What do you know - someone actually came around to my opinion...

[RGA]

Yes it doesn't happen all that often but it is nice to know that a competing review publication has finally come around to agreeing with me on the AN E. Maybe I'm not so crazy after all (who are we kidding right but still - a small victory is a small victory).

Back story.

Several years ago before I became a reviewer I was a subscriber to UHF magazine and I occasionally wrote in to them. Indeed, as forum regulars know I am a bit "goo-goo" for the Audio Note E/J/K AX Two loudspeakers and I wrote in to UHF asking them to review the speakers (since they loved the entry level out of date cd player over their own reference player). They poo-pooed me in their reply letter stating something along the lines of corners speakers don't work and no damping and even implied shady companies come out with speakers like that etc etc.

To their credit they finally auditioned them and what do you know -"There were some good, even great, rooms at TAVES. This speaker is from one of those rooms. It wasn't the looks of the speaker that won us over, but its sound. It's from Audio Note...the UK version..." "It's difficult to argue with Audio Note's design choices, because the sound was deliciously warm and natural. This was one of the best rooms." The 2011 Toronto show, UHF coverage

I have to say I am happy they set aside their preconceived view of the design (since they've written books on audio design including loudspeakers (one of their reviewers is an EE after all) - I can't blame them) and actually bothered to listen. Still wish they hadn't written them off without hearing them first when they replied to me all those years ago but they got it right in the end IMO.

Now I want them to try the Trenner and Freidl RA Box - I seem to be a little bit alone on this speaker as well - So I have a new cause to battle for - oh my I can feel a headache coming on.

[manlystanley]

Yes it doesn't happen all that often ......

I'm sure it happens more then you know. I for one appreciate your authoritative comments!! The last one that was eye opening for me was, something like:

-- Good speakers are designed to sound good in a wide variety of rooms. Made me think.....


Best Regards,
Stan

[GisleB]

Hi. ( First post on this forum )

More people should get their eyes ( ears ) opened to this brand.

Here is my story ( short version )

I just got a pair of Audio Note AN-J/Spe speakers new from AN UK a couple of day's ago, and I must say they have completely blown me away.

Now running a full AN system and I have finally found a system that just does everything so right after 9 years of searching. I bought the OTO SE really by a coincidence ( wanting to try SET, or SEP ). Back then my speakers was Tannoy Prestige Glenair 15, and that amp blew away every other amps I have tried and it was a real "eye opener".

This, and all the writings+review's of Audio Note you have written RGA, made me take the chance and go for a full AN system, and it is just how you have described it. I just wanted to thank you for pointing me in this direction . So here is another one sharing your opinion .

Sorry for bad typing, Iam from Norway and not used to write English.

System : AN An-J/Spe
AN OTO phono SE
AN Dac 3.1x

GisleB

[RGA]

Thanks guys.

I ran into Peter Qvortrup here in Hong Kong - I am reviewing Roksan gear currently and the same dealer sells Audio Note. Had an interesting conversation with him and the dealer. The dealer is an ex principal but has been running the store in downtown Hong Kong (Wanchai) for the last 30+ years). Quite interesting views of the hobby in general, the state of the industry, music etc. If you're at a show and you see him talk to him.

I am trying to figure out what it is that Peter and company are doing that really most of the rest of the industry just doesn't grasp. However this is a rather big name author writing a book on the audio industry according to Peter so we'll wait and see.

[GisleB]

Thanks guys.

I ran into Peter Qvortrup here in Hong Kong - I am reviewing Roksan gear currently and the same dealer sells Audio Note. Had an interesting conversation with him and the dealer. The dealer is an ex principal but has been running the store in downtown Hong Kong (Wanchai) for the last 30+ years). Quite interesting views of the hobby in general, the state of the industry, music etc. If you're at a show and you see him talk to him.

I am trying to figure out what it is that Peter and company are doing that really most of the rest of the industry just doesn't grasp. However this is a rather big name author writing a book on the audio industry according to Peter so we'll wait and see.

When it comes to speakers I think the reason it sounds so "musical and real" is simply because it is built like an instrument.

It's not just the woofer that makes the sound but the whole cabinet/tree like a guitar.

This, plus perfection and synergies between tweeter/woofer and quality components all the way, but this goes with other good companies aswell. But most "high end" companies ( not all ) make speakers with almost "dead" cabinets trying to eliminate them from interfeering. This is my take on the big difference, but this u already know I guess

[Worf101]

Nothing better than going from "prophet without honor" to "visionary" in one fell swoop. It's nice to be ahead of the curve and then have the last laugh when the curve "catches up". Don't know where I could find AN around here but as always I'm interested in hearing what some folks love.

