audionote m3 vs ear868, modwright or herron

I am a fan of Audio Note and their gear. I had the older M3 without the Galahad power supply. I sold it as it was ... Do not buy the AN pre amp/phono without the Galahad.

I had the Herron and it was quiet and was well worth the money spent. Very nice indeed.

Had the EAR 324 and now we are talking. tha EAR gear will not disappoint. This is what I would buy (868P).

What E speakers do you have and what stands? If yu have the AN stands then get rid of them and buy the Sistrum stands and get ready to be very angry that you had your E's on the AN stands. I know my AN J/SPe's sound better than the much higher models because of the Sistrum stands. A secret of the trade for you.

Glory, I have the AN-E SPE speakers with AN stands but will now check for Sistrum.To complete the picture, I have a Merdian G8 cd player and van den hull 352 LS cables and German "Funk" IC cables. Would prefer better LS cables but as i need 7m per side, cost will be a problem for anything better, unless you can help.

Shall I go for a EAR 912?

If you want a top, top power amp, look up Eternal Arts OTL. This is also a trade secret. Had it 6 months: this is it.

If you can get a great deal on a 912 I would say YES go for it.

The 324 phono is a fantastic price of gear.

GET RID OF THE AN STANDS. You have not heard the AN speakers full potential until you put them on the Sistrum stands

Have Bill Baker at Bella Extreme assemble the Audio Note Kits L3 with the HiB C-core output trannies and his custom cap "flavoring" (no eletrolytics in the power supply). It mates perfectly with my Atma-Sphere MA-1 OTLs. Output impedance is only 10 Ohms and those upgraded C-core trannies coupling the output give a rich, detailed, sublime sound. Tubes used are readily available and cheap.