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Tommorrow, I should receive a 6 years old AN-J Lx speakers with AN stands!
I have never heard any audio note speakers, Im pumped, but also stressed. I hope that they are really that good. My most impressive listening experience have been with a pair of tannoy 15 inch red speakers and I hope the AN will bring a lot of that emotion and just jaw dropping musicality and presence as I dont have the money for tannoy red 15...
I will report with pictures and listening impression tommorrow night!
cheers
Follow Ups:
hi RGA, please tell me the minimum listening distance recommended for the an j. I cannot find it anywhere. but right now, it seems evident that the cohesivness do not work 6 feet away from the listening position, now I have them 8 feet away from the listening position, and they are cohesive, but closer and the tweeter and woofer are a bit hearable...I will post picture tomorrow, but its not just the veneers, the wood is crushed and the veneer at two corners have lift up, showing small bits of the inner wood: its a terrible damage.
I will contact audio note to get a estimate and if it even can be fixed. as I understand, the enclosure is made of mdf with a thin sheet a real wood. mine is madronae. I think to fix them, they will have to put a new sheet all over the speakers. that should be damn pricey imo.
Anyways, the problem is just cosmetical. jeesus, my karma is weird.
As for the sound, its beautiful. ultimely musical. This is what happended just now. I went in the room, to listen critically to miles davis- kind of blue. cliche I know, but I love that album. After 10 second, my mind told me dont listen to the bass, or whatever, why not listen to what miles davis is playing right now, and Ive naturally listen to miles solo. This never happens normally. When I decide to listen critically, I do. but my mind just wanted to listen to miles. anyways, thats stupid.
The bass is plenty for me, and natural. The bass of the decapo was bigger and cleaner, but unnatural, artificial I founded but definitely cleaner. the bass of the AN J is looser, less define, but just right somehow. overall, decapo vs anj bass is really close and might take the decapo.
Soundstage wise, the decapo eat the anj for diner. its not even close. the anj image well actually, but the decapo were champs at that. they really put each musician on their own stage. it was impressive, but at the same time I found that aspect a bit overwhelming and it often made me more concern about the aspect of the sound rather then the musical content.
Musicality is the word to describe the audio note. They are really musical. they draw you to the musical content.
the decapo was forward speaker, they put the sound right in the room, in your ear. the audio note are laid back, the sound is behind the speakers and in between, the decapo was a bit forward and put the sound in front of the speakers.
the highs had more detail on the decapo, but my problem was harshness somewhere in the higher midrange lower highs with the decapo. Its not there with the an j, they are really smooth!
So far, so good and im happy right away with the sound.
I will report back for more impressions!
Edits: 10/08/14 10/08/14
With the Audio Note's it depends on the year it was made - Audio Note will have the serial number on file and will know the materials. My AN J/SPe has Russian Birch panels on the front and back and an MDF wrap. MDF is cheaper so it should be less pricey to fix/replace.My concern here is that the AN speakers rely very heavily on the cabinet - it would be like bashing a hole in a Stradivarius - I think it would be quite detrimental to the sound. Many speakers that basically just house a driver in a box meant to deaden the sound can probably just be filled in with wood filler but not with cabinets built to be integral the reproduction of controlled resonances. Damage to the cabinet could mean uncontrolled resonances.
AN's being designed for corner or near wall tend to be positioned further from the listening position than most speakers which aids their cohesiveness but while they don't recommend nearfield listening they do fine if you can sit with ears below the tweeter (indeed ears at and below the woofer is surprisingly good).
Regarding position - you have to try them in different spots but Mario Binner always suggests starting from hard into the corners (virtually touching both the back and side walls with severe toe in such that you are looking at the outside of the cabinets with the tweeters firing a full meter in front of your head. Indeed in a narrow room you can face the speakers such that the left speakers is facing DIRECTLY AT the right speaker.