Worf

[RGA]

Well the difficulty will be finding the place to audition. Peter is a hands on guy - he is involved in it all so the company can only get so big and he has prevented it from getting larger passing on a number of sensible avenues - it would make more sense to drop a bunch of products and limit the number of offerings - that way you can make more numbers of fewer models. It would also help out dealers.

Talking to the guys at Soundhounds they don't love the "yeah it's the best stuff in the store but you have to wait 9 months to get one" routine. As a salesperson you do want to make a sale but you don't want the hassle of telling someone they have to wait for long periods of time. The last time I was in there they had a guy with a complete Linn system who was purchasing a complete Audio Note system. But they had to give him parts of the line and he had to wait for the other parts of the line. They have AN gear which is used as temporary fill in gear. They'll send an AN J as a loaner for someone waiting for an AN E. But this causes problems for the store as well since then they don't have a demo.

Few dealers want to put up with that stuff. And they roll their eyes when they hear Peter is going to make professional gear - they have mixers and mics and a new A to D converter. More time away from actually getting a Meishu or an AN E to an actual customer. They have opened two more plants - one dedicated to speakers - the other for smaller stuff. They went from 1 dealer in 2000 to 12 in 2011 and from 1 to 5 in Canada. They now have Audio Note only retailers as well. They make 700 components so it's amusing when they ask Peter what's in the system and he has to take a few minutes to figure out what the components are. Audio Note Paris Triode & Compagnie.mp4 - YouTube

I have to laugh that Peter Breuninger has become a bigger fanboy than me - The guy wrote for Stereophile, Listener, and the Absolute Sound and now owns his own review publication online company tours.

The guys who were debating over Michael Fremer's $4,000 comments may not like him describing this system as "affordable" but it's pretty close to entry level - man I need more money! Affordable Audio Note Top Audio Video Milan 2011 - YouTube

[RGA]

GisleB

Here is a link to your next AN system - LOL - it's a good demo because to me a great system has to play all kinds of music equally well and play all of them to a very high level - the first cut is also why I'll never own a panel loudspeaker as much as I like a lot of them. Audio Note Ongaku Kensei - YouTube

[GisleB]

Heh.

I have actually heard the Ongaku here in Norway in a hifi show, playing on some Rockport speakers if I remember correctly. Sounded good but I think it would be even better with some AN uk speakers.

Anyway I am so happy with my "level 2" AN system that I think I can live with this system for a very long time, and the Ongaku is a bit to expensive .

It took me about 6 months to get my AN J / Spe after ordering. A long wait but it was well worth it.

[RGA]

Only 6 months - They must have hired more staff.

Level 2 is good enough to be an end of the road system. I could live with it for the rest of my days. Still the Jinro/AN E set-up and one of the new AN table/arms that will be coming down the pipeline eventually and any of their DACs 2.1 and up would do it for me. The entry level dacs have certain things I like about them but they seem to have a few more problems.

[Jimmy C]

When it comes to speakers I think the reason it sounds so "musical and real" is simply because it is built like an instrument.

It's not just the woofer that makes the sound but the whole cabinet/tree like a guitar.

This, plus perfection and synergies between tweeter/woofer and quality components all the way, but this goes with other good companies aswell. But most "high end" companies ( not all ) make speakers with almost "dead" cabinets trying to eliminate them from interfeering. This is my take on the big difference, but this u already know I guess

...once into mid-higher-end audio, we are all conditioned to think that the cabinet must be absolutely dead - whether reading the rags, or talking to 99% of dealers. I have a pair of JMRs, and the cabinets talk to some degree. I can't say the sound in any way is "wooly" or whatever, but it does impart a certain "thickness" or warmth to the music that you don't usually get in the highly braced boxes.

I can remember someone saying the Twins overall sound is centered around the woofer, rather than the tweeter - I agree. I don't get tons of bass out of them, but on the other hand there's no Napoleon complex either - just sort of organic.... maybe that's how it is with the Audio Notes.

[GisleB]

...once into mid-higher-end audio, we are all conditioned to think that the cabinet must be absolutely dead - whether reading the rags, or talking to 99% of dealers. I have a pair of JMRs, and the cabinets talk to some degree. I can't say the sound in any way is "wooly" or whatever, but it does impart a certain "thickness" or warmth to the music that you don't usually get in the highly braced boxes.

