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A nice set of Audio Note E/Lexus in Birdseye Maple with matching stands. I have yet to see my Line Magnetic 219IA amp move a tick past 0.5 watts on the wattometer even with bass heavy music. Excellent right out of the box.
I was worried about the smaller room and having to place them on the long wall. I think worried for nothing as it turns out.
Follow Ups:
I just put my trio together for the photo.
AN AX Two, KEF LS-50 and AN E/Lexus
Good job Sir! I am jealous. But happy for you :)
I bought a pair of AN-E SPx speakers in birch like yours several years ago and all I can say is they are the best I've had and will most likely be the last speakers I buy for my main system. They sound way better than their understated looks portend. BTW, I love he look of the LM amp-what a monster!
I've enjoyed them all back to the chipboard versions. It's just an easy set it and forget kind of speaker.
Did you have a choice between the LX's and SPe's or was this a specific deal? If you had the choice, tell us a little about why you made it, if you would. I have heard both J/Lx's and J/SPe's in a 'live' room and found the Lx's more livable. Is your room 'live'?
Yeah my room would be considered live.
I could have paid more for an SPe - in Hong Kong the apartments are all concrete and hard wood floors. Surprisingly there is no slap echo.
My focus was initially on the AN E/Spx HE Hemp Alnico but the price rose apparently because they can't get the Alnico drivers in any kind of numbers.
The idea was that eventually I would upgrade to the Spx Alnico which would mean taking the guts out of whatever E I bought now. Frankly I liked the old AN E/D in chipboard. So I thought why bother spending the extra money if I am going to take it all out one day anyway?
I bought the J/Spe over the J/L a decade ago - the J/Spe I felt was cleaner and smoother. My room in Canada is "dead" in comparison to HK. Interestingly, though I felt the E/L worked much better with SS than the K/Spe (which sounded hot).
I also liked the K/Lx in HK more than my old K/Spe. But the cable wasn't the only difference - the new K has full Russian Birch and foam surrounds over the old rubber vinyl wrap.
The cabling issue might be that copper is probably better suited to non full AN systems and the silver is better if you stick to all Audio Note and maybe level 3 up. So I think you could argue that copper Lexus is friendlier over a wider array of systems. Indeed, some have said Lexus is a good cable outside AN systems as well.
OK, all of this makes sense. E/SPe's in a normal room on AN electronics has always been my preference ("cleaner, smoother" and more open) but given your situation and plans, you appear to be on the right track.
Lexus does travel well, though once you're out there in a non all-AN world, the competition for really good copper wire gets fierce.
There are so many different versions of AN speakers, but the differences which define some of these versions would seem to be very slight ones in many cases.Which of the various changes or "upgrades" seem to matter most in specific models?
Edits: 08/31/14
I think the level system approach AN put out makes a lot of sense.The E/Lexus is probably the model to get if the rest of your system is going to be something that isn't going to be using silver cables or is an upper level Audio Note with silver everywhere. Bob is correct that the Spe is more revealing but that can be a two edged sword because revealing may show up more warts and can actually sound worse unless the other stuff is up to snuff.
The tricky thing with Audio Note (and not alone on this) but because they offer so many models of the same speaker you kind of get into that feeling of wanting NOT to buy the basic entry level model. We all want to get the model up. Pay the little extra for the SE car over the basic model.
If you didn't directly compare the E/Lexus to the E/SPe you'd probably not care. Indeed, I was ready to buy the old J/L but the J/Spe showed up lie by omission of the L. But I'd have been perfectly happy with the J/L I suspect.
I think your choice in gear will influence all of this as well. I've heard enough 300B that it's just not for me (except the parallel 300B which for whatever reason sounds like the best of both world "almost" of 211 and 8 watt 300B).One Hong Kong dealer described the 300B as a "Lady amp" in that they're delicate and sweet but lack the manly man attributes of scale dynamics and drive. Given that I play rock and trance the Jinro is way mor emy speed and to my ear Jinro walks all over the likes of the Meishu when full range powerful music is played.
They're both built well and cost about the same but to me the Meishu sounds a little too much like the OTO and given the OTO is so much less expensive I kind of say - just get an OTO and save $15,000.
It's ultimately why I chose the non HE driver over the HE woofer. I have a big guts and glory 24 watt SET with 845s (closer in sound to a Jinro) and I felt it would compensate for the HE driver and might suit the copper wiring better. And if I ever do go with Audio Note amps it's going to be either the 211 or the parallel 300Bs. And the speaker that would be commensurate with those amps to me would be the E Spx/Alnico
Frankly all of their stuff is hugely listenable. There isn't anything that I've heard from them that is wrong sounding. I can't say that about most stuff. A lot of stuff sounds better at doing certain things but they usually always trade-off two or more things to achieve the superiority in one.