But I have heard them in a variety of rooms in a variety of positions and largely it comes down to the room. The dealer in Hong Kong sells more Audio Note than anyone in the world and the speakers are 3-5 feet into the room away from all walls facing straight ahead. Completely, not what Audio Note recommends and yet it still sounds great - Basically you have to find a position where the walls around them are not singing along and where they won't excite bass room modes which can sound boomy. In some rooms the corner position is best to get away from the boom. It took me about a month to get them to where I felt they did everything right. I tried them 4 feet into the room away from walls - near wall toe in and no toe in. In my room in Canada - ultra hard in corners with little toe in worked best.
Further - the electronics matter a LOT. Some otherwise good sounding electronics don't sound right on them.
The one thing I did love about the De Capo was that you could virtually walk right up to them and the stage remained intact. I almost bought a pair in HK = personally I prefer the silk dome tweeter to the Beryllium for Reference 3a. I like the Beryllium in Usher and Focal speakers though.
Edits: 10/09/14
Indeed they do, and the MDF cabinets really can't compare with the Russian plywood models. If you've never heard an AN speaker, you'll enjoy the MDF versions. But once you've heard one of the plywood versions, you'll find it hard to go back.
I hope JPB was told by the seller ahead of time that this was one of the MDF models, not to mention that it was damaged...
hi, I have the AN J Lx from 2007. I had seen pictures of the speaker before. I think my version has some plywood and some mdf because if I look at the back of the sepaekrs, where theres the serial number, I clearly see birch plywood with the many layers. so maybe front and back is plywood, and sides and top and bottom mdf? I have the madrone finish.
Dont worry bob, I know that its the seller/shipper responsability to fix the problem to my satisfaction. Fortunetly, the shipper, which is a shipper for high end furniture contacted me and are investigating how could they box a speaker that is worth 5k, with a single sheet of 0.5 cm of foam.
Ive also opened a ups claim. Iv contacted audio note and sended pictures so they can tell em wether or not they can fix it.
if by the end, the solution or composention are not to my satisfaction, I will ask refund and will return the speakers. Fortunetly, the seller also is helpful. what happened is its his brother in law that works for the shipping company and could then have better shipping price. so he packed one speaker in the original audio note box because he had only one original box and asked for the company to box the second speaker and ship them to me.
Anyways, I will report back
Based on what you're saying, these are not the earlier versions, so disregard all my talk about MDF vs. Russian plywood.
Please describe the sonic diffs.
This piece of the conversation no longer pertains, as it's pretty obvious these are not the earlier MDF versions. But to answer your question, the Russian plywood versions introduced some years back sound firmer and tighter overall with more bass clarity.
Ive played again with placement.I had them 5.5 feet apart and am sitting at around 8 feet away from them. The soundstage was really week. Instruments seemed to come only from behind the speaker with not much separation. I thought it was the only default of the AN J and was Ok with the compromise.
Ive moved my bass traps, which allowed me to place them almost 7 feet apart and im sitting 8 feet away. If I put them 8 feet apart, the middle is compromise and lack weight. at exactly 7 feet, everything locks in. impressive how small details make HUGE difference.
now, 7 feet apart, 8 feet away, instrument separation is excellent. not as good as decapo, but each player are separated and are quite stable in their space on the stage. depht is particularly nice and now, sounds even escape the width boudaries of the speakers. WOW. This, I always like to hear from any speakers, and anj pull this off quite well. Its a huge wall of sound, high and wide.
I will try to make a review soon, but I had never heard such harmonics from a speaker. The hardest instrument to do is the piano, I understand now that I have a speaker that is able to reproduce it. all the harmonics are there. decay of all the notes are hearable. its a impressive thing.I love more and more the speakers, they do just so much thing right. With AN J, its clearly the sum of all parts that makes it a special speaker. They dont do anything wrong. they can go loud without sounding strain. The sound is not boxy at all. the more alive sound ive ever heard. Free of any boxyness coloration. They are dynamic, bass is fast and tuneful. The bass is great. Much better then decapo, much more definitiong and weight to the bass. It feels so natural and like the real instrument.
Im thrilled!
im using a art0 class t amp (which is quite excellent but likely my weakest link) and a EC design sd-1 player.
