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RE: EAR vs Audio Note preamp

Audio Note is more a "it's better when it's all together" or the system is better than the sum of the parts.

I'm in the same boat - I am looking for a new preamp and deciding between the M3Phono and M6 Line with added phono stage later. I have tried some other preamps but many lack a phono stage and start costing amounts that while at retail are lower - will wind up costing me more down the line.

But when you're dealing with solid brands at these prices the onus is on you. If you are not close to a dealer ask the dealer if they have customers near you and they may be able to hook you up with auditions to people who own the gear. That's what I did - My dealer put me in contact with a wealthier individual who had AN's flagship system and I got hear it all. Here in Hong Kong I did the same and that's how I got to hear a Shindo Petrus into AN Kegon amplifiers through the AN E/Spx Alnico Hemp speakers (the same ones that Steve Hoffman has).

As I am sure you know the EAR does have some advantages with regards to flexibility - the EAR phono stages take MM and MC cartridges - the AN preamp is MM only requiring you to buy a SUT. Further you can make on the fly adjustments to the EAR adjusting its gain. Plus it comes with balanced outputs (AN charges extra).

So you really have to like the sound the AN puts out (and the purity of removing all the switches and gain stages etc) to trump the features of the EAR.I'd love to get both of them here myself to try out. I initially didn't care for EAR but not that long back I tried them again and quite liked what I heard. Then again I hated AN the first time I heard them too. So it goes.



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