 |
|
We are going into out 5th year at AudioNote Kits. I often look back at the humble beginnings and where we are today - A big thankyou to the many customers who have got us to this point with their multiple kit builds, feedback, suggestions, points of view, and general good humour to keep us sane as we have built up to this now expansive product line. Jasmine is growing too!
We had a large amount of orders in December and I want to thank all those who ordered kits - We are working through the back log and expect to have everything shipped by the first week of January!
I will be heading to CES/THE Show in Las Vegas which will be held January 7-10th and I will be found either at the Audio Note room or wondering the show floor! If you want to meet up send me an email as I will be checking email during the show!
2008 will be very exciting as I plan to launch a new series of amplification products and add exciting enhancements to the Pre-amplifier, Phono, and DAC lines! I hope that more people can get involved with the audio hobby that we all enjoy!
Once again thanks to all of you and look forward to chatting and emailing with many of you again in 2008!
Merry Christmas to all!
Regards
Brian Smith
|
Hello Friends
Wanted to update everyone on a couple of new items on the go.
Firstly, thanks for signing up for the newsletter. We have over a hundred participants and will be writing a first news letter shortly. I was going to have a customer input section on various topics. If anyone has some interesting information on various topics I will include some excerpts. For example, I would be interested in hearing what people have to say about "Favorite vinyl Recordings" - which vinyls really standout as being superbly recorded!
The next order of business to discuss is some name changes that we have had to implement on the kits (and rightly so).
We are changing the name of the M3 Line kit, M3 Phono and M2 Pre-amp to the L series - so basically we now have the:
L3 Line Pre-amplifier
L3 Phono Stage
L2 Pre-amplifier
The products are the same and we will continue to enhance them but the names have been changed so as not to clash with the finished product names. The reason for this is that the Audio Note dealers were getting a lot of questions such as "Is the M3 Line Kit the same as the finished product?" etc...
What I have tried to do working with Audio Note is create high quality products using the finished product circuits along with newly designed circuits - mixing and matching, building prototypes, and testing to come up with very high quality products. For example the L3 Pre-amplifier kit is made up of M3 Line circuitry, M3 output transformers along with the M2 power supply (6X5/ECL82). The L3 Phono Stage uses the M3 phono stage (6072) based along with the M2 power supply - Nothing holding our customers back from jazzing up power supplies and signal boards to take these kits to the highest levels! This will be good in the long run as we will clearly distinguish between the Audio Note DIY and the finished products and we can all enjoy the Audio Note sound at what every price point.
Regards
Brian Smith
|
Hello Friends
I am back from my 3-week trip to Europe, which included stops at AudioNote UK, Milan Top Audio Show and the Norwegian HI-FI show. All in all it was great time and I had a chance to meet up with several customers, colleagues and distributors.
Before I go any further I want to introduce a new feature on the web site. We are introducing a Newsletter that we can send out to all subscribers periodically to inform about new products, sales, audio shows, customer support information, feedback, testimonials, etc. To sign up just go to the Subscription information block on the main index page or click HERE. We just ask for your name, e-mail address and whether or not you are an existing customer – You will get an introductory e-mail and then we will be able to keep everyone updated on the latest kit activity. Of course all the information is private to AudioNote Kits.
Back to the trip - I spent a couple of days at the Audio Note factory and I had a chance to meet with my friends at Elephant Holdings (our Hong Kong distributor). We had some good discussions on kits and the strong DIY market in HK. We have just shipped over the first MonoBlock pairs to go along with their complete inventory of the kits for the HK market.
 Travelling with Peter Qvortrup |
 A possible kit ???? |
Then it was a drive across the UK, France and Italy to the TOP audio show in Milan. I first attended this show in my first year of the kit business and I had a picture taken of me with the 211 finished product – See the updated version above.
After the Milan show it was another week at the factory where I worked with Andy Grove on some mods and testing on the various kits along with some new ideas soon to be posted!
