NY Audio Show 2013

Audio Note UK

Art Dudley  |  Apr 18, 2013

As a long-term owner of Audio Note AN-E/SPe HE loudspeakers ($9300/pair), I was unsurprisingly pleased to see and hear that model being used at the New York show, where both analog and digital sources drove an M3 Phono preamp ($10,750) and the lovely single-ended 211 Tomei Kinsei amplifier ($58,000), with all Audio Note cabling. While I was there, Audio Note's Dave Cope turned me on to the debut LP, Is Your Love Big Enough?, by the English singer and (very gifted) guitarist Lianne La Havas: a varied and colorful album that also happened to exploit the system's exceptional sense of touch. (Also in typical AN fashion, I found that the same superb musical qualities were evident regardless of where in the room I chose to sit.)

COMMENTS
George Napalm's picture
Submitted by George Napalm on April 18, 2013 - 1:12pm

Usually I don't like the choice of music played in the shows: soft jazz and female vocalists is not my cup of tea. But when I visited Audio Note's room somebody from the audience spotted System of a Down "Toxicity" LP in the stack of records and asked to play it. That was a treat! I was literally nailed to the chair by immense dynamics and rich guitar sound. I have never heard AN speakers before and for some reason assumed they cannot rock. Obviously I was wrong. One of my favourite rooms in the show!

TriodeDave's picture
Submitted by TriodeDave on April 19, 2013 - 6:01am

Thanks, Art. I had first heard of Lianne just the week before and was thrilled to find her album available on vinyl as well as CD. There has to be subtlety in the mix to offset all the banging and crashing!

Yes, 'Toxicity' was fun. There was quite a bit of metal in the CD case, including Noisia's 'Split the Atom.' Peter Qvortrup delights in playing cuts from it at wall-flexing levels. (Peter and a London record store just had it reprinted to the tune of 500 copies!) By comparison, 'Toxicity' was a relief.

We try to cover the waterfront at shows, (barring Klingon opera - don't ask), and put a great deal of thought into varying genres, styles and intensity from cut to cut, minute to minute. Folks who stay for 2-3 minutes face long odds against their hearing their favorite kind of music. A better strategy, as shown above, is to look thought music on hand and make a request, or bring your own. CDs don't weigh much - carry a couple with you!

On to Newport!

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