I can remember someone saying the Twins overall sound is centered around the woofer, rather than the tweeter - I agree. I don't get tons of bass out of them, but on the other hand there's no Napoleon complex either - just sort of organic.... maybe that's how it is with the Audio Notes.

Ye organic and just so tonally correct with everything you throw on them is good words that describes the sound of my speakers. All my previous speakers just sounded wrong in some genres. ( For me atleast, people are different and I can ofcourse understand that others prefer something else ) .

On the other hand. I do like the "typical" solid state, lots of power and "dead" cabinets sounds also. I actually have a decent second system that is pretty much like that ( Hegel H-200, Bladelius cd player/dac and some XTZ 99.26 speakers ). But notice that I write "like" and not love . This system is not pulling me into the stage as the Audio Note system does.

[Jimmy C]

...music, as well as less than perfect recordings helps for me too, especially compared to the last speakers I had.

As Bob Neill (he sells AN as well as JMR) said: "There's more than one way to skin a cat"...

Like you say, all different opinions on what sounds best, but I'm leaning...

Unfortunately for my audio buying, the condo has taken top billing for money spent... someday soon again... actually, I'm pretty happy with sound... unless Donald Trump adopts me as another trust fund baby, or my listening/living room gets REALLY big overnight...

[Ajani]

Well the difficulty will be finding the place to audition. Peter is a hands on guy - he is involved in it all so the company can only get so big and he has prevented it from getting larger passing on a number of sensible avenues - it would make more sense to drop a bunch of products and limit the number of offerings - that way you can make more numbers of fewer models. It would also help out dealers.

Talking to the guys at Soundhounds they don't love the "yeah it's the best stuff in the store but you have to wait 9 months to get one" routine. As a salesperson you do want to make a sale but you don't want the hassle of telling someone they have to wait for long periods of time. The last time I was in there they had a guy with a complete Linn system who was purchasing a complete Audio Note system. But they had to give him parts of the line and he had to wait for the other parts of the line. They have AN gear which is used as temporary fill in gear. They'll send an AN J as a loaner for someone waiting for an AN E. But this causes problems for the store as well since then they don't have a demo.

Few dealers want to put up with that stuff. And they roll their eyes when they hear Peter is going to make professional gear - they have mixers and mics and a new A to D converter. More time away from actually getting a Meishu or an AN E to an actual customer. They have opened two more plants - one dedicated to speakers - the other for smaller stuff. They went from 1 dealer in 2000 to 12 in 2011 and from 1 to 5 in Canada. They now have Audio Note only retailers as well.

That's the real issue I have with Audio Note. They already have a strong fan base. So I see no point in trying to convert more audiophiles, since AN clearly has no interest in meeting consumer demand.

[RGA]

That's the real issue I have with Audio Note. They already have a strong fan base. So I see no point in trying to convert more audiophiles, since AN clearly has no interest in meeting consumer demand.

I think every company wants to increase their fan base. This is why they bother with entry level products. Not that they really make much money on it but to get people into what it's all about. And AN does entry level (well entry level for them) exceedingly well. Audio Note Zero System review | from TechRadar's expert reviews of Audio systems

And they are growing to meet the demand - not as fast as some would like hence the 6-12 month wait lists. But there is only so much you can do when it's all hand built and 100% of the stuff is tested. It's not a we'll test 1 out of 2000 that roll off the assembly line and call that quality control. With the speakers every single driver is tested and every single one is matched to the other one.

There are a few advantages to the customer (completely aside of sound) to all of this.

1) Products stay in the company line-up for decades. The price of costly materials continues to rise and as such the prices of the gear goes up and up. And of course if it sounded great in the first place it would not need to be replaced in 2-3 years like clockwork.

Why is this advantageous? resale value is generally much much higher. In the case of my amp and speakers I can sell them for what I paid for them and even make a fair chunk of money on them. Basically I got a free amp and speakers by simply holding on to them for 5 years.

Warranties can help like those from Bryston - but I have seen 3BST with 15 years left on the warranty selling for $600 (asking) when the new price is $2k. They added an S to make it an SST which destroyed the resale value.

Once you change the model the product is a paperweight in resale value. And few companies keep the same name.

