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Elekit TU-8600 or ANK Kit 1?

Just completed my Audio Note Speaker Kit-04 build and am looking to upgrade my amp from my Bottlehead Stereomour II 2a3 SET (3.5W) and want more oomph and headroom.

Anybody have any experience, input or opinions with the above two 300B kits?

  • The Elekit would be with the upgraded Lundahl TT-2770 C-Core transformers, Takman resistors, Mundorf Silver Oils and Genelax Gold Lion tube upgrade. 
  • The ANK would be the Kit1-10 with C-Cores, Takmans, Mundorf Silver Oils and I believe entry level EH tubes. The ANK also would cost at least another $1,000. 
  • Third option would be a Bottlehead Kaiju, however I have built many Bottlehead kits and love them, but looking to try out one of the above.
The ANK should be very synergistic with my new speakers and looks great, but a $1,000 difference (with lesser tubes) is significant.

Of course, if anyone has an Audio Note OTO SE Signature with Phono that they are looking to unload at an amazing price, feel free to pm me.
zenaudio
jond's avatar
jond
5,812 posts
 
+1 @stereo5 though I am an admitted Audio Note fanboy.
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
8,000 posts
 
I have owned the Kit 1 with C cores for several years. It is a great amp,  as you said,  beautiful as well and very reliable.  Wonderfully natural,  focused and spacious sound, and good low bass too! 
I would recommend it. 
vkung
2 posts
 

Did you hear the big difference of these two amps? Please ask those who owned AND LISTENED to TU-8600.

There IS A REASON WHY Herb Reichert STAYED IN MY ROOM IN CAF FOR AN HOUR. 

https://www.stereophile.com/content/herbs-third-report-caf

tbl_hk's avatar
tbl_hk
9 posts
 

I own and listen to TU-8600 for a while now. Besides that, I also own and listen by rotation all my 20-plus tube amps, mostly vintage and PP. The Elekit is my second tube amp from Japan. My first was a Sansui 1000A receiver.


With 1 vintage 12AD7 (substitue for 12ax7), and 2 vintage Telefunken ECC82, driving my Gold Aero Premium 300B, the TU-8600 right outta box, sounds a little sibilent on voices. A lot of "SSSSSSSSS". On other sound reproduction without voice, it actually sounds quite competently put together. It has ultra low noise floor, good gain (read: drive sensitivity), that magic middle/highs of directly heated 300B, and bass comes quite convincing. Compared to my other vintage tube pp amps (MC240, 8b, Mullard 5-10, a few Leak TL series amps running KT88, 6BQ5, and even Futterman OTL-3, the TU-8600 still hold up quite well in the department of producing "oooooomph". Plus a huge bonus of the 300B signature sound.

I believe the reason the TU-8600 runs so well, may be due to its newly designed FET-driven power supply, its autobiasing circuitry, and the weel executed OPT irons.

So I think it has potential to receive better irons. Considering Hashimoto’s trafo’s a good alternative for TU-8600, I bought a pair of H-30-3.5S O.P.T.’s and installed it. It came with potting and a square tall case, which luckily could be fitten laid down on its side on the trafo bridge. There was just enough speace under the hood with the top cover installed. But because it only has two windings, short of the thid feedback winding of the Elekit’s original OPT’s, I have to use its 16 ohm output taps for NFB feeding.

Result: stunning. FR was up a notch in the highs, distortion even lower, and it actually runs better with my JBL 4320 (2-way mon 96dB/W/m SPL) giving much deeper bass response and better control there.

That cost me nearly $900 though.

Terence

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