Our next show was the Norwegian HIFI show near Oslo where our distributors UPGRADE Audio had an impressive system set up including the new Parallel Double C core Mono Blocks with core interstage and all Black Gated out! The sound was amazing!
 |
 |
After buying up lots of parts for the new Phono kit and some others Peter wanted to thank me for doing such a great job with the Kit department of Audio Note over the last 4 years...
Thanks Brian!
So its back to work for October, November and December so feel free to contact us by phone or e-mail if you are interested in getting started on an AudioNote Kits project!
Regards
Brian Smith
|
Dear Audio Friends
Its summer time and I hope everyone is enjoying their vacations, the outdoors and the great weather ! I am managing to get out somewhat but also we have been working hard to bring a couple of new products to release! It's possibly the most exciting time we have had here at AudioNote Kits and really takes us to a whole new level of audio product offerings.
As you can see from the main web page we have just released the new InterStage Mono Blocks - the ultimate in SET technology - With the popularity of the Kit1 over the last decade I have had numerour requests for a power amp mono block.
Well we went one better and made the kit very versatile and based the design on an interstage transformer between the input tube and the output Triode - the results were staggering! Audio Note uses this technology in their highest level 211 finished product amplifiers! What a marvelous offering we now have for fans of the 2A3 and 300B
As mentioned, the kit is very versatile in that it can be built as a single Triode or a parallel triode. We have interchangeable chassis plates that are very stylish and allow you to customize your amplifier (and even change it any point). We also have a removable rear plate for mounting large power supply capacitors (2 cap & 3 cap).
We have a limited number of kits available until Oct 1 - Check the web page for pricing and configurations. Also we will make the Mono Block Manuals available for download later this week.
We have also just released the new M3 Phono Kit and we have been getting some amazing feedback- the M3 phono board is all silver hardwired and uses the the top of the line components - This kit is our ultimate offering in vinyl reproduction and when coupled with an M3 Line Pre-amp provides an ultimate pre-amp experience. We will be announcing our new Step-Up kit later in August which will provide a complete Moving Coil system for audiophiles. Enquire about half built kits - we can build the hardwired phono stage for you when ordering an M3 Phono kit. We have written a fantastic new manual for the M3 hardwiring which we will post on the M3 phono web page later this week .
With the release of the monoblocks AudioNote Kits is able to offer the finest amplication, pre-ampliers, DAC's, and speakers for the DIY audiophile - In other words for a reasonable budget a complete kit system of the highest quality can be built from scratch!
I am planning some new kits for next year - A transformer based Headphone kit with different impedances to accommodate different headphones - a possible transport kit to go along with our DAC products and 35W push pull mono block EL34 - If you have any thoughts or opinions on these new kits and the current new offerings feel free to drop us an email.
Thanks for all your support!
Regards
Brian Smith
|
Hello All,
Thanks to everyone for your continued support of the kit business!
I am pleased to announce an exciting new product offering that we have been working on hard in the background - the new M3 Phono Stage.
This kit is truly a vinyl lovers dream! We have taken the 6072/12AY7 Phono Stage used in the Audio Note M3 Pre-amplifier and made it available in DIY form.
The kit comes in our large M3 Line chassis and uses the 6X5/ECL82 M2 power supply. Separate 12v filaments are used to heat the input cascode stage and the output stage. The kit comes in standard versions with Beyschlag resistors and AN tin paper in oil caps and AN-A cable or you can stuff it with all the best quality components - Audio Note Copper capacitors, 1W or 1/2W tantalum resistors and AN-V cable for both input and output signals driving AN silver RCA's. The kit is really our highest end offering in Vinyl reproduction.
Our beta customers have been amazed at the overall quality of vinyl reproduction.
 |
 |
| The M3 Phono Stage is the ultimate in Vinyl reproduction! | |
Combined with our M3 Line Stage we have an outstanding Pre-Amplifier section. Click here to check out our M3 Phono web page.