2) Service - you will be able to get the parts because the amp or speaker has not been replaced 3 times in the last decade. A person who bought an OTO in 1992 needs a part he can get it. Any part. This isn't the case with most of the rest of the companies out there - The guy who was on all of the forums about his PSB speakers that were only 1 model year old and still pretty new and under warranty had to go on forums to get them to do something because they no longer had the parts. Finally they did the right thing and gave him a new current replacement model - which is fine - but not everyone likes the newer replacement models better than the older models - I would rather a B&W Matrix any day over a Nautilus but I wonder how easy it will be to get a pair of Matrix tweeters circa 1985 from B&W - and if so what kind of nutty price will you have to pay since they're the only ones making their drivers.


PS - They have interest in meeting the demand - but some people have no interest in waiting. The old saying "good things are worth waiting for" is often true.

But consider someone who buys the speakers - you are going to pay say $7,000 for a set of speakers. And most companies have a few different appearance options - Audio Note has more than 20 - do you want the just wood option or the lacquer coating - which driver compliment do you want - the ones with Alnico woofers, Alnico Tweeters, external crossovers, Do you want the HE versions. One guy ordered the AN E in Racing car Green with gold driver mounts. You can't stock that stuff - the outlay in cash to have a bunch of ready made stock would tie up too much space and cost in materials.

So they have to wait until the customer says "I want the AN E with this driver with this wiring and this box." Then they get the order and put in the cue.

You can easily get the entry level stuff from Audio Note - probably walk out of the store with it. AX Two speakers come in 2 or maybe 3 choices - black and two woods. The amps up to the Meishue are easy to get as well. The OTO and Soro basically come in a line and phono version. Generally more affordable so dealers carry more of them.

This is not all that different from xoticpc which sells laptops but you get to basically build the thing from the ground up - you get exactly what you want the way you want it. You have to maybe wait 3 weeks - but for the same money it will blow away any old obsolete pile of doo-doo at Best Buy that is advertised as new but 3 generations behind what you can build at exoticpc.

[Ajani]

I think every company wants to increase their fan base. This is why they bother with entry level products. Not that they really make much money on it but to get people into what it's all about. And AN does entry level (well entry level for them) exceedingly well. Audio Note Zero System review | from TechRadar's expert reviews of Audio systems

And they are growing to meet the demand - not as fast as some would like hence the 6-12 month wait lists. But there is only so much you can do when it's all hand built and 100% of the stuff is tested. It's not a we'll test 1 out of 2000 that roll off the assembly line and call that quality control. With the speakers every single driver is tested and every single one is matched to the other one.

There are a few advantages to the customer (completely aside of sound) to all of this.

1) Products stay in the company line-up for decades. The price of costly materials continues to rise and as such the prices of the gear goes up and up. And of course if it sounded great in the first place it would not need to be replaced in 2-3 years like clockwork.

Why is this advantageous? resale value is generally much much higher. In the case of my amp and speakers I can sell them for what I paid for them and even make a fair chunk of money on them. Basically I got a free amp and speakers by simply holding on to them for 5 years.

Warranties can help like those from Bryston - but I have seen 3BST with 15 years left on the warranty selling for $600 (asking) when the new price is $2k. They added an S to make it an SST which destroyed the resale value.

Once you change the model the product is a paperweight in resale value. And few companies keep the same name.

2) Service - you will be able to get the parts because the amp or speaker has not been replaced 3 times in the last decade. A person who bought an OTO in 1992 needs a part he can get it. Any part. This isn't the case with most of the rest of the companies out there - The guy who was on all of the forums about his PSB speakers that were only 1 model year old and still pretty new and under warranty had to go on forums to get them to do something because they no longer had the parts. Finally they did the right thing and gave him a new current replacement model - which is fine - but not everyone likes the newer replacement models better than the older models - I would rather a B&W Matrix any day over a Nautilus but I wonder how easy it will be to get a pair of Matrix tweeters circa 1985 from B&W - and if so what kind of nutty price will you have to pay since they're the only ones making their drivers.


PS - They have interest in meeting the demand - but some people have no interest in waiting. The old saying "good things are worth waiting for" is often true.

But consider someone who buys the speakers - you are going to pay say $7,000 for a set of speakers. And most companies have a few different appearance options - Audio Note has more than 20 - do you want the just wood option or the lacquer coating - which driver compliment do you want - the ones with Alnico woofers, Alnico Tweeters, external crossovers, Do you want the HE versions. One guy ordered the AN E in Racing car Green with gold driver mounts. You can't stock that stuff - the outlay in cash to have a bunch of ready made stock would tie up too much space and cost in materials.

