Building the Audio Note Kit 1 SET amp...

Thanks everybody! More to come. Off for some listening now...

Amp sounds amazing! Orchestral music is especially intoxicating. Soundstage is huge!

Rob: Just for fun, spoke with Eric Alexander today. He recommends the Lore 2.0 in my room with my amp. Thinking about it. As great as my rig now sounds, I’m curious about what the Kit 1 could do with a really efficient speaker that reached down significantly lower than the De Capo. Hmmmm...

Charles, yes, what the Kit 1 does in terms of purity of tone and the ability to re-create ambient space (where it exists on the recording) and unravel complex musical material is quite something. I feel like I owe you some thanks for inspiring me to move in this direction. The level of emotional engagement with the music and the ability to re-create such beauty is really delightful.

Jetrexpro, I'm not a huge classical music aficionado but I do have some classical records that I like and also some film soundtracks but I really enjoy. Back in the 1980s, I purchased a number of Chesky LPs that I'm going to have to go back and explore – they should sound really terrific. If you haven't heard it, I am a big fan of a somewhat obscure animated film soundtrack. It's an anime film called Princess Mononoke. It's on the "Milan" label. Extraordinarily well recorded and some beautiful music, too.

Map, Sebrof may be lending me his Tekton Katz Meow speakers to try out at home. It will give me a chance to see what a much higher efficiency design sounds like. I am very interested in the prospect of getting a much higher efficiency speaker in the mix and seeing what that does for the synergy of the system. On the other hand, the De Capo is sounding VERY good right now. Decisions, decisions

I've never heard Sebrof's main speakers but I've seen them and they're impressively huge. ;-) He has a very nice listening space, too!

Working on another blog post. Should be up in a day or two. It'll feature photos of the amp which now has the very pretty copper tube insert plate. I'll also have a few pics of Digital Pete's handiwork in prettying up some of the wiring, etc... Stay tuned!

Rob,
Will do!

Final Kit 1 blog post here. Listening impressions and build pictures included.
Enjoy!

Map,
I was working with a combination of the manual for the previous version of the Kit 1, along with an in-process version of the new manual. The new manual is either nearly or entirely complete. Brian is redoing all the manuals and working with a graphic designer to make them clean, clear and consistent in style across kits. Brian has incorporated feedback from customers in these new manuals. The new Kit 1 manual, for example, incorporates a number of suggestions that I (and perhaps others) have made. So I think that Kit 1 builders from here on out will have very good documentation to deal with.
I would consider the things that Pete does to be "icing on the cake" touches. In other words, you can get a perfectly functioning Kit 1 and not have the innards be as orderly and beautiful as Pete's, but it's certainly something to aspire to.

Map,
The amp is 17 inches wide and 12.5 inches deep. The highest point on the amp is the very top of the 300B tubes, which measures about 9 inches high from the surface of the shelf the amp sits on.
I would not recommend running the amp in an area without all around ventilation. The tubes and mains transformer get quite hot - the tubes get "burn your fingers hot" - once the amp is fully warmed up and playing, and I would want to make certain that this heat could be adequately dissipated. But I think Brian would be the guy to ask about what constitutes adequate ventilation.

Yes, Charles, thanks, I believe the amp does have lots of potential. Better 300B's and an upgraded power cord are possibilities. Then there are also the Audio Note Copper Foil caps that could easily be swapped in for the Mudorf Gold/Silver/Oil caps I now have.
Brian said that the Audio Note C-Core output trannies are amazing, but you really need to live with the stock trannies (which are custom designed and build for ANK and of which he is clearly very proud) for awhile in order to appreciate what the C-Cores are about. They are also jaw-droppingly expensive, but I think he buys those directly from Audio Note UK and doesn't have much wiggle room on pricing.
Charles, you are so right about the qualities of a good SET amp. I was listening tonight to HD Tracks downloads of "Paul Simon Live In New York City" and was just transported by the sense of "almost attending the concert." It's wonderful.

John,

Thank you for your post. I am very interested in this whole issue of different 300 B tubes, the effect they have on the sound and particularly the break-in time needed for the tube to show its true character in a given amp. Is there a general consensus for how long it takes for one of these tubes to fully break in? I'm also not surprised that there are things you like about the "cheap" stock Chinese tubes that come with the Kit 1. I am quite happy with how mine sound, but of course, I don't have anything to compare them to.

Map,

Yes, I agree that the Kit 1 needs to sit on a top shelf. I can't imagine that closing it up in any kind of a cabinet where it didn't have free air circulation would be a very good idea – I think the heat buildup could be dangerous to the amp (and the cabinet, as well).

What speakers are you thinking of pairing with the Glow Audio amplifier? Your Triangles or something else?