I've lived with the AX Two for three years and it's about as entry level as it gets and other than what it can't do it's pretty hard to say that for $1,000 there is something about them that is disagreeable.
And heck those things AX Two's are copper wired with lower grade cables than the Lexus. And has lower grade drivers cabinet etc. But if you were not a crazy audiophile like we all are then the AX Two is for most people good enough to be a last loudspeaker within its frequency response limits.
The E/Spx Alnico to me is a big jump over the Lexus and Spe. Having said that the associated gear to get the most from them (not to mention the price of the speakers themselves) is starting to get into the 6 digit ballpark.
What I would like to see is a E/Lexus Alnico and E/Spe Alnico. How much is the sound improved by the Alnico versus the cables?
Lastly I am more of a source first approach guy.
Would you rather a system of say OTO SE Signtaure with say a DAC 3.1 on and a TT2 with the MC cart on E/Lexus or say because you spent the extra on the speakers you have a regular OTO and DAC 2.1 and TT2 with the MM cart) on E/Spe HE?
Edits: 09/01/14 09/01/14
The Music First room was using an Audio Note Empress parallel single-ended 2A3mono amp, 8 wpc, $7,200/pair to drive the AN-E Lexus HE. There was never any compression, even at extremely high SPLs. BTW, they were using an AN Isis. Interconnect at $789/pair and an AN Isis speaker cable at $1769. Both would seem to be great buys.
Thanks for that - I have not heard the Empress - seems the price is not too ridiculous either according to Jack's show report. The 2A3 Empress is run in parallel which explains the pretty high 8 watt number so it may be more about the character 2A3 VS the Meishu's character. I note this because the Meishu's preamp stage is the M2.
I know Peter prefers the sound of 2A3 to 300B
Were they running the M2 or the Music First preamp when you were there?
The ISIS is a newer cable. They also have an ISIS power cord in Hong Kong but not sure about the west.
Those Triangle Art tables sure look spectacular -
They were using the Music First Audio Baby Reference, $7,790, as a linestage preamp (passive I think) and the Audio Note M2 as a phono amp. I think the M2 is a full preamp, and, if so, I would love to hear it as a complete preamp.
As for looks, I prefer my VPI Classic in rosewood to the Triangle ART Concerto. The VPI rosewood is beautiful in a more traditional way.
HiI am hoping to find a turntable that will work with different global frequencies. 110v (60hz) and 220V (50hz).
Turntables generally have poor resale value and I would like a table that can be converted. In Canada I have a nice VPI record cleaning machine and a bunch of LP's gathering dust. And to get the most of my music listening I need a turntable. Digital is like the bun - I want the meat.
I would also prefer a Direct Drive. I know belts get the press but I find myself not listening to my 45s if I have to get up and change the belts then get up and do it again to change back. Even if I have to take Sound Quality hit - it's no good to have a better sounding table if I don't wind up using it.
VPI makes a direct drive but at $30,000 it's about 10 times what I can pay LOL.
EDIT: Correction - don't mind changing the belt from 33 to 45 - don't want to lift the platter to do it.
Edits: 09/03/14
RGA,
Congrats on your new speakers. I have some Snell J's with new AN foam surrounds but have never had the opportunity to hear any AN products. I was hoping you or Bob might be able to answer a few questions.
I noticed in a recent show report that AN was using J/D's. Evidently, they are available in black only and do not have the Baltic birch cabinet. I believe pricing was $3700 and $4000 if you got the hemp woofers. Is the J/LX the next step up? Does the J/LX have Baltic birch cabinets and real wood veneer? Pricing? If you get hemp woofers does the efficiency stay the same and use the same crossovers as paper cone woofers? Have you ever compared the Baltic birch to the chipboard cabinets? Compared any of the AN speakers to the Snells?
Thanks, John
Bob or Dave Cope probably know for sure. My understanding is that the D models have Russian birch on the front and back portion with an MDF wrap on the sides bottom and top. The old original models used chipboard which is what Snell Used.
The original Snells were different - different size port (rear firing tweeters) and the internals were different. AN uses carted sheep's wool over Dacron, better wiring, cabinets, caps.