So they have to wait until the customer says "I want the AN E with this driver with this wiring and this box." Then they get the order and put in the cue.

You can easily get the entry level stuff from Audio Note - probably walk out of the store with it. AX Two speakers come in 2 or maybe 3 choices - black and two woods. The amps up to the Meishue are easy to get as well. The OTO and Soro basically come in a line and phono version. Generally more affordable so dealers carry more of them.

This is not all that different from xoticpc which sells laptops but you get to basically build the thing from the ground up - you get exactly what you want the way you want it. You have to maybe wait 3 weeks - but for the same money it will blow away any old obsolete pile of doo-doo at Best Buy that is advertised as new but 3 generations behind what you can build at exoticpc.

All that is great EXCEPT the waiting list is still a complete joke. Audio Note is not a remotely new company, so the idea that the 6 - 12 months waiting list is just temporary as they expand is rubbish. They have been producing the same designs for a very long time, so they could easily have trained more people to put together their gear. The waiting line is their choice as they don't regard meeting demand as a priority. The very fact that Peter Q insists on going into other ventures, such as recording equipment, while unable to meet the demand for his existing products just proves my point.

So what is the point of trying to convert more persons? To increase the waiting time from 6 - 12 months to 1 - 2 years?

[RGA]

When Kondo was around with Audio Note in the early 1990s it was taking him more than 6 months to build the Ongaku - you wanted one he started to build it and it took 6 months - he built the entire amp himself. Then a cue began.

Audio Note has had wait times for many years because the demand is very high and there is only so many you can make - this isn't Ford. This isn't made by robots or assembly lines where one girl puts in a screw and it rolls along a conveyer belt to the next girl who puts in the next screw. Peter is interested in quality not quantity and he knows he loses sales but umm that's the point - it's not all about the sale it's about making the best stuff and in every other kind of prestige product there is a wait list - you want a Bughatti - you are not getting one tomorrow unless you take the demo model in the colour you don't want.

Going into the pro side is really only the top guys at Audio Note - they're the ones doing the design work - they're not building OTOs. So not designing something new for the home user is fine since they already have enough stuff.

And it's not a joke - the customer can make the decision for themselves - When they go into Soundhounds and listen to the Magnepans/B&Ws/Harbeths/Paradigms/Dynaudios/Quads/Sonus Fabers/Meridian active/ and they ask themselves does it sound better than the competitors. And then is it better enough to wait 6 months.

It's a recession and AN can't keep up with the huge demand - a lot of their business is coming from Asia. They have the money and the population. AN is relatively small - there is no way they can keep up with the demand for their top level stuff let alone the midrange gear. The Roksan dealer here who also sells Audio Note sold three M10 preamps in one month. This is a $100,000 amplifier that takes significant time to build - and they had an order from California in the same month. That's 4 top shelf amps - they have to build the transformers from scratch - wind them, make the case work - then they have to have it built - 60 man hours at least - then they test it for several days - then it has to be shipped. And that's one model of one preamp.

I have no problem waiting for quality. Sure I can have the McAmplifier right away but big deal - nothing special about a nice case with internals you can buy for peanuts at Parts Express. What's worse is that many of those amps are the same damn price. Recently on this board people have compared speakers with kits you can buy for 1/10 the price - this is no different in amps or CD players.

Audio Note came to north America with only their top level stuff - for all the lore - Kondo-san only made 3 products for Audio Note - All three were over $50,000. So it's not like there is a big line. The big line starts in 2000 when the $5kish gear starts getting reviewed by American and British press. Then people take notice go listen and want one. Then the orders come flying in - when you have a 6 man shop and you have hundreds of orders you're in some trouble.

Studio Electric makes a very nice speaker - Benchmark likes them and brings them to shows. I met the owner - he is a two man outfit. Could you imagine if suddenly he was bombarded with 100s of people wanting his speakers. You can darn well bet you'd be put on a wait list. Since 2000 AN has opened two plants three if you count the Lithuania plant that only makes level zero.

In another thread on the general forum I posted the factory tour youtube video. That factory though doesn't even make speakers - that is just amps/cdplayers and parts of the turntable - they have Bosendorfer (the world's best piano maker) making the speaker cabinets. They've gone from one plant of 6 people to three plants the main one with over 20 and one with 6 and another one and none of those are making speakers! And they still can't keep up.