Which Jupiters did you get exactly, John?

John,
Link broken for me. Try this.
Reviews of those Jupiter caps are stellar. Not in the family budget right now but an interesting upgrade possibility. Thanks!

Charles,
Interesting that you put the Jupiter's in your Frankensteins - I don't know that I'd have the nerve to mess with such a top-tier, commercial product. But interesting to hear that they made a difference.
I think my first upgrade to the Kit 1 will probably be a "real" power cord, as I'm still using this leftover computer power cord. I'm a believer in speaker cables sounding different because I've experienced that myself in my own system. Power cords? I'm a little skeptical but open to convincing. Audio Advisor has these Pangea cords made with Cardas copper and they're under $100, so it seems like a pretty low-risk experiment.
By the way, I was listening to Paul Simon's "Rhythm of the Saints" LP last night with my mouth hanging open. I love this amp! It just makes music! :-)

Listening to Joni Mitchell's greatest hits CD tonight. Not even a huge Joni fan, but man, what the Kit 1 does with her voice and acoustic guitar is just luscious. :-D

Hey, Roxy,

Just received it today in fact. Unboxing pics will be on the blog shortly! Musical impressions to follow next week, probably.

:-D

Already gave you a shout out on the blog for making the suggestion to contact Andy... have a look.

Roxy,

Warmed up the Kit 1 and played Buena Vista Social Club. Shut off the amp, removed the stock, Electro Harmonix (Russian) 6SN7 (wearing an oven mitt!!) and installed the RCA vintage (1940's!) tube. Played the same tracks.

HOLY COW, JOHN!!!!!!! :-D
What a tip!
Thank you!!!!!!!
How much better can this amp sound? It's kind of scary. ;-)

Sure, Dan:

Steve's Audio Blog.

Enjoy!

Charles,
I feel the same way as John. I am SO happy with my Kit 1! It has taken me beyond fiddling with gear to enjoying musical performances. And I am shocked by how just replacing that one 6SN7 tube kicked the amp up to a higher level of musicality. I never knew there was so much care and artistry lurking in so many of my records and CD's... it gives you an emotional connection to the listening experience because you appreciate how much of themselves the musicians and engineers poured into that recording.

New post on the RCA 6SN7 tube is up on the blog!

Joe,

I'm so glad you posted.
There's a local fellow who's selling off his tube collection, which must've been huge. I asked him about 6sn7's and he replied saying that he has the following to sell. I'm curious if any of these are worth picking up:

RCA Radiotron Electron Tubes, one labeled 6SN7GT, the other GTA
Sylvania, old Yellow box
Sovtek
Ruby tubes

What do you tube rollers think?

Mikirob:
Happy to share the info. It's this fellow. He just happens to be local to me.
I think I'll stay put with the RCA tube I have now. My next upgrade will probably be one of the Pangea power cords from Audio Advisor. I'm still using a cord cannibalized from a old PC! :-P

Charles,
I know that speaker cables can make a difference because I have heard the differences myself. I will admit to having been a little skeptical about the whole power cord thing but I will certainly give it a try.
By the way, do any of you guys know anything about Silnote? They have some power cords for sale here at very reasonable prices.

I emailed Pete at TWL to see if he has any used or demo cables to sell. And Silnote seems a good, relatively low cost option. If you guys are of the consensus that the the Pangea cords aren't worth the trouble, I'll suppose I'll save up for something better. I know that in some things you get what you pay for!

Almarg,

Wow, those Signal Cable cords are very well priced. Thanks for the tip and I will see which one the proprietor recommends for my amp.

Mikorob,
For interconnects, kind of a sad mishmash of budget Audioquest and Kimber.

:-/

For speaker cable, I use Supra Classic 6.0 I discovered it when I was looking for cabling for my Merlin TSM-mmi's. I was looking for something that conformed to Bobby P.'s parameters but wasn't in the bankruptcy-inducing price range of the Cardas stuff that he prefers. I thought it sounded very good. Bobby got some samples and declared that the Supra cable was (his words) "stupid good" for the price, and he recommends it now to customers (I believe) as his go-to budget speaker cable option.

Almarg,
Hi. PM'ed you with a couple of questions. Thanks!

Mikirob,
Very cool, I'll check it out! Thank you!

I want to thank Almarg for the Signal Cable tip! A local fellow is selling me a used Signal Cable magic power cord for my Kit 1. It really does make a difference. Music sounds more relaxed and open and the low end feels more extended and authoritative. Although I don't have anything to compare it to, Al, you're right: this cable is a bargain!
Thanks again for the suggestion.

New blog post up, including a shout out to Almarg for his power cord advice.