Edits: 10/16/14
one of the best at a show recently... and I must say even through TV speakers and youtube it clearly sounds quite excellent.
$25,000 is deemed affordable LOL - but then again you could pay more for one component these days so I suppose it is "affordable" - affordable for 1% anyway.
Still I have the J/Spe and OTO now for a decade. And it does very little wrong. Or I should say virtually everything else at the price does more things wrong and less things right.
why does he say that the AN J HE is 3950$ a pair? They are 5000$ for the AN J Lx. Am I mistaken here, or he clearly made a mistake?BTW, theres no way in hell there DAC is worth 10k. This is where audio note push the lines and sounds ridiculous. And I doubt their cart is worth that much either. Their DAC are not that evolved technologically. I would get a 4k AMR DAC way before the 10k audio note dac. The AMR is even more advanced technologically. so is the ec design dacs.
I believe they shoot themselve in the feet by showing such expensive DAC. It make it sound unnaforable. where they could bring a 1k DAC that sounds real close to their 10k ones.
All I need now is a se tube amp, just dont know where to go. Oto is interesting, but theres so much SE choice.In time...
Edits: 10/17/14 10/17/14 10/17/14
He said J/D
The CD Transport and DAC combined is ~$10k.
AN successfully sell their CD players/DACs at and well above $10,000. They also sell Dacs under $2k like the DAC 0.1x. So there are cheaper offerings.
Am I wrong, or the AN J D HE is not available anymore? What is the listing price of the AN J D HE?
The AN J/D is $3700 and AN J/D with Hemp woofers is $4000 according to show reports.
this is not the pricing at all.
AN J D is not even available nowadays. Arent they called AN J Lx. or the D version is chip board?
I thought the basic model was only An J Lx and cost now 4500$.
Maybe Bob can chime in. Is the AN J D is still offered new?
See for yourself. Go to triodeandco.us Click on ANwers Forum. Click on Show Reports. Click on Montreal Hi Fi Show March 28-30,2014 and read.
Edits: 10/18/14
I see, so 4100 CAD. hmmm, didnt knew that. so its the basic model. I thought they had stop building those and were just making as entry the Lx which has plywood front and back..
anyone knows what D means? I think its the particle board box, and there is no front and back plywood?
All the letters after the / indicate the cabling being used. The J/D use AN D copper cables - the J/LX uses LX cables.
The current LX models are 100% Russian Birch all the way around.
You can see the cables order here
due to the damaged cabinet, the AN J Lx return to the owner.
I mus say that Ive loved my time with the AN J, and will likely try to find a used old pair. they are just too good.
However, They will not be my main speakers. I need more resolution and detail and more controlled bass. They ultimately lack some transparency and detail of other speakers.
My next speaker try out is: amphion one18
http://www.amphion.fi/en/create/products/one18/
will report back after the amphion is here!
cheers
The SPe model have better definition and a cleaner top end; the Lx model has more body.
Observe, before you think. Think before you open your yap. Act on the basis of experience.
I will be very interested to hear how they do in your small room. I am very pleasantly surprised how the E is performing in my small Hong Kong apartment up against the wall. But my room is made of solid concrete which is hugely advantageous for this design. Show the pictures man
It's funny you mention the J/LX - just Saturday I went to Audio Note's showroom in the heart of Wanchai and they had the AN J/LX connected to Audio Note's new M2 Line Preamplifier, CD 4.1 Transport and 3.1X Balanced DAC with 9 watt Quest Monoblocks and I was quite shocked by the bass depth and control (speakers well away from corners and faced straight ahead with no toe in. The weird thing is that I have been less thrilled by the Meishu integrated amp which is basically a one box version of the M2 Preamp and Quest monoblocks. Unless I have this wrong. The M2 preamp really impressed me and the J/LX they had may also be slightly older - with the paper woofers not the new hemp woofers.