With the E (and it should apply to the J as they always have) it goes something like this:
AN E/D (SEAS black paper woofer)($4,950ish)(Birch front and back)Review of this is here http://dagogo.com/audio-note-an-ed-speaker-review
AN E/D (Hemp woofer) (Birch front and back)
AN E/Lx (SEAS black paper woofer) (All Birch and up)
AN-E/Lx (Hemp)
AN E/LX (High Efficiency Hemp)
AN E LX Signature (LX96 copper cable connecting to external crossover with Audio Note™ copper foil signal capacitors, silver voice coils.)
The other models all use silver wires:
AN E/Spe (SEAS Black paper woofer)
AN E/Spe (Hemp)
AN E/Spe (High Efficiency Hemp)
AN E/Spe Signature (silver cable connecting to external crossover with Audio Note™ copper foil signal capacitors, silver voice coils.)
AN-E/SPx SE Signature
AN-SPx27 or on later models AN-SPx29 and currently AN-SPx31 silver speaker cable connecting to external crossover, with Audio Note™ copper foil signal capacitors and solid silver inductors, silver voice coils.
AN-E/SEC Silver
AN-SOGON LX96 silver internal cabling, AlNiCo speaker magnets, silver inductors with silvered polyester crossover capacitors, silver voice coils.
AN-E/SEC Signature
AN-SOGON LX96 silver speaker cable connecting to external crossover with Audio Note™ copper foil signal capacitors, solid silver inductors, AlNiCo driver magnets, silver voice coils.
AN-E SOGON
The ultimate 2 way speaker, AN-SOGON LX96 silver speaker cable connecting to external crossover with Audio Note™ pure silver foil signal capacitors, soild silver inductors, specially selected and matched AlNiCo drivers with silver voice coils. ($238,000USish)
And then there are the AN E Kits
Kit E starts at $2,000 with and $3200 with the cabinet. http://www.ankaudiokits.com/newSpkr.html
...that's SOME kind of weird fetishism.
You can buy the world's fastest production car for that (the new Lamborghini).
Sometimes, I think, there is something seriously wrong with audiophiles' (or car fetishists' for that matter) value systems.
Don't tell me, the people who buy those AN Sogons also jam them into untreated rooms and have no idea that they're listening to the room, too.
The times I have heard AN at audio shows, I have been miserably disappointed. There is absolutely no way I would buy into that line based on the audio show performances I have heard, jammed into tiny rooms and sometimes even playing average recordings. Unforgivable ;) On the other hand, when you're running underpowered amps, you can only play the simple audiophile recordings with no dynamic range or complexity....presumably even those 238,000 speakers lose their magic when asked to reproduce anything loud, like Led Zep, or complex, like Mahler.
Perhaps I should seek out a well set up AN system and do a real audition.
That's nothing - $306,000 for the DAC and Transport (and you need the cable)
$154,000 for the M10 preamp and $265,000 for the Gaku-On 45ish watt monoblocks.
The speakers are looking like a deal ;)
But I think it should be pointed out that you are not paying $238,000 for a speaker you're paying for external crossovers and very expensive solid silver cables and capacitors. The box in front of the speaker is the external crossover and I believe each crossover weighs more than both speakers. Each is the size of a big power amp.
Shows are what they are - the Old School can tell you about that comparing CAS a few years back to his latest experience. At CES 2010 I had both AN rooms in the top 5. At CAS 2012 AN would not have cracked my top 10-15. So it goes.
I will say that while we may not agree on the sound - I like your word fetishism with regards to this stuff. Both on he manufacturing end to keep pushing what Snell started in the late 70s to the limits.
Anyone who can spend this kind of money doesn't live in the same world world that we inhabit. These are people who earn more than $238,000 whilst doing their morning triple S in the washroom.
Is it bonkers? Well I live in Hong Kong where you can drop $3,000,000US on a watch. So I guess I have been desensitized to the price of some of these things.
Lastly, I would suggest you play your music. Audio Note plays music they like - not music that happens to demonstrate sound quality well. Maybe they coincide but between the two - they will side with playing music they like over some froo froo Diana Krall track. If Peter Qvortrup runs the room as he did at CES 2010 - he will play The Evil Nine, Nightwish, Split the Atom and Slipknott.
None of that SOFT Led Zeppelin rock ;)
This is what Peter brings
nt
RGA,
Thanks for the response. Are the K and J made in High Efficiency models too?
To my knowledge no. The K comes in three versions
AN K/Lx
AN K/Spe
AN K/Spx
The tweeter and woofer are different and are I believe made by VIFA.
The J come with either the SEAS paper woofer or the Hemp.
The J is actually the easier speaker to drive than the E. Which may be why some like the J a little bit more. The OTO has no trouble with the J but does with the E.