Thank you.
Regards
Brian Smith
|
Hello everyone - the winter has come and gone!
AudioNote Kits had a great winter season with a lot of kit product being shipped to all corners of the globe.
The DAC Kit 2.1 has been a huge hit for us and we are continually getting great feedback.
Back in December I went to the Audio Note UK factory to sit down and design the new Interstage Mono Block Kit.
The constraints that I had were that the kit must support 2A3 and 300B - It had to be a perfect match for the M3 transformer coupled pre-amplifier.
I also wanted to make it easily converted to a parallel 300B - Andy Grove had been mulling around a number of ideas over the last year over this kit so when we got together in December we both knew what we wanted. The first prototype was built on a kit1 chassis in December in the UK. Andy chose a 6SH7 input tube followed by a custom designed 1:1 interstage transformer. The 300B or 2A3 triode follows that along with the output transformer - Either the TRANS-152 IE core output transformer used in the famous Kit1 or the double C-core TRANS-300 used in the PQ kit. The interstage will also be available as an IE core or double C-core as we get going with production!
We have a small production run of chassis arriving middle of June and we are planning for general release of the IS Mono Block Kit in mid July time frame - stay tuned!
We are also announcing another new product - The M3 Phono Stage. Details to appear on a dedicated webpage that will be up in about 2 weeks with some nice pictures.
The new M3 Phono Stage is the same 6072 based circuit used in the famous M3 Pre-amplifier finished product - the new Phono stage will be available in 3 levels of part upgrades including a signature version in all tantalums and copper caps with black gates - the Phono stage has 40db of gain. We will also be releasing this product with optional internal step-ups for moving coil with 1:10 or 1:20 configurations - this can provide an overall 55db of gain approx for Moving coil setups! Stay tuned.
I also will have the new external step-up product available in about 2 months - Basically it will be a kit that you can wire up a pair of very high quality Audio Note step-ups in its own little chassis.
We just got back from the Lone Star Audio Fest - check out the pictures below:
Lone Star Show Update
We had a great time at the Lone Star Audio Fest in Dallas this weekend - thanks to everyone who stopped by.
We were showing off the latest AudioNote Kits system including the new Prototype mono blocks along with the AN-E Speaker kit 03, M3 Line Pre-amplifier, M3 Phono Stage, and DAC 2.1 Kit.
|
|
|
We'll be at the Rocky Mountain Show in October with some more exciting products in the moving coil area.
Thank you.
Regards
Brian Smith
|
Dear Friends
Thanks for all the great support of the AudioNote Kits throughout the world. We have shipped kits to many far away places and it confirms that DIY audio lovers are in every corner of the globe. We have been hard at work filling orders, answering emails, keeping parts in stock and engineering new products with Audio Note UK (we have some real suprises over the coming months).
The DAC Kit 2.1 is a huge hit with great responses from all our customers – we are hoping to post some more reviews shortly! One of the great comments I got from a customer was that it was like listening to vinyl! Another auditioned several transports with it and felt that the DAC Kit 2.1 was the only product that allowed him to hear all the nuances of the different transports.
I feel that 2006 was a great year for the Kit business as we brought up the level of our manuals, web site, and products throughout the year. We have started to work with dealers in Hong Kong with Elephant Holdings and Upgrade Audio in Norway. We introduced the DAC Kit 2.1, enhanced the PHONO-MM kit and are also offering the M2 Pre-Amplifier Kit in line and phono versions. Many tweaks have been done across the whole product line to ensure that you have a wonderful time building and listening to your kit for many years to come!
Several new products are slated for 2007 and we will be making several announcements in the coming 1-2-3 months.
I will be posting some more regular news this year and sorry for the long delay in updates.