I played both good and mediocre recordings:
Sarah McLachlan's Surfacing (Japanese K2HD Remaster limited 1000 print which sounded phenomenal)
Schindler's List (Japanese K2HD Remaster Limited - sublime)
Sophie Millman (Take Love Easy)
LP (Forever For Now)
Taiko Band drum works
Roxette "Look Sharp"
Martha Argerich "Rachmaninoff & Tchaikovsky" (Japanese K2HD limited number remaster).
Daft Punk "Random Access Memories" (9 watts had no trouble here).
The M2 and Quest monoblocks has been one of my favorite experiences with 300B. I have been contemplating the M6 as well but the price difference is very large. I want to try them back to back somehow. Audio Note's new MK3 seems to be a step up over previous iterations. A little less posh sounding a little more upbeat with some more verve.
I own the Snell Type J speakers which the AN J's are modeled after. The Shells are very dynamic and realistic sounding. They AN's are several steps up from that. I am sure you will like them.....
they sound amazing, but they have been totalyl damaged whille shipping.every corner of one speakers are destroyed. three corners I can see the wood under it. Im freaking out.
they sound amazing but the speakers lost at least half of their value. im fucked as we havent insured them for the full amount, only 675$ and I paid 2600$. I will file a claim, but I dont know what else to do. Ive paid 300$ of USD to CAD conversion, 150 to fucking ups and 250$ of shipping and paypal fees.
In total, it costed me 3200 CAD and I doubt they are now worth 1500$. Im freaking out
but the sound is sublime. just perfect for me. they are so emotianlly packed, ive never heard that. I have goosbump all over listening to j mascis- free so free solo.
the tone of the guitar is exquisite. They are REALLY musical. I have never heard such thing before. they really show you the musical bits of the music. They are also quite detailed and have a lot of air in the highs. they dissapear. not harsh at all, nothing like the decapo, they are like opposites. they are definitely laid back speakers, not forward.
They are special so far, really good. im happy for the sound at least.The bass is plenty for my room also. Right away, I can say that they are in a different league then decapo for MY taste. its not even clsoe. they are so emotianlly packed, so goosbump producers. im amazed. big grin on face, even if one speaker it totally damaged lol. I will post pictures guys, its not funny at all, one speaker look like shit.
I will come back and make a whole review, but I want to cry honestly. I have never experience such thing. This is the biggest purchase of my life, lol, and they are destroyed cosmetically like ive never seen a speaker like that ever.
fuck me
Edits: 10/08/14 10/08/14 10/08/14
Seller/shipper is responsible for insurance, not you. He sold you whole speakers and you paid for that. If they're damaged, it's his responsibility to cover it. Unless you two made other arrangements. Did he tell you they were MDF rather than plywood??
bob, if I see, where the serial number is written at the back of the speakers, layers of plywood exactly like that:
http://hifi-profi.ru/katalog/polochnaya-akustika/9469-audio-note-an-j-lx.html?sef=hcfpthis do mean its birch plywood front and back baffle and mdf all around?
Edits: 10/10/14 10/10/14
Devore uses a mixture of MDF and plywood in their cabinets, so the two brands may indeed be cut from the same cloth.
Glad the sound is good. The J is a pretty big step up over the DeCapo - The De Capo is more in line with the K/Spe but I would, and did, take the K over the De Capo - it has a more even sounding response, and sounds ultimately more transparent and more cohesive ultimately - the De Capo was warmer and richer though than the K/SPe.
The AN cabinets are all made from No Void Russian Birch and so long as it hasn't punctured all the way through they'll likely sound just fine.
If it's just damage to the veneer you can probably get that fixed up without paying a ton although I have never inquired.
I really hate it when people don't take the time to pack things well. It's one reason I am hesitant to buy used items that don't come with the factory packaging. Always save those factory cartons!
This kind of thing happened to me twice while buying on ebay. Luckily, both purchases were covered by the ebay buyer protection plan, and both times I was able to work out a satisfactory compensatory solution.
I'm sorry to hear that your bubble has been burst in this way. Lesson learned, I guess.