The reason is the impedance. The E dips to 3.6ohms and stays there for much of the bass range. The J is only marginally less sensitive - 1-2dB but the speaker never drops below 5 ohms (according to the measurements done by Hi-Fi Choice).
I suspect AN felt the same way and when they began to produce 2A3 and 45 tube amps that have 3 watts - their AN E with the lower impedance was likely going to be an issue so a HE version of the driver was needed. But the regular non HE version power requirements are 7 watts minimum to 150watts maximum.
hi
please make a comparison between an j and an e.
Really want to know if its true that besides the low bass, both sounds really similar.
I have a lot of doubts and since most praise seems toward the an e, I'm hesitant whether going with an j...
thanks!
The AN J and E use the same tweeter and woofer. Preferences run the gambit from people who like the J more or the E more - and Bob knows people who like the K best. The smaller the speakers and the less bass they have the easier they are to position and to get to sound right in smaller rooms and arguably worse sounding rooms. They excite less room related problems. For instance the K and J are probably likely to sound better in poor show conditions than the E which will boom when the wall materials are made from that plaster garbage. Hence the reason for the California Audio Show demonstrator bringing his own corners.
The J and E really don't sound all that much different which is why I don't understand people being fanatical about one or the other. The E is basically the same thing with bigger more dynamic deeper bass presentation and more of the ability to energize the room. But the J is hardly a slouch in this regard and it too comes in a balls to the wall $40,000+ version.
I think the J has enough bass for most music without the need for a sub. AN yet again makes deciding difficult. It's bad enough there is something like 20 versions but now you have a choice of giving up bass for arguably more resolution in the better wired J. Do you buy a J/Spx over an E/Spe or a J/Spe over an E/Lexus. Or do you give up LOTS of bass in the E/Lexus for the $12,995 AN K/SPx?
As you can see, there are people who pay double for a K/Spx over a J/Lx or E/D.
SO I can't really tell you one is superior to the other. The prior link I posted compared the E to the J.
While older it gives you a bit of insight to what the superior cable brings to the table. So if you buy a higher level J with superior wiring it will likely trump the E with a lower grade internal wire (and both will be similarly priced). If you keep it apples to apples in that both use the same wiring and drivers and your room is good then I'm going to say the E wins.
hi rga, thanks for the reply
I would still like you to compare the anj to the ane and note the basic difference.
I know both the anj use the same drivers, but I think the crossover differs a little bit and will impart a different sound.
Comapring the an k to the anj or ane is totally different sicne the drivers are not the same. I am not interested into the an K.
Please make a comparison and note the differences? I would be really grateful!
thanks!!!
I don't think I can help you. My AN J/Spe (paper woofer and Birch front and back with vinyl wrap) is back in Canada with an OTO.
My E/Lexus (Hemp driver) with full Russian Birch is here in Hong Kong connected to a Line Magnetic 219IA.
Unless someone does a direct comparison with the same model of wiring it's kind of guesswork. Further my Lexus is not broken in yet.
okay, I was sure that you had both speakers with you. Isnt the pictures that shows AN K, AN J and AN E yours?
I guess I have no choice but to hope the AN J sounds really close to the an e in the mid/highs department.
enjoy your speakers!
When it's apples and apples, the J's will sound a bit faster and more spirited, probably because of their different overall balance of bass and treble.
hi, okay so its fair to say that they both sound (anj and ane) really close to each other?
You didn't like what I said? Should I change it? (=:
If you're looking for an excuse to spend less money, don't let me stand in your way.
They sound like siblings but they don't sound the same.
This is high end audio, meaning "very slight" differences will strike some as not so slight. Sticking with the E's, for the sake of simplicity, having heard around a half dozen different ones, I have found the best value (audible difference per dollar) to be the E/SPe He's, which are $9288 in the U.S. The steps leading up to these E's are not so slight and to my ears worth the additional price. The steps leading past them (adding external crossovers, SPx and then Sogon cabling, Alnico drivers) strike me as less critical than upgrading the rest of the system. Also, moving up that ladder, the sound changes as well as improves, altering the overall balance. With those changes, it becomes a matter of taste as well as sonic discrimination. There is no single Audio Note sound.
With Audio Note, as we all know, when Peter gets a design he likes, he will take it as far toward its limits as customers are willing to go with him, and sometimes beyond! That is part of the fun (and presumably profit) of being an absolutist in matters of design. I love that in him, which doesn't mean I have to crave everything he builds. Audio is just audio. Cars are just cars.