And the reason is and I have said this for 5 years on forums - the reason people will wait and they will pay is due to the sound quality at the price. I will wait when I know I pay $5-$8k for something that most competitors at $20k don't approach. I will wait in line to get $20k performance for $5k money any day of the week.

[Ajani]

When Kondo was around with Audio Note in the early 1990s it was taking him more than 6 months to build the Ongaku - you wanted one he started to build it and it took 6 months - he built the entire amp himself. Then a cue began.

Audio Note has had wait times for many years because the demand is very high and there is only so many you can make - this isn't Ford. This isn't made by robots or assembly lines where one girl puts in a screw and it rolls along a conveyer belt to the next girl who puts in the next screw. Peter is interested in quality not quantity and he knows he loses sales but umm that's the point - it's not all about the sale it's about making the best stuff and in every other kind of prestige product there is a wait list - you want a Bughatti - you are not getting one tomorrow unless you take the demo model in the colour you don't want.

Going into the pro side is really only the top guys at Audio Note - they're the ones doing the design work - they're not building OTOs. So not designing something new for the home user is fine since they already have enough stuff.

And it's not a joke - the customer can make the decision for themselves - When they go into Soundhounds and listen to the Magnepans/B&Ws/Harbeths/Paradigms/Dynaudios/Quads/Sonus Fabers/Meridian active/ and they ask themselves does it sound better than the competitors. And then is it better enough to wait 6 months.

It's a recession and AN can't keep up with the huge demand - a lot of their business is coming from Asia. They have the money and the population. AN is relatively small - there is no way they can keep up with the demand for their top level stuff let alone the midrange gear. The Roksan dealer here who also sells Audio Note sold three M10 preamps in one month. This is a $100,000 amplifier that takes significant time to build - and they had an order from California in the same month. That's 4 top shelf amps - they have to build the transformers from scratch - wind them, make the case work - then they have to have it built - 60 man hours at least - then they test it for several days - then it has to be shipped. And that's one model of one preamp.

I have no problem waiting for quality. Sure I can have the McAmplifier right away but big deal - nothing special about a nice case with internals you can buy for peanuts at Parts Express. What's worse is that many of those amps are the same damn price. Recently on this board people have compared speakers with kits you can buy for 1/10 the price - this is no different in amps or CD players.

Audio Note came to north America with only their top level stuff - for all the lore - Kondo-san only made 3 products for Audio Note - All three were over $50,000. So it's not like there is a big line. The big line starts in 2000 when the $5kish gear starts getting reviewed by American and British press. Then people take notice go listen and want one. Then the orders come flying in - when you have a 6 man shop and you have hundreds of orders you're in some trouble.

Studio Electric makes a very nice speaker - Benchmark likes them and brings them to shows. I met the owner - he is a two man outfit. Could you imagine if suddenly he was bombarded with 100s of people wanting his speakers. You can darn well bet you'd be put on a wait list. Since 2000 AN has opened two plants three if you count the Lithuania plant that only makes level zero.

In another thread on the general forum I posted the factory tour youtube video. That factory though doesn't even make speakers - that is just amps/cdplayers and parts of the turntable - they have Bosendorfer (the world's best piano maker) making the speaker cabinets. They've gone from one plant of 6 people to three plants the main one with over 20 and one with 6 and another one and none of those are making speakers! And they still can't keep up.

And the reason is and I have said this for 5 years on forums - the reason people will wait and they will pay is due to the sound quality at the price. I will wait when I know I pay $5-$8k for something that most competitors at $20k don't approach. I will wait in line to get $20k performance for $5k money any day of the week.

I get all of that. And some persons maybe so in love with the product that they will wait as long as it takes to get them. However, the fact still remains that the long waiting time is by choice. There are many ways Audio Note could have eliminated the long waiting time (the simplest being to not have so many different products), but they have not chosen to do so. Why? Because customers like you will wait and wait and wait.

I see nothing wrong with waiting if you want a customized pair of AN-E's, but a base version should be available at the dealer with little or no waiting time. There is no rocket science involved in this.

Also, a longer wait is fine for products $50K and up. Very few persons just walk into a store and drop $50K on a product, so it makes little financial sense for a manufacturer/dealer to have a large inventory of such items (that would likely lead to bankruptcy).

[RGA]

I see nothing wrong with waiting if you want a customized pair of AN-E's, but a base version should be available at the dealer with little or no waiting time. There is no rocket science involved in this.

