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This page contains answers to some of your most asked questions.
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Single-Ended Amplifier Questions
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| What is the correct procedure for adding shrouded covers to a transformers or choke when building a kit? |
| Click here to view a step-by-step sequence. |
| Is the Kit1 an integrated amplifier? |
| Yes. It will acccept a standard line level input (or more if upgraded with input switch and extra RCA's) which then goes through a pre-amp section and its output can be adjusted by the volume pot on the front of its chassis. |
| Can I use a Pre-Amplifier with the Kit1? |
| Yes you certainly can. Some users say that the use of a pre-amp increases dynamics - especially transformer coupled designs like our Line-Only Pre-Amplifier. A pre-amp can also be useful if you need to use long signal cables. |
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DAC Questions
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| What is 1x oversampling and why is it used in your DAC kits |
| Click here to read an article where Andy Grove of Audio Note UK discusses some of the technical issues and benefits of 1x oversampling. |
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General Kit Building Questions
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| How do you prepare and terminate the AN-V and AN-A signal cables? |
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This is an often asked question as many people have difficulty with these cables as they are litz cables that have individually insulated conductors.
In most cases we pre-terminate these cables when supplying them with our kits. However, because we get asked about this so often, we have prepared a support page with a step-by-step guide. Click here to view the process. |
| Will your kits work in my country on my mains voltage? |
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All of our kits use mains transformers with multi-tapped primaries that can be configured for use with many different incoming mains voltages.
The most common of these are: 100v, 110v, 120v, 220v, 230v, and 240v. Standard mains frequencies too are not a problem. |
| What is your simplest kit to build? |
| Besides our speaker kits, the simplest of all our kits to build is probably the DAC Kit 1.1. This comes with a pre-built digital board so you only have the power supply, drive board, and wiring to deal with. The simplest amplifier kit is the Kit4 Push-Pull amplifier which contains only one single circuit board. |
| What is included and not included with your kits? |
| In terms of components, our kits provide everything you need to be up-and-running including valves (tubes), wire, etc. We do not include mains cables or interconnects. Audio Note silver solder is only included with some of our Signature kits but is also available on request. |
| What solder do you recommend? |
| We highly recommend Audio Note silver solder. This is one of the very few solders that has been specifically developed for audio use and is very highly rated. |
| What is burn-in and how will it effect my kit? |
| Burn-in (or break-in) is a process that most high-end audio components have to go through. The components requiring the most burn-in are usually capacitors and audio transformers and will take different times to fully settle and sound their best. Most kits sound great straight away but will continue to get even better as time passes. The components requiring the most burn-in are usually Black Gate capacitors. Depending on their grade and specification, they can take a few hundred hours to sound their best but it has to be said that they are well worth the wait and the changes can be quite fascinating to hear. |
| Some kits are available with Double C-Core transformers - what are their advantages? |
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In basic sonic terms, these transformers offer the very best depth and resolution, smoothly over the full audio range.
For a more technical discussion, click here to read an Audio Note technical article on this very subject. |
If your question has not been answered above, just send us an e-mail at audionotekits@rogers.com and we'll see if we can help you along.
Alternatively, you may wish to search through our forum.