What if you could listen to an accomplished passionate and energetic musician, with an original artistic vision, filled with warmth and depth simultaneously with a Hi-Fi system dedicated to the quest of re-creating that performance with maximum realism, emotion and intensity?

I refer to Robert Harley, editor in chief of the Absolute Sound magazine - “High-End audio is about passion – passion for music, and how well it is reproduced”. Here at Audio T Bristol we did just that with an unusual event...

The Contenders

Vincent Bélanger hails from a prominent family of musicians, many of whom have contributed greatly to develop the musical scene in Quebec, Canada. He attended Master Classes with Yo-Yo Ma (Lyon, 2001) and Catalonian master, Lluis Claret (Montpellier, 2001). With grants from the "Fondation des Jeunesses Musicales du Canada" in 2002, he went on to study with renowned French cellist, Yvan Chiffoleau and won First Prize in the Cello Master Class. He premiered as a competitor at the Young Artists Show, presented by CBC, Canada national network, in 2004. His album "Lâ", launched in Spring of 2011 (Fidelio label), won the "coup de coeur" of Radio-Classique, Quebec and Montreal before its official public release. It also received praise from the press and the public in Canada and overseas. It was ranked as best seller for several weeks on the USA's audiophile download website HDtracks.

The Audio Note system hails from Brighton from a prominent family of engineers, many of whom have contributed greatly to the High Fidelity world of tuned audio circuits.

Audio Note’s product range is built around a series of ideological and technological performance platforms from which they have developed a wide and comprehensive product range.

The platform levels are created to demonstrate that increases in price are consummate with suitable improvements in sound quality. Typically, this means using silver in key areas of signal path, uprated materials and tighter tolerances of components.

The Equipment

Audio Note TT3

The turntable is fitted with an Arm Two, IQ 3 cart and PSU 1 power supply, Our colleagues at Reading reviewed the Audio Note TT3 - read here and we have to concur - a stunning turntable. It’s hard believe that this is an MM setup given the amount of detail retrieved and the smoothness. Comparing to other turntables - the TT3 has the punch of a Rega Planar 10 and the airy-ness of a Linn LP12, but a musicality that is very difficult to describe. It feels revealing and complimentary to any musical genre almost regardless of quality of recording.

Digital Done right - CD 3.1 CD Player

The CD3.1x/II is the first model of integrated CD player in the Audio Note range to feature the highly regarded Analogue Devices AD1865 digital to analogue converter chip, the same device that they use in there more costly stand alone DACs. This 18bit device has consistently outperformed every competing chip they have tested regardless of specification or price.

The transport is an in house modified Philips CD mechanism, designed purely to read true Red Book CD, which Audio Note believe is still the best possible Digital music format currently available.

The analogue output stage features two ECC88 dual triode valves and custom designed and manufactured Audio Note (UK) copper foil capacitors. Tantalum resistors are also used in critical areas, offering a quite remarkable level of performance.

Audio Note Meishu Phono Tonmeister Silver

We reviewed the level 2 Meishu Tonmeister back in 2021 (you can read it here). It’s hard to explain, but the Tonmeister leaves you with an emotion - no matter what you’re listening to. Music is reproduced to a different level of expression. This is the single malt equivalent of Hi-Fi. At Level 3, the amplifier is Class A single-ended directly heated no feedback triode, The Silver upgrades over the standard version specification with AN HiB C-core output and interstage transformers, AN silver (AN-V) and copper internal wiring, a combination of AN Standard and AN KAISEI Electrolytic Capacitors, 1W AN Ni-Chrome and 2W AN Tantalum Resistors in selected places. The most notable improvements over the standard Tonmeister is the depth of sound stage, timbre and transients - faster and tighter.

Speakers - AN-E SPE

Again, level 3 Speakers are the AN-E SPE Hemp in a Birch burl piano gloss finish. These speakers have a 1” tweeter & 8” high efficiency Hemp bass driver with Silver voice coils, 97.5 dB efficient, AN-SPe internal Silver cable, internal crossover, copper inductors.

The Session

Beginning with an introduction from Daniel Qvortrup, Director and son of founding Director Peter Qvortrup, Daniel explained the setup and the system. I was intrigued by the speaker placement, very different from many setups. The Audio Note AN-E benefit from being close to the corners of a room and near the walls. I expected the soundstage to be recessed and boomy, but not at all. The soundstage was quite forward and truly three-dimensional. I have never experienced a system capable of this and what is even stranger - move around the room a little and the soundstage stays locked between the speakers. This off-axis response is astonishing.

Vincent Bélanger then took over the reins, with an intriguing repertoire that had us captivated. It is a very special experience to be that close to a cello and see and feel the performance. Truly magical was a moment when Vincent played with an ensemble, the other instruments played by the Audio Note system. Listening to the difference between the real life instrument of the cello and the Audio Note system, which seemed to blend so perfectly, was a beguiling experience.

Consonance, the second album by Vincent Bélanger has his arrangement of Ravel’s Bolero, the centerpiece of the album and an “act of revenge for cellists and double bassists” as the original work neither has cello of double bass playing the melody. The album is a celebration of the expressive richness of the cello and is well worth seeking out.

All in all this event was an intriguing and highly enjoyable experience. Thank you Vincent, thank you Audio Note & a big thank you to all who attended and we look forward to welcoming you again - stay tuned for the next Audio T Events by subscribing to our newsletter.

Justin, Max & James - Audio T Bristol

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

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