Also, a longer wait is fine for products $50K and up. Very few persons just walk into a store and drop $50K on a product, so it makes little financial sense for a manufacturer/dealer to have a large inventory of such items (that would likely lead to bankruptcy).

There is no base version of the AN E because they're all custom - same with the AN J. An AN K and down are usually stocked by dealers so like I aid you can get those. The dealer in HK has the level zero series.

So yes you can buy entry level AN gear same day.

The AN E basic models come in 4 versions silver or copper wired AN E/SPE is silver - AN E/LX is copper. Both come in regular or HE drivers. And both come in over 20 different wood veneers. You want the dealer to carry the entry level that means they have to carry all four versions of the entry level AN E speakers each in 20 different venneers means they have to stock 80 pairs of loudspeakers to let the customer walk out with a pair that day in the colour choice they want. Add another 80 pairs if they want the High gloss finish and another 80 if they want the Piano Gloss versions for a bit extra cash - some will want it and some won't after all. And all of that goes for the AN J as well. Some people may like J as well due to room size so that's another 80 options +80 and +80 for the two different finish options. To carry the basic line then you're looking at 240 pairs of AN J and 240 pairs of AN Es. And then you'll have the guy who wants Racing Green which you don't stock. Dealer nightmare.

As an $8k budgeted audiophile You are getting the $50,000 budgeted audiophile treatment - and in some cases the same or better performance. So treat an AN E/Spe HE as a $20k speaker. Entry level at Audio Note is AX One and AX Two - you can get those entry level speakers no problem. I will probably buy the latter later in the year.

Most dealers do stock the entry AN J and E as well - Soundhounds stocks the AN E/LX HE and AN E/Spe HE and the AN J/ Spe and AN K/Spe. They have selected what they think will be the colour people will like "poplar burl" "apple" and Cherry wood darkish red in the AN K. So you can walk out with one today if you like their colour choice but to me for the same money why not wait and get one exactly the way you want. It's like eating a burger with pickles - I like pickles so no problem I'll buy it but if you hate them why not wait to get the one without them?

It would be no different than going to buy a Revel Salon 2 and the dealer only has black - but you want cherry wood. You can choose to wait or you can choose to take the black.

In my case I took the AN J/Spe in black which had some blemishes on the upper back corners. I choose a heavy discount over looks any day but many people won't.

But at the same price I would take the option to wait because check out the AN J/LX in this link (this is pretty much entry level AN J scroll down - then picture it in a regular boring matte black or the usual wood colours. Sorry but this finish is about as good as loudspeakers get and I would definitely wait a few months if it's the same money as the black one the store happens to have.

You get your choice Maple, Curly Maple, Palisander, Olive, Tulip, Alder, Oak, Apple, Cherry, Walnut, Black ash, Wenge, Birch Burl, Birds Eye Maple, Makassa-Ebony, Madrone burl, Indian Rosewood, Poplar Burl and Yew.

Deco Audio Speakers2

[Ajani]

There is no base version of the AN E because they're all custom - same with the AN J. An AN K and down are usually stocked by dealers so like I aid you can get those. The dealer in HK has the level zero series.

So yes you can buy entry level AN gear same day.

The AN E basic models come in 4 versions silver or copper wired AN E/SPE is silver - AN E/LX is copper. Both come in regular or HE drivers. And both come in over 20 different wood veneers. You want the dealer to carry the entry level that means they have to carry all four versions of the entry level AN E speakers each in 20 different venneers means they have to stock 80 pairs of loudspeakers to let the customer walk out with a pair that day in the colour choice they want. Add another 80 pairs if they want the High gloss finish and another 80 if they want the Piano Gloss versions for a bit extra cash - some will want it and some won't after all. And all of that goes for the AN J as well. Some people may like J as well due to room size so that's another 80 options +80 and +80 for the two different finish options. To carry the basic line then you're looking at 240 pairs of AN J and 240 pairs of AN Es. And then you'll have the guy who wants Racing Green which you don't stock. Dealer nightmare.

As an $8k budgeted audiophile You are getting the $50,000 budgeted audiophile treatment - and in some cases the same or better performance. So treat an AN E/Spe HE as a $20k speaker. Entry level at Audio Note is AX One and AX Two - you can get those entry level speakers no problem. I will probably buy the latter later in the year.

