Audio Note speakers

I am still stuck at "Margot"

A lady is asking a serious audiophile question! How refreshing. 

From experience, unless the AN/E system can be set up appropriately, in corners, look at something else or maybe get the tricked-out AN/J. I had them and in my listening room & corners were not an option. They were fine enough and I certainly had the appropriate electronics (not Audio Note) but when I sold them, the new owner was able to place them the "right way" and powered them with AirTight separates. Well, we no longer speak, lol.

Thanks, Bgross.  Great to know.  And hello, Parkergetdean.  Yes, we exist!

Hi Margot,

I have both the Audio Note AN-K SPE speakers with paper cones, corner loaded and the AN-J LX with hemp cones, wall loaded. They are both wonderful sounding in either location. Corners improve the sound but are not completely necessary. The hemp cones produce quicker transients, they both sound great. Your choice of copper vs silver wiring may come down to cost as the silver variants are much more expensive. If you go copper, go with the LX model as the lesser models do not have the baltic birch cabinets which greatly improve the sound.

For speaker cables, go with whatever level of Audio Note wiring you can afford. According to Martin Grennall of Audio Note, A bi-wired lesser speaker cable from AN will sound better than a single wired superior cable. I have bi-wired AN Lexus speaker cables.

If you can, I would pair the AN-J's with an Audio Note amp. The synergy with an all AN system is something to behold. There are some relatively inexpensive Audio Note amps like the I-Zero.

Margot,

I'm using Audio Note J/LX speakers in my living room, currently powered by a wonderful SE EL-34 amp and 4P1L preamp made for me by Radu Tarta under his Shiny Eyes brand. I have an Audio Note Cobra amp and intended to use that - it sounded great with the Js. The little EL-34 amp (running NOS KT-77 tubes) sounds better. II don't know how much better it could sound but the audio grass is always greener...

I am interested in how one of the LTA integrated amps would sound. I would like to try the Ultralinear model. If I ran across one of these at the right price I would also be tempted to try an Luxman LX-380 or SQ-33u, a Leben 300X. My space is tight and an integrated with a great phono stage would be preferred.

FWIW I borrowed a pair of AN-J Hemp speakers and appreciate what they bring to the table but to my old ears I prefer the paper cones.