Now on a family note: My little boy Keelan is 4 & 1/2 years old and we spent most of the Christmas season watching the Charlie Brown Christmas Special originally made in the mid 60's with the jazz score by Vince Guaraldi. Keelan was 'snooping' around in my music room a week ago and I got a whim to put on the original vinyl of the Charlie Brown soundtrack through the all analog system - Kit1 2A3, Audio Note TT1 and the PHONO-MM stage.
I watched his expression as the music started and he just stood there and looked at me with this huge grin on his face. I knew what he was thinking – this sounded so much bigger than the television in our living room! I think he was wondering where the music was coming from as there was no television around – well we sat still for the whole side listening to his now favorite music on a Single Ended 2A3 system! When the music finished he said "Christmas Time is here", pointing at the turntable and signaling to me that he wanted to listen to Track 1 or possibly the whole side again!
On that note I wish everyone all the best and I want to thank the many people who supported and helped the Kit business over the last year. Without all of your feedback, suggestions, and favours in many cases the AudioNote Kit business would not be where it is today!
Thank you.
Regards
Brian Smith
|
Hope you all had a great summer and I’m looking forward to the fall season! Thanks to all the wonderful new customers that have built kits over the last several months.
It's been an exciting launch of the DAC 2.1 Kit this past summer. By the way as many of you know we have widened the holes in the DAC digital board so that we can fit in the popular N-series Black Gates. Customers have been doing this in the past are we are pleased to announce that we can now supply an enhanced signature digital board that replaces the PK Black Gates with N-Type Black Gates. We call this the Signature Extreme Digital Board. Please enquire about pricing.
Customers have been feeding back great reviews on this long awaited kit. We have now changed the rear faceplate such that we can support RCA, XLR, and USB inputs!
The new DAC Kit 2.1 Signature Extreme Digital Board with N-Type Black Gates.
We have made some enhancements to the MM Phono Stage (Kit1 Phono Stage) by moving it into the larger M3 Kit style chassis. The extra space gives us more separation from the power supply and also allows for future upgrades to the MC Step-ups that AudioNote Kits will be announcing before the end of the year – Yes, the new PHONO-MC kit we expect to have available before Jan 1 2007! Meanwhile you can purchase the new MM Phono stage and later upgrade by adding the step-up transformers!
The Kit1 Phono Stage with my TT1 - a match made in heaven
The M3 Line Pre-Amplifier Kit has been very popular with many kit builders adding their own extreme upgrades and we are getting a nice community of M3 Line Builders.
Edwin Mass (our 2-Watt Man in the Netherlands) has been leading the charge on tweaks and modifications to the kit! I have enjoyed many long phone calls, which usually result in another order for a friend or some additional 2-Watt resistors!
Sorry for the long delay but as usual we have been working hard for all the kit customers and we will try and get you updated news on a regular monthly basis. As always feel free to drop us an email if you have any special requests or suggestions!
Regards
Brian Smith
|
Dear Audio Friends
Thanks for all your support and enthusiasm with the new kit offerings over the last couple of months. The new web site has been a lot of fun to get up and running and we have lots more planned for it. I am proud to say that we are now shipping out the DAC2.1 product.
We are in short supply of some of the parts at the moment so we are only selling complete DAC2.1’s Level A and Level B versions.
DAC2.1 Upgrade kits are planned. The DAC2.1 product hopefully answers all the requests we have had over the last 2 years in the way of DAC upgrades and options – the kit includes:
- The removal of the analog filter on the digital board.
- 6922 output stage,
- optional custom digital boards with digital input transformers and black gates (enquire).
- I/V transformers(Level B).
- Optional USB input (available June 2006).
We would be interested in feedback with regards to providing half-built DAC 2.1 kits where we would populate the boards for you. You would need to install and perform the inter-wiring – let us know if this is of interest.
We are moving to the large chassis for the Stand Alone Phono-MM Stage Kit. This way with our soon to be released Phono-MC with step up transformers will make for an easy upgrade.
The new Phono-MC product is coming soon! We are waiting for the final manufacturing stage of the step up transformers and some major testing at Audio Note – Hoping to have this product available in the summer!
