 sensitivity (depending on switch in the back) and can be run with low-powered tube amps. LowBeats tested it with an 8-watts Fezz Mira Ceti tube amp. So potentially it could be a match with the Audio Note amp and considering you have that in house that might make for a great comparison. I also matches the price of the amp at around 2000€. I also think that the speaker might interest a lot of people considering not only the price but also the fact that it has a switch that makes it suitable to be placed close to a wall. It is made by Karl-Heinz Fink and has an interesting story behind it, both of which might make for an entertaining video. I would love to watch your take on it. Kind regards
Interesting, the Audionote DAC uses the same chip as the Sugden DAC. I haven't heard either, but I have read the Sugden DAC sounds great. Really looking forward to part 2, they seem to come from a similar school to Sugden.
I’m a level 3 user, but I have heard the Cobra integrated with dac. That is a truly fantastic and would be at twice the price. If more ‘reasonably’ priced AN products are the focus, the Cobra is the place to start.
£1,300 in 1980 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £6,986.26 today, an increase of £5,686.26 over 44 years. The pound had an average inflation rate of 3.90% per year between 1980 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 437.40%. This means that today's prices are 5.37 times as high as average prices since 1980, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index. A pound today only buys 18.608% of what it could buy back then. Sorry Matey Remember what we were earning back then? £40 a week?
Well that was a bit unexpected. The 0.1x is the baby-the infant-in the AN line up. That it could easily dispense with the lower end Denafrips in your listening session is a bit telling. One wonders what you'd think of the higher end AN dacs. If the 0.1x sports only a single lowly 6111 which is not even that linear, can leave such a strong impression, what can the proper AN dacs with the better valves, current output multibit dac chips and current to voltage transformers do more? Having said that, I'd still like a head-to-head with the Chord dacs at that price, or near that price, for completeness. Of course, at the end of the day, most audiophiles have to choose between having a house and a car or having a great (dream) system. There is one Japanese audiophile that chose the latter (and he seems quite happy in his choice) but I have yet to see a second one that made the same choice (of any nationality). There are a few videos about him on youtube.
HelloTarun . Should i have been surprised to see that tiny 6112 Nu-Vista valve in the AN CD player? I thought that Anthony Michaelson of Musical Fidelity had bought up the entire world stock🤔 The MuFi X-10v3s buffers in my collection have 2 in each;-) Peter Quathrup has obviously proved that we threw out the baby decades ago.....what folly! Now.....Wheres that plunger?? 🎶😅🎶
It would fascinating to see how these Audio Notes using classic Philips proprietary transport and dac chips, would stack up against Teac Dacs and CD players using modern Teac proprietary transport and dac chips.
Just when I was about to press the buy button on Pontus II, this brilliant review came out. So, if budget allows, which one should you recommend - Pontus II, Spring 3 L2, AN 0.1x Please help
its my very strong belief that a hybrid system is the best way to go. Valves offer something transistors cannot replicate and vice versa. I use Valve design source components and I'm yet to hear a solid state device that can even match them let alone improve on them. The first time i heard a circa 1999 Audio Note DAC 2, I could never return to Solid state source components. In amplification though i cannot ignore the drive, attack and speed of solid state.
I note that the tube in the DAC is soldered to the circuit board... so no tube rolling and however unlikely, if the tube goes bad then it's likely that the average owner will have to send the DAC back to the factory... yes? If so, then that is a possible negative that should have been mentioned in the review... yes?
Nice dac but only one input so that means switching by wire if you have more gear. Forget about the Ares and Eversolo dacs then better try the FX Glass dac or Cyan 2 or the Teac RN 505 with volume control and remote 🤔
Hi thank you so much your great review about the Audio Note DAC 0.1x. Considering the DAC 0.1x uses old 16 Bit Philips TDA1543 D/A chips with 44.1/48/96KHz input capability, i'm just wondering how it'd behave when plugging a streamer to USB port with a 32 bits / 768Khz capability such as my Eversolo DMP A6 ME (i intend to use it soon as streamer only). Tidal for example provides FLAC files up to 24 bits / 384 kHz, would that flows automatically "downgraded' to 16 bits by the DAC 0.1x, or do you have to send 16 bits flows only from your streamer so it can "play" music ? I'm stunned how that DAC 0.1x reaches almost same level than a Denafrips Venus 12th which has higher 24 bits resolution, still wondering how that's possible. According to recent reviews new Denafrips Pontus 15th now reaches the level of Denafrips Venus 12th. I'm looking to upgrade my DAC and I'm now torn between Audio Note DAC 0.1x and Denafrips Pontus 15th... :) Do you think the DAC 0.1x would be an improvement over my Eversolo DMP A6 ME DAC (ES9038 Q2M) or should i better get the Denafrips Pontus 15th ? Here is a quick overview of my system if it can help : Tsakiridis Theseus Ultima 2x27W KT170 pure class A integrated amplifier, Studio Connections Reference Plus full line (power, speaker, RCAs cables), Eversolo DMP A6 ME (used as streamer & DAC at the moment), Horns Aria III speakers. Thanks a lot for your help !
