Audionote Soro SE, or cheaper single-ended?

Carl,

Good point, but I disagree. And, I don't think they are overpriced at retail (sorta, read on). Given the state of quality tube integrateds that are out there now, I feel the Soro should be one of the major players. Plus the phono stage is very high quality. Before I bought my Supratek, I was more than happy with it and a K&K stepup. At it's price point, IMO, the Soro is right there.

For some reason, some AN gear does not seem to meet the 50% of retail used pricing. Currently there are 29 listings in the classifieds under Audio Note. First off, most people are asking more than 50% of retail on some items. Some of the items, like the TT2 that sold, were asking 67% of retail, but we don't know what it sold for (it is sold).

I don't know what any of the AN gear actually sells for new. Since I have this major aversion to buying new gear, I don't know the actual sales price of anything out there, much less AN. But, I bought my new "damaged in shipping" AZ3 speakers for about 60% of retail. And, becuase the now US importer and I had some communications problems, he threw in a set of AN speaker cables FOR FREE. Try that with most other companies. I'm glad to see David Cope at Triode & Co. take over US distribution, instead of just being an Audio Note store.

And, I don't think any ASL integrated is as good as the Soro, or probably even the Oto, much less the Meishu. AN gear may be high at retail, but again, in my experience, it is well worth it. After living with my Soro for a year, I'd have to say that if I was in the market for an integrated in that price range, I'd buy one new, even at close to 5 grand now (probably 4 in the real world).

My personal opinion is that the "split" between Peter & Kondo-san has hurt the value of both parties gear. This is a shame, because most of what has been said on the net is bullshit. I'm not going into it, because it has been beaten to death, ad nauseum, here and other places. I DO KNOW that when I emailed Peter, 3 weeks ago, and asked for a set of schematics for the Soro, and told him I was MORE THAN WILLING TO PAY FOR THEM, he emailed me a set out, gratis, that day. I also need some stand-offs for the PCB's, and he put them in the mail, gratis again.

While I know there are other companies out there known for their customer service, I can say with no hesitation that EVERY time I've emailed Peter Q., stupid question or not, he has gotten back to me PERSONALLY, and always in an expedient manner. This is one of the many reasons I like AN gear. A couple of other reason are build quality, aesthetics, and of course, the AN sound.

Remember, this is my opinion, and as much as I may sound like it, I have no affiliation with Audio Note. I wish I did, maybe I could get a better deal....

The Oto is said to be better than the Soro, and it's cheaper. But it has less power. My experience has been that both Audio Note products and the people who sell it, service it or whatever are all top notch.

Can't go wrong acquiring Audio Note stuff from Truesound (Nick Gowan) in Campbell, CA. He is as good as they get.

The Oto uses EL34 tubes, I think, and that is what the people are after I think over the Soro. Some like that tube better; that's what Nick told me anyway.

Another Audio Note product that is very, very good at the used price is their entry turntable the TT1. One of these with the Audio NOte ARM2 (silver wired rb300) went for 800 from Jeff's Sound Values a couple of months back. That has to be about the best table/arm rig around for less than a grand; has a small footprint, too.

OTO uses EL84, not EL34!!!

Not an integrated, Oliver, but if you want stellar sound, buy a pair of George Wright Mono 3.5's and run them direct into a CD player with internal preamp OR with stepped attenuators. You could also use a passive preamp. For $1430 new, I don't think you will find better for many dollars more. If you are patient, you can find a pair for around $1000 on the used market. In a comparison with 5 other high end SET/OTL's, they bested every one, the highest priced costing $30K. I kid you not.