As long as the damage is only cosmetic and not functional, it can probably be fixed. It'll take some Bondo, sanding, and repainting. Probably won't cost THAT much more, considering what you've already invested, and you can at least try billing UPS for the repairs. Might need a lawyer, and the threat of litigation, to make 'em pay, though, and that of course means more expense.
Damn shame, but UPS is notorious for for this sort of damage, and they DON'T CARE! Packing needs to be virtually bomb-proof prior to shipping.
Since you really love the sound, those speakers are worth keeping and worth fixing up purty again.
they have madrone finish, theres no way it can be repaired easily.
whoow. the sound is just glorious. its able to transmit so much emotion in music I know by heart. I have never heard such emotion. I really rediscover music right now. Not a big fan of wayne shorter but hes playing now and im hearing emotion, musicality from all the musiain. WOWthe midrange is so resolving. the tone of the instruments is stunning. it really feels as if your there, with the musician in the studio, behind the studio glass.
I will keep them, no way im selling those, they are close to perfect.
I ahve them as away as I can from me, around 8 feet away from the listening position, almost touching the back wall and about 6 feet apart each other. if im closer to them, the tweeter and woofer cohesivness doesnt work, from 8 feet, no problem at all and they blend perfectly.
Without bass traps (I have tried with and without bass traps), the speaker close to the back wall sounds boomy as hell. but as I have huge floor to ceiling 14 inch bass traps, it removes alkl boomyness. thank god for bass traps!I have never experience a speaker that draw you to the musical content. it really does the trick of just making music and almost forcing you to listen to the music being played, not the sound. ITs hard to listen critically, right away you want tojust follow the music.
Im happy seriously... for the first time ever. I have had multiple FAST system, big three ways, decapo, salk continuum. I have never been that satisfied. I can finally let the speaker chase go, for a loooooong while!
Edits: 10/09/14 10/09/14
RGA is correct about the importance of matching the electronics to the AN speakers. Ditto for the source. I was not impressed with the sound of the various AN Es at audio shows when sourced by digital or by a tt with a mm cartridge. The sound was far too mellow and polite for my taste. However, at the 2014 CAS, in the Music First room the AN-E Lexus sounded fantastic. Perfectly clear, detailed with plenty of "jump". Fortunately, the emotion of the music was preserved but with far better micro and macro dynamics. They were driving the AN-E Lexus with a pair of AN Empress 2A3 mono-blocks ($7,200). The source was a tt with a mc cartridge. Whatever their sensitivity rating is, the AN-E Lexus don't need much power to properly load the room. If my Fulton Js ever give out, the AN Es in some form are on my VERY short list.
ive played all day long with placement. ive tried everything. corner placement, with or without bass traps. well away from the back wall but away from the side walls, ect.
I have to try again, but right now, they are well away from the front wall like aournd 2 feet, about 20 inch from side walls and extreme toe in. If I didnt put the extreme toe in, they were too far apart and voices came from the two speakers. now with the extreme toe in, the voice is in the middle, but the bass has significantly improved.
Without bass traps, Im sure my room would have been too small for good bass. without bass traps, in my room, the bass is not good. but now, with extreme toe in, bass traps and well far apart, they seem like the best position.
The toe in is about 45 degree.
I will play with placement again, but as soon as I place the speaker closer to the front wall then 2 feet, boominess appears. and I cant stand boominess. 2 feet from the front wall, bass is punchy and clean!
wow, speakers are a pain in the ass
I also hate bass that booms. My Fulton Js go down under 20 Hz with clear, tight bass. But they are simply Huge.
forget about it folks. celine dion sound amazing. I hate celine dion. I dont even care going thrue jennifer lopez r whatever my girlfriend want to listen, voices are simply unbelievable. amazing. to say they give goosbump is a understatement. its pure bliss at this point listening to a good signer like celine.
The problem I have now is the distance from the speaker. im 7 feet away, and feel I should be a bit further. from outside the room, the sound is more coherent. I dont know what to do as Im sittin right on the back wall and the speakers need to be 2 feet away from front wall.
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