@@alexandrek.2944 I found the EverSolo to be very resolving but also to have some artificial elements to the sonic presentation. The DAC 0.1X is just as resolving but a not more natural sounding. You will need to limit the digital output of the A8 with high res signals though 😊
Not an engineer or expert, but I've always thought the simplicity of doing away with the transport altogether makes sense, like the top loaders. That does usually mean they're inconvenient or impossible to use in a rack and have to stay on top though.
It is recommended to leave the Audio Note DAC 0.1X turned on by the man himself, it goes against what I thought but I trust this enough to leave mine on 24/7.
An excellent manufacturer, but the prices are steep even when accounting for the fact that the R&D and manufacturing is done in the UK. The consensus is that to maximize the synergy you should buy an all-AN setup, which I suppose is a good business model for a hifi manufacturer. Gryphon too promotes that "philosophy". Whenever I see AN and Gryphon at shows, they are both displaying/demoing complete systems - and they always sound very good.
The fact that the DAC 0.1x down converts hi res formats to the CD Redbook standard rather than playing the hi res formats natively makes it a non-starter for me since I have many hi res files on my home server and I subscribe to a hi res audio streaming service.
This is old school philosophy of if you buy all the the matching components and speakers you get a “Better Sound “ Another gimmick to take our hard earned money
No doubt this system will need a couple of RELs. So add 1.5k And no high res streaming? Almost all new classical is HR. Just discovered the BS Node2i can be set to lower res (Fidelity) streaming. But thats Folly! Peter??
these aparatus looks very nice and well done, just I don´t get the fact that tubes are directly solder on the PCB, I guess these one will last for years, but sooner or later need replacement, or not?
That cd transport is an absolute banger , anything above 16/44 is indeed a folly.For anyone who thinks the transport is not that important just listen to this.
I had always had a distance from Audio Note. I listened to Audio Note UK 🇬🇧 and prior to that Audio Note Japan 🇯🇵. Are they using different technologies? What’s the difference between the two brands and their similarities? 🤔
They had a bad public separation. Audio Note Japan (now Kondo) only made the very expensive components $90,000 Ongaku amp that price in 1989! Audio Note Japan was a tiny outfit no one had ever heard of - They made only amplifiers and cables. Peter Qvortrup was an importer/dealer and also a manufacturer of Audio Innovations. He imported Snell and Kondo among many others - when Snell died - PQ bought the rights to the original Snell speakers and manufactured them under Audio Innovations. He did the same with SystemDek turntables - buying the rights when they folded - and again with Voyd Turntables when they folded. With Kondo - he made a deal to manufacture affordable products under the Audio Note name - because - you can't just sell $90,000 amplifiers (and the Ongaku was the - cough - affordable amp. You would spend even more for separates). So AN UK made all of the gear people can actually afford. AN UK hired the engineer/owner from Voyd (Guy Adams) and engineers from Rogers (Andy Whittle) and Quad (Andy Grove) among others. So they basically modified and improved Voyd Turntables (now AN TT3), SystemDek (Now AN TT1 and TT2), and the AX One (which is directly based off a Rogers - not the LS--3/5a I forget which) AX Two and all the AZ series speakers, as well as all the Snells - now with much better cabinets, drivers, crossovers, wires etc. If interested - AV Showrooms did a 9 or 10-part factory walkthrough available on RU-vid. The AN Factory is B&W's old factory in the UK. But AN makes the speakers and turntables at a separate plant in Austria - and the budget components like the Zero series are made at their plant in Lithuania.
@@remiwjuniski1808 I have review the Frerot 😊 CAN EUROPE COMPETE? Merason Frerot (+ Pow1) DAC Review ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SSPhxnrMA1o.html
The same is valid for many others. No manufacturer provide direct prices, that is a distributor job for targeted market. If you need to ask then you anyhow are not their targeted customer.
do these speakers have grills? They are so hard to look at :( I do love Audio Note though, their ecosystem. Aesthetics is not their main focus.... but we should listen, not watch.
Please,Denafrips ares II(Enyo) vs Topping D90III.What to buy, I have ESS (Topping e50) and AKM (SMSL SU-9 ultra), I don't have R2R DAC yet... And is Eversolo A6 as good a streamer as most of the reviews say? do reviews even more often. Good luck
@@abritishaudiophile7314 look forward to reviews of any REGA equipment. I just auditioned the new REGA Aya. Very nice and very very original construction, materials….im sure you’ll like them.