As you may have seen we are moving the PQ Kit1 to a 2A3/300B product. In other words it can be built either way and switched back and forth with about 10 minutes worth of soldering and some cathode resistor changes. We are now using the copper brackets as standard with the PQ Kit1. Check out the new look on the web site with the gold knobs and selector switch.
AudioNote Kits is planning on attending the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest this year in Denver. The event is held in October and we would like to have a complete product line on display at the show including speaker kit 03, Kit1 & PQ Kit1 2A3/300B, stand-alone phono stages, Balanced Line-Only and PQ pre-amplifiers!
Thanks for all your support and look forward to hearing your feedback
Regards
Brian Smith
|
Hello,
Welcome to the new AudioNote Kits web site. After two years of building the web site on my own I am now working with a professional web developer to provide a high quality web site for all the AudioNote Kit fans. Along with the new web site we have been busy working on several new products:
The PQ Pre-Amplifier kit is now shipping and coming down the pipe shortly is the new DAC 2.1 Kit.
Since we started AudioNote Kits we have been asked on a weekly basis for Dac kit upgrades, tube power supply, I/V transformers, ECC88 analog - We expect this kit to answer all those needs! We will be releasing a limited batch of ten kits in the next 6 weeks or so.
Following that we will be offering a DAC 2.1 upgrade kit for all DAC 1.1 owners – The upgrade will include all the necessary new parts to upgrade your DAC Kit 1.1 to the DAC Kit 2.1 version.
The Balanced Pre-Amplifier is now ready for production and we have made further enhancements to the PHONO-MM stage. Stay tuned for some nice pics of the externals and internals of these kits.
Regards
Brian Smith
|
Greetings Audio Friends, Here I am in the AudioNote Room at the CES show this past month in sunny Las Vegas.The leather jacket is just for effect!
Time to get back to work however for all the kit enthusiasts! I expect to have the 2A3 amplifier available for release in mid February - We have two working prototypes - one in Canada and one in the UK -Both are sounding marvelous and look forward to getting them in the hands of kit builders soon.
The PHONO-MC unit is slated for a limited beta release around the end of February. As with the Balanced Line kit we will be selling a small beta batch of about 5 units. The PHONO-MC will be housed in the larger "Balanced Line" Chassis. The unit will be using two new Step up transformers with a 1:20 and 1:10 step up configurations which cover the spectrum for MC cartridges. They have been specially designed and tested at AudioNote UK specifically for this product. I am expecting the Basic version to start around 1400USD due to the high quality of the new no-compression Step Up transformers being used. Signature versions of this unit will be in the $1799. We will have some special pricing for the Beta run which we expect to announce in mid February.
The new PQ - Pre-Amplifier is now also going to be using the M2 Power Supply. Chassis are being delivered around the end of January and we will be taking orders shortly afterwards. Pricing to be posted shortly.
Pheww.... as you can see lots going on ...... and last but not least the Balanced Line Kit will be available for production when out new chassis batch arrives in a couple of weeks! Thanks for all your support! and look forward to an exciting 2006
Regards
Brian Smith
|
Happy New Year Everyone - I have spent the better part of last month at AudioNote UK where we have been working behind the scenes on a number of Kit products - This looks to be a very exciting few months coming up! First order of business will to release the Balanced Line Kit - Our Beta team scattered through out the world have been working hard over December building their kits and providing feedback . I expect to be able to release the production version later this month
We will also release a limited number of the new Kit1 - 2A3. We finished development of it in December and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the prototype - the amp was amazing..... (more details to come)
Our new PQ Pre-Amplifier kit will be introduced later this month. All this combined with my trip to CES means that it will be a very busy January! I'll be at the AudioNote room at the Lexis Park hotel for anyone of you visiting the show! Stay tuned for updates on this news page over the next couple of weeks
Regards
Brian
News previous to this has been archived over to other pages. Click the link below to view the archived news.