@pfmaudio
I’ve been down both roads. Ref5se/Ref75se/Wilson Audio Sasha 2/all transparent wire; Audio Note Tonmeister Meishu Silver (w/Audio Note 4300 tubes)/AN-e spe he/all Audio note wire.
They both have their pros and cons and I provide the following input only to assist, I have no vested interest and encourage you to hear the Audio Note gear in a familiar environment so that you can make the best decision for you.
Audio Research/Wilson thoughts: the pairing is hard to go wrong with. Alot of sonic strengths, some weaknesses and a few observations. no offense intended but I would rather have Sabrinas/Sabrina 2’s than Sophia 3’s. I never fell for the Sophias. The Sabrina is Just a more balanced, nuanced speaker. The ref150 isnt as sweet or musical as the ref75se either in my opinion. Hard to fault ARC/Wilson combo but it isnt as juicy or wet sounding as Audio Note. With that said, it strikes a nice balance between tubes and solid state. Goldilocks….
Audio Note thoughts: The Tonmeister/Audio Note An-e spe he is a fine sounding combo in the right room. Your room is fair sized at around 16 ft by 20 ft. IF your room and the audio note speakers couple correctly, it has tremendous potential. It will run out of volume on the Tonmeister if you listen at loud volumes and I found the AN-e spe he to be less efficient/sensitive that their stated specifications. I also found that this sytem can sound pretty good in almost any room but to get the best out of it requires more fussing with placement and toe in than you may think. Every move enhances one area(bass) and might adversely affect imaging and vice versa. And this may be controversial but the Tonmeister (I owned it twice) isn’t as amazing as many would have you believe. I owned a Meishu tonmeister silver with stock 300b’s and another with the audio note 4300’s and I just didnt get it. I thought my initial Tonmeister wasnt very magical, I rdered another with the 4300’s and just couldnt see what the big deal was. It was nice, sounded on occasion special but in general…I couldnt recommend it to anyone looking for set magic. It doesnt sound that set to me. After my second Tonmeister silver purchase, I wish I had order the OTO se silver signature because I had an OTO se signature that was amazing. I wanted more of that magic and in my opinion the Tonmeister was a step backward. My 2 cents.
The Arc and Audio Note based systems can be exceptional but now for the real news: I found BOTH the Arc and the Audio Note systems were better with Devore O96’s. The O96’s were more beautiful sounding than the Wilsons to my ears on my Arc/Wilson setup and the dynamics and the colors were amazing and vivid. I found the O96’s more versatile and complete sounding than the An-e speakers on my Tonmeister system. YMMV. The thing about Audio Note speakers that is both a blessing and a curse: corner placement. Not only can they be placed in corners, you MUST place them in corners or the tonal balance is midfi to my ears. Others will tell you to not be afraid of pulling the e’s out into the room. Thats your call but they lose alot in my estimation. You are out of luck if you dont like the severe toe in required to get any imaging out of them.
I love each of the brands you are considering or have mentioned, they each have alot going for them in the appropriate system/room. I have moved on to other gear but I still own and enjoy Decore speakers in one system and Audio Note an-k spx se super K’s in another system. I may still order that OTO SE Silver Signature as I deeply appreciate the el84 tube strengths and that amp is likelt the pinnacle amp for that tube. Best wishes with your decision.
