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Single Ended Triodes (SETs), the ultimate tube lovers dream.

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RE: We Are!

Posted by RGA on April 8, 2020 at 06:14:17:
You can always e-mail Fred and ask him. Or perhaps leave a reply in the comment section below the review. I never get an e-mail telling me if I get a reply so I am very slow to respond if ever.

I do know that Fred buys his equipment and I have met him and the dealer who was very happy to receive the cheque for the M9 preamp (Audio-federation). No free gifts there.

One thing that is generally important to note about "tube sound" is that if you read endless things about tubes on various forums you will find that there is little consensus on which tube sounds better - and part of that is very likely circuit dependent.

A Mullard output tube might be best in 9 amplifiers but maybe some other brand is better in the tenth amplifier.

Since Audio Note is testing all these tubes - and Peter owns them all as he has a tube collection over a million - when he is testing the tubes in his circuits - it may be that his tubes beat or get very close to some of the best NOS tubes. The key part though is "in an Audio Note amplifier". Put that tube in some other amp and it may be good but a notch or 2 worse.

Since Fred owns an AN amplifier - perhaps the AN tube sounds better. Would stand to reason. Put the tubes in a Cary 300B and the reverse could hold true and the Takatsuki might sound superior. And then two people can listen to the exact same thing and disagree. So you might put the AN tube in your amp and like the AN tube more - much to your surprise and you might here both tubes in the AN amp and much to your surprise like the Takatsuki better - how will you know until you try?

Regardless - people tend to be heavily biased in some fashion whether pro or anti a company or product. Some people will love something or someone no matter how horrible or nice they are and others will do the exact opposite.

I would not really worry about it because the only people Peter is likely going to sell tubes to are Audio Note 300B owners or "perhaps" people who have another 300B amp but have AN somewhere in the chain. I mean there are not a helluva lot of 300B amp owners when you think about it.

The guys who can afford P4 monoblocks - wow - can probably buy all the most expensive 300B tubes on the market. And then they will each decide which one sounds the best.

It would stand to reason that anyone who buys Audio Note "probably" has the same sonic taste as Peter Qvortrup. Thus, it then follows that these people would "probably" have the same sonic taste when it comes to tubes. Since Peter's favorite sounding amplifier in his stable is the 211 - then there is a very good chance that his favorite sounding 300B will be something that mirrors the 211 characteristics.

If you ever get a chance - listen to the Audio Note Meishu that has been selling for 20+ years and the new Meishu Tonmeister. The latter to me is vastly better but not everyone is likely to concur. Because I prefer 2a3 and 211 and 45 over the 300B - the new Tonmeister has more drive grunt and power etc etc - but for some people that might take some focus off the gentility of what they like about 300B amplifiers.

Way back circa year 2000 I directly compared a Cary 300B against a Meishu and Audio Note Kit 1 (300B) and to me all in the same room same volume same speakers source music etc - the Cary came in a distant last place. To me it wasn't even remotely a contest. Now - I am not "right" or "Wrong" it's just a taste thing.

A few years later I heard a Ongaku/Jinro and felt the AN 300B amps lacked oomph and drive (even though that was the strength against the Cary) - and every other major 300B amp including the one Jack Roberts loved all sounded weak willed to me.

I then heard the 2a3 and thought it was much better as an all rounder to the 300B amps including the AN's. And I preferred the sound over the doubly more expensive AN 211 amps.

Lastly - one other thing is the combination of tubes. Peter is looking at all the tubes in tandem - X preamp tube and how it works with Y power tube. Perhaps if Fred changed some of the preamp tubes then the combination of X preamp tube with the Takatsuki 300B would, combined, sound better than the AN 300B tube and the preamp tube or driver tube supplied by Audio Note in the preamp. These things to me work in tandem.

Usually I find the term "better" to be a less helpful - better at what? Usually something will do one thing better at the expense of something else.

I think the 2a3 is better as an all-rounder - it rocks - is seems more powerful to me. Same for the 211. But - there is gentility or beauty to the 300B - described by a couple of different Hong Kong dealers as beautiful or "lady like" that can't be denied. If I were rich it would be great to have a bunch of different amps and tube types for different music and moods.

And don't forget that 45 - I have only heard the AN 45 amp (pretty affordable comparatively) and that thing has a sound that is in some ways the best of the lot of them. It's just sooooo low powered.