Peter Qvortrup and Adrian Ford-Crush brought a smashing Audio Note UK system to New Jersey, including the US premiere of the brand's TT Three Reference turntable ($63,000). It fed an AN-1S Sogon tonearm ($16,730), fitted with an IO I moving coil cartridge ($5586), then into an AN-S8 step-up transformer ($18,130). Digital was delivered via a CDT Four (CDT-Four) CD transport ($23,100) aided by the US premiere of the Izvor ladder DAC ($TBA). The Meishu Konzertmeister 300B integrated amplifier ($65,100) drove the AN-E/SPx Ltd. field coil loudspeakers ($65,000/pair) which I reviewed glowingly in the June issue.
Audio Note UK speaker cables and interconnects provided connections.
The TT Three Reference turntable looked similar to other Audio Note UK turntables, seemingly following the brand's tradition of upscaling and upgrading components internally, not externally. The TT Three Reference offers "high mass torque without any of the usual 'high mass platter' energy storage problems," the brand's website states. "Very light, highly inert platter made from Lexan," it continues, "which has virtually no reflective properties nor any resonance storage problems. Rubber belt driving the platter around its outside rim. Three immensely powerful motors, whose speed is locked together by the power supply unit's completely analogue control system. When the high mass stored in the motors provides torque to drive the light, inert platter, the energy is focused as rotation, nothing else, and the best of both worlds is achieved."
The TT Three Reference uses a three-point suspended design, centered at the bearing, which is also the epicenter of the motors' inertia. "This completely removes the most common problem in suspended turntables, where the motors and suspension are misaligned in relation to each other and as a result, the platter is vacillating constantly between the center of the drive system and the center of the suspension."
The Audio Note UK system's rendition of The Doors' "Riders on the Storm" on vinyl was chunky and convincing; Nat King Cole's "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)," supported by George Shearing on piano and glitzy strings, sounded mellow and tame. Youn Sun Nah's "Moondog" hit me hard with visceral, sweetly sustained instrumentation and her round, liquid voice. This Audio Note UK system showered me with transparent sounds.
Audio Note UK speaker cables and interconnects provided connections.
The TT Three Reference turntable looked similar to other Audio Note UK turntables, seemingly following the brand's tradition of upscaling and upgrading components internally, not externally. The TT Three Reference offers "high mass torque without any of the usual 'high mass platter' energy storage problems," the brand's website states. "Very light, highly inert platter made from Lexan," it continues, "which has virtually no reflective properties nor any resonance storage problems. Rubber belt driving the platter around its outside rim. Three immensely powerful motors, whose speed is locked together by the power supply unit's completely analogue control system. When the high mass stored in the motors provides torque to drive the light, inert platter, the energy is focused as rotation, nothing else, and the best of both worlds is achieved."
The TT Three Reference uses a three-point suspended design, centered at the bearing, which is also the epicenter of the motors' inertia. "This completely removes the most common problem in suspended turntables, where the motors and suspension are misaligned in relation to each other and as a result, the platter is vacillating constantly between the center of the drive system and the center of the suspension."
The Audio Note UK system's rendition of The Doors' "Riders on the Storm" on vinyl was chunky and convincing; Nat King Cole's "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)," supported by George Shearing on piano and glitzy strings, sounded mellow and tame. Youn Sun Nah's "Moondog" hit me hard with visceral, sweetly sustained instrumentation and her round, liquid voice. This Audio Note UK system showered me with transparent sounds.
