If you have the green this is the machine... the world's best monoblock amplifiers

[Peter Breuninger]

Ok, the final all Audio Note Level 5 set-up will be Monday, suffice it to say my halfway point is more like interplanetary exploration. The Gaku-On's and M10 Signature ran all night last night to reform the caps and warm the trannies. The speakers remain the Perfect8 Cubes so at least there is a constant during this transition. I have some more pics on my Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peter.breuninger

The sound of these amps is the most involving sound I've ever heard, not only do I have an open window view with zero grain, I have a natural richness and rightness to each instrumental pocket and voice. The ambiance is natural and devoid of room boundaries, it is real, real. From sonic memory on different loudspeakers I would give the nod to the Audio Notes for natural richness and believability and a more realistic decay over the big Lamms. The Lamms do the organics extraordinarily well though the brush strokes are a bit lighter and more feathery, which may serve speakers like the Wilsons better, but that's only an educated guess and the Audio Notes on the big Wilsons just may offer the best large format sound attainable.

I have to say the Lamms on the Verity Lohengrin II at CES playing the Bach Toccata in D Minor was realistically stunning. The Audio Notes in my expert view offer more of the super cues, the last percentages of realism that we pay the big money for. The Audio Notes are roughly double the price of the Lamms and they better be better in certain parameters... for without the attack on the state of the art both amps offer why even play at this level?

More coming, this is very preliminary.

Peter B.

Edit... check out the M10 Sig linestage power supplies:

 

[LL21]

I am absolutely riveted to read more, Peter...enjoy! I am a big fan of the high-end Japanese electronics i have heard: Zanden (naturally), but also Kondo's Gaku-ons and Shindo. I suspect i would like robert koda as well.

I think this is the Audio Note UK stuff...but i suppose one could say it shares a strong history if no longer a direct lineage/heritage from the Japanese Audio Note.

I am particularly excited to hear what you think of the Audio Note DAC 5th Element and CDT 6 Transport. It is the one digital i truly want to hear given that we are blessed to enjoy the Zanden latest-spec 4-Box digital at home now (with all NOS tubes, HRS isolation & mass damping, Entreq EMI/RFI shielding, PAD power cables, etc).