Charles,
Thank you for the good wishes.
Ultimately, there were several things that swayed me in this direction.
First, I did want to buy from an established company that would give me good service and support down the road. in addition, Charles, your advice to go for quality out of the gate made sense to me.
I also like the fact that the amplifier is easily upgradable down the road with parts that are certified by the manufacturer there is an upgrade path. Maybe, a year from now, I will have saved up enough money for the fancy transformers who knows?
I ruled out the bottle head kits because I really decided that I wanted a one piece, integrated solution. As it now stands, I have to flip five different switches just to play a CD, and I'm getting tired of it. :-) by the way, the cost of the bottle head Paramount amplifiers and their best preamplifier is basically the same as the cost of this Audio Note Kit, for what that's worth
I also like the fact that Brian from Audio Note was so willing to work with me on price. I am getting the nicer capacitors at something like 50% off retail, and he is also throwing in free shipping, which is worth $125. (The kit ships in two boxes, one for the transformers alone, and one for the tubes and the rest of the parts.) Brian told me that the transformers in this kit are really first rate they are, as we have been saying, in many ways, the heart of the design and they need to be good. If memory serves, I think he told me that these transformers are worth around $200 a pop.
I did, by the way, ask him about the quality of the tubes. He said that they provide basic tubes because most people will choose to put in fancier stuff no matter what. He also said that sometimes people want to know if they can buy the kit without the tubes. But he doesn't want someone to risk, for example, expensive Western Electric tubes in an untested amplifier and see the tubes go up in smoke the first time they power the thing on. He also mentioned that Audio Note Kits is entering into an agreement with another company that will provide discounted tubes to Audio Note Kit customers, so that's great.
As for Commonsense Audio, I will say that I really enjoyed speaking with Dave, the proprietor. He's a very interesting guy. And I do hope that somebody who reads this thread will buy one of those amps so we can find out if they really are the bargain of the millennium. The fact that it seemed that he hadn't really thought through how such an amplifier was going to be serviced and that the warranty was only one year gave me pause. So, yes, I have paid a premium for the Audio Note Kit, but I feel good about it.
I do understand what you guys are saying about rising standards of living in China. As I said, I don't want to have this thread get caught up in that important and a complicated debate. But once again, I do appreciate all the advice you guys have given me and I will keep you posted when I start working on the amp!
Thank you for the good wishes.
Ultimately, there were several things that swayed me in this direction.
First, I did want to buy from an established company that would give me good service and support down the road. in addition, Charles, your advice to go for quality out of the gate made sense to me.
I also like the fact that the amplifier is easily upgradable down the road with parts that are certified by the manufacturer there is an upgrade path. Maybe, a year from now, I will have saved up enough money for the fancy transformers who knows?
I ruled out the bottle head kits because I really decided that I wanted a one piece, integrated solution. As it now stands, I have to flip five different switches just to play a CD, and I'm getting tired of it. :-) by the way, the cost of the bottle head Paramount amplifiers and their best preamplifier is basically the same as the cost of this Audio Note Kit, for what that's worth
I also like the fact that Brian from Audio Note was so willing to work with me on price. I am getting the nicer capacitors at something like 50% off retail, and he is also throwing in free shipping, which is worth $125. (The kit ships in two boxes, one for the transformers alone, and one for the tubes and the rest of the parts.) Brian told me that the transformers in this kit are really first rate they are, as we have been saying, in many ways, the heart of the design and they need to be good. If memory serves, I think he told me that these transformers are worth around $200 a pop.
I did, by the way, ask him about the quality of the tubes. He said that they provide basic tubes because most people will choose to put in fancier stuff no matter what. He also said that sometimes people want to know if they can buy the kit without the tubes. But he doesn't want someone to risk, for example, expensive Western Electric tubes in an untested amplifier and see the tubes go up in smoke the first time they power the thing on. He also mentioned that Audio Note Kits is entering into an agreement with another company that will provide discounted tubes to Audio Note Kit customers, so that's great.
As for Commonsense Audio, I will say that I really enjoyed speaking with Dave, the proprietor. He's a very interesting guy. And I do hope that somebody who reads this thread will buy one of those amps so we can find out if they really are the bargain of the millennium. The fact that it seemed that he hadn't really thought through how such an amplifier was going to be serviced and that the warranty was only one year gave me pause. So, yes, I have paid a premium for the Audio Note Kit, but I feel good about it.
I do understand what you guys are saying about rising standards of living in China. As I said, I don't want to have this thread get caught up in that important and a complicated debate. But once again, I do appreciate all the advice you guys have given me and I will keep you posted when I start working on the amp!