Most dealers do stock the entry AN J and E as well - Soundhounds stocks the AN E/LX HE and AN E/Spe HE and the AN J/ Spe and AN K/Spe. They have selected what they think will be the colour people will like "poplar burl" "apple" and Cherry wood darkish red in the AN K. So you can walk out with one today if you like their colour choice but to me for the same money why not wait and get one exactly the way you want. It's like eating a burger with pickles - I like pickles so no problem I'll buy it but if you hate them why not wait to get the one without them?

It would be no different than going to buy a Revel Salon 2 and the dealer only has black - but you want cherry wood. You can choose to wait or you can choose to take the black.

In my case I took the AN J/Spe in black which had some blemishes on the upper back corners. I choose a heavy discount over looks any day but many people won't.

But at the same price I would take the option to wait because check out the AN J/LX in this link (this is pretty much entry level AN J scroll down - then picture it in a regular boring matte black or the usual wood colours. Sorry but this finish is about as good as loudspeakers get and I would definitely wait a few months if it's the same money as the black one the store happens to have.

You get your choice Maple, Curly Maple, Palisander, Olive, Tulip, Alder, Oak, Apple, Cherry, Walnut, Black ash, Wenge, Birch Burl, Birds Eye Maple, Makassa-Ebony, Madrone burl, Indian Rosewood, Poplar Burl and Yew.

Deco Audio Speakers2

That sounds like way too many options to make sense practically. No reason not to have a base AN-E with perhaps just 3 standard finish options. Everything else can be custom.

Also, with all those options on the AN-E (ignoring the finish options), what chance is there to actually audition these different models before deciding which to purchase? I doubt any dealers carry all the different options. So I guess you just have to audition whatever the dealer has and hope the cheaper or more expensive option you purchase sounds as good or better.

[GisleB]

In Norway they had a couple of AN-J / Spe's and standard K's and also E's.

My problem was that my "better half" only permitted 2 color choices and that was either white or dark walnut. I chose Walnut cause I like speakers that have a "natural tree" finnish. This would probably be my choice of finnish no matter what. My point is that if this finnish was not available I would not have these speakers now. So Iam happy that they have lots of options here.

RGA, did you know you can get all AN-J's with hemp also ? I was offered that for a small amount more, but my GF didnt accept the blue color , so went with paper. I do agree here though, blue woofer is not too pretty atleast with this finnish.

Here is a picture of one of my new speakers :

[RGA]

GisleB

Nice - I wished I had the J in something other than black. Although it does make the paper woofer and foam surround look more "silver" so they look kind of cool. Maybe black will make a come back. As someone pointed out - it usually goes with everything.

Still I much prefer the real wood looks and the Poplar Burl one is a stunner. The dealer here carries many a fine speaker but that finish in the gloss looks like a piece of art. That's much better than the old days when your choice was black or that ugly wood they were using.

I am interested to audition Robert Lighton's speakers -he's a famed furniture maker and designer and now AN dealer in New York. He's made a floorstanding AN E of sorts - uses the alnico paper woofers (10 inch) and alnico tweeters in an undamped cabinet (the same instrument idea). And using AN caps - all designed around an AN 300B amp. They certainly look like what an AN E might look like if it was a floorstander. At $20k a pair it ain't happening for me but I'd be interested to hear the results. And being a furniture maker the wood choice would be tremendous. Robert Lighton New York Furniture

[Ajani]

I am interested to audition Robert Lighton's speakers -he's a famed furniture maker and designer and now AN dealer in New York. He's made a floorstanding AN E of sorts - uses the alnico paper woofers (10 inch) and alnico tweeters in an undamped cabinet (the same instrument idea). And using AN caps - all designed around an AN 300B amp. They certainly look like what an AN E might look like if it was a floorstander. At $20k a pair it ain't happening for me but I'd be interested to hear the results. And being a furniture maker the wood choice would be tremendous. Robert Lighton New York Furniture

Cool... I was tempted to make a thread about those speakers when I saw them on 6moons News Room, as I suspected they might interest you... The look is quite nice...

[RGA]

What's fascinating to me is that for all the years and going to dealers etc that you still come across stuff you've never even heard of. Lower down the six moons page they show a rather stunning looking set of tube amps from Trafomatic - who the hell is Trafomatic? Apparently been around since 1997. 15 years and never once read anything on them. They look nice.

[Ajani]

Is it just me or does the Kondo Audio Note Buyura look very very similar to the Robert Lighton Audio's RL10?

Kondo Audio Note Buyura


Robert Lighton Audio's RL10


Images from:
CES 2012 Report - Jonathan Valin on Loudspeakers $25K and Above | AVguide
6moons.com: News Room