Greetings music lovers, and welcome to Jeff's Place! I hope you are doing well, and that life is treating you kindly.

I can't believe it is March 2022 already. The days seem to be racing past right now. I'm finding it challenging to keep up with everything going on that I want to do, and to tell you about. There just aren't enough hours in a day!

I'm encouraged that the pandemic seems to be receding, which - I hope - means life will regain a more normal tempo for 2022. 

If that's indeed the case, I have big plans for getting out and about in 2022!

Triode Lab 2A3 RSR Mono Amplifiers

I've been experiencing a direct heated single-ended-triode renaissance in my life of late, with the arrival of the Triode Lab 45 EVO integrated amplifier, the Triode Lab 2A3 RSR mono amplifiers, and the Audio Note (UK) 300B Meishu Phono Silver Tonmeister integrated amplifier that are in residence here at Jeff's Place.

Over the decades I've loved the various 45, 2A3, 300B, and 845/211 SETs amplifiers that I've owned, but I have to say that this current crop of SETs are on another level compared to anything I've had in the past, and I'm really impressed how far SETs have evolved in performance over the last decade.

At the moment my major focus is writing the feature article for Positive Feedback about the Triode Lab 2A3 RSR mono amps from Frank Ng in Toronto. 

The Triode Lab 2A3 RSR mono amps represent Frank's vision for state-of-art direct heated triode amplifier performance, and at $22K USD they have a price to match.

The RSRs are a limited edition of four pairs. Beautifully constructed, superb component parts, and exceptionally fine sound quality and musicality sum up the RSRs pretty well. Oh, and they have a 10 year warranty! 

I just finished the introductory part of the article, and next up is writing my listening impressions for the article, and taking the final photos for the article.

I'm in the final stages of fine-tuning the voicing of the system using the 'comparison by contrast' method, to get the best balance of musical performance across the four eras of the recording arts, the acoustic (1877 to 1925), electric (1925 to 1945), magnetic (1945 to 1975), and digital (1975 to present).

I still have a cable swap or two I want to try, then its time to finish up my listening impressions.

Audio Note (UK)

I've got a bunch of Audio Note (UK) topics I'm looking forward to telling you about, like the performance of the Level Three Audio Note (UK) CD 4.1x CD player (above), and how it compares to the Level Two Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II CD player (below). 

I've been really impressed with the performance of both these CD players, they play music on a level that has provided great listening satisfaction for me, even as an old analog diehard. 

The sound quality and musicality is so good for both these Audio Note (UK) CD players the question about preferences between analog and digital have largely become meaningless to me, with listening becoming more about what format the music is on that I want to listen to at any given time, CD or vinyl. 

The Audio Note (UK) CD players have reinvigorated my music listening in ways I couldn't even have imagined a few short years ago.

I'm listening to worlds of music that are new to me in our recorded music canon, like the music recorded during the acoustic and electric eras of the recording arts. I've found there are untold musical riches to be explored in that part of our recorded music canon, and exploring them has expanded my listening pleasure considerably.

Quite literally, I have more music that I want to listen to from those periods of the recording arts than I probably have time left on Planet Earth to do it. I'm looking forward to the journey!

I've found to really explore all the music I want to listen to that both my vinyl front end(s) and a CD player(s) are absolutely essential, and very complimentary for making it easy to listen to music that spans the four eras of the recording arts.

Whether its the combination of the Audio Note (UK) Io I MC phono cartridge and AN-S4 step-up transformer, or the CD 2.1x/II or CD 4.1x, the source sound quality is extraordinary, and I love what I'm hearing from them.

While there are performance differences between analog and digital, now 45 years after the dawn of the digital recording and playback era, CD players like the CD 2.1x/II and CD 4.1x make it very apparent that digital has become an impressive format for music listening that rivals the vinyl experience, and have become a necessary part of a hifi system for those who want to explore all music. 

I've got a long term report approximately half-written about the Audio Note (UK) Oto Phono SE Signature integrated amplifier that I wrote a feature review about for Positive Feedback in Issue 108, almost 2 years ago now! 

The listening context is my audio-visual system with my vintage Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers.

If you've read what I've written about the Oto with my vintage 'Stokowski' Altec loudspeakers, you know the Oto was 'magic' with them, and the same goes for the Altec A5s, there's just something about the Audio Note (UK) integrated amplifiers that make those ancient Altecs a soul inspiring listening experience.  

I'm a huge fan of integrated amplifiers, and for most music enthusiasts I think integrateds are the 'sweet spot' for performance vs. cost, and make the most sense for building a system around.  

I could easily live with an integrated amplifier as my 'forever' amplifier, and the best of them can easily go toe-to-toe with separates amplification components. 

Take the Audio Note (UK) 300B Meishu Tonmeister Phono Silver integrated amplifier as an example. I've been listening to the Meishu with my Altec A5s in rotation with the Audio Note (UK) Oto Phono SE Signature integrated amplifier, and I have to say it has been a true pleasure by any measure. 

The 300B Meishu is so good with the Altec A5s it is just amazing, and I guess that should be the case, as 300B SETs were the originally intended amplification for Altec A5s when they were introduced way back in 1945 at the transition point between the electric and magnetic recording eras. 

One of the things I really like about the design of both the Audio Note (UK) 300B Meishu Tonmeister Phono Silver integrated amplifier, and the Audio Note (UK) Oto Phono SE Signature integrated amplifier, is that they both include high-quality phono stages, making them a truly integrated music system for exploring both music on vinyl, and music on CD. Bravo!

If DHL's promise of delivering the Audio Note (UK) AN-K loudspeakers tomorrow holds true, I'll have more to tell you about them very soon.

My collection of vintage Altec loudspeakers, and Tannoy Westminster Royal SE loudspeakers, are jumbo-sized, and I haven't had a pair of smaller monitor-sized loudspeakers around here to listen to in years, so I'm excited to hear the AN-Ks. 

I'm also excited that I'll be able to combine the AN-Ks with the Audio Note (UK) Oto Phono SE Signature integrated amplifier and Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II CD player so I can tell you about what it is like to have a full Audio Note (UK) system playing music here at Jeff's Place.

Soundsmith Carmen Mk. II

The Soundsmith Carmen Mk II high-output moving-iron phono cartridge is my favorite for cartridges I have heard at the $1000 price point.

Its high output means no SUT is needed, making it an even more affordable high-performance phono cartridge option. 

In a bone-headed move I broke the cantilever off my Carmen Mk II that was mounted on my Thorens TD-124 turntable. Arghh! 

I was disappointed about my clumsy accident with the Carmen Mk II, but I thought it would be a good time to send it into Soundsmith for a rebuild, which allows me to tell you about Soundsmith's rebuild process, how long it took (not long), how much it cost me (~$200 USD), and the resulting performance of my rebuilt Carmen Mk II. 

So that's coming up in the future as well. 

Well I'm out of time for writing this update this morning, so it's time for me to get busy on other things.

As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!