It is very likely that RGA can handle this subject better than I, having heard more E's and having kept Audio Note speakers at the center of his spectrum.
nt
From Canada - so I had to play a Canadian band first.
Blue Rodeo with Sarah McLachlan since I couldn't decide between the two I chose the song where they're together.
Edits: 08/29/14
But, "Nowhere to Here" CD is one of the best they ever put out when it comes to sheer dynamics of their recordings. Some of the cuts have a very low frequency response that could flex the walls of your listening room, given, that your equipment and speakers have that capability.
If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing well
(Proverb)
I wanted to say good call on this album. I never quite understood why Blue Rodeo didn't hit bigger in the US. Although to be fair I cam very late to Blue Rodeo as well. Maybe they need a marketing manager or something. But we live in a world where Beiber hits big and Blue Rodeo has modest success.
"Nowhere to Here" I think might be a tougher album to "Get into Blue Rodeo" - then again maybe it's THE album from them to start with since it's probably the most varied.I read a review that this is the kind of band to sit out on the porch and listen and watch the sky - kind of perfect. "Sky" from "Nowhere to Here" is just perfect for that.
Generally when I like an artist - I buy their entire catalog. I would love to get Blue Rodeo on vinyl however. Then again I need to buy a new turntable. So so many turntables now - uggh.
Edits: 08/31/14
I hope you enjoy them after all the time you waited!
As you may know, im in the market for a used pair of AN E or AN J and I would really like it if you could compare both and tell us how they compare and where they differ.
thanks
That will take some time but Steven Rochlin made a comparison between a copper wired E and J/Spx
But this was done back in 2003. And the Spx cable is significantly more expensive - the J/Spx now would probably double the price of the E/Lexus but still it's what's available in the meantime. The Hemp is definitely worth getting in either J or E.
The Audio Note AN-E Lexus was being used exclusively in my favorite room at this year's CAS. The sound was superb. All the bass I would ever want. If you match these speakers to a good source (meaning a tt with a mc cartridge) and an SET amp (which you already have) you are on your way to audio heaven. When you get a tt, check out the Audio Note M2 phono preamp, which at $4,000 is not cheap, but still, for the quality, is a bargain IMO. In this room, they rebuilt the corners, and the dramatic improvement simply stunned me!
When your AN speakers are broken in, we need a FULL review.
Beautiful looking setup.
I just ho-hum at little box speakers (I am a big Classic JBL fan or Altec or Klispch) but after hearing some little box devore speakers paired with shindo I can kind of get where your coming from with those little things.
LOVE that line magnetic. That bastard is right in my wheelhouse.
ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Probably, simplicity rules. Can you dance to the music?
Are those 300b's & what kind of wattage do they put out? Enjoy!
The Line Magnetic 219IA is 24 watts per channel (SET).
It is 12AX7 into 310A and 300B which are dual driver stage to 845 output tubes in dual mono.
All in a big bertha back crushing 121 lb package. Line Magnetic is inspired by Western Electric.
They do make an 8 watt 300B called the 210A which looks similar but without the big transformers and 845s of course. I like the bigger power tubes for what I play (or 300B in Parallel).
The simple old fashioned box of nice proportions is hard to beat, and birdseye is among the prettiest of veneers. Nice system.
Congratulations. I hope you enjoy every minute of them. Very nice looking.
I to would love to try a pr, but my room is wide 26 x 13 and I can only set them up on the long wall away from corners...
From my understanding these need corners to re enforce the lower end...
Corners are ideal - but Hong Kong sells more of them than anyone and they don't have them in corners. It's not a necessity. Some like them better pulled out a bit.
I have pushed them back closer to the wall since the first post but I have them on the long wall as well. Bass isn't an issue. It still has a tune port of 29hz which isn't anything to sneeze at if you had to use them freestanding.
If one is truly concerned do as this dealer did at CAS
Beautiful!
They look just like my SPe's; its going on 2 years now and still loving them!
Yeah my camera doesn't do them justice - this photo is a bit better taken from a Sony rather than my HTC phone.
I initially wanted Makassar but the Dark Wood may be less agreeable should I move to a new place (and since I've moved over 20 times since 2000 it was a concern.
I've had my AN J/Spe for over a decade. Still have them.
I was considering the SPe model but I figure you can always upgrade later with the Audio Notes. The model I really wanted was the E/Spx HE Hemp Alnico but the price was such I'd have to wait a year or two and then the wait list to have them built was also long.
nt
Observe, before you think. Think before you open your yap. Act on the basis of experience.
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