Audio Note Amplifier Kits


I know there are many threads on this but they are old and wanted to get recent thoughts on AN kits available.  I was informed the Kits are not made by AN so does anyone have thoughts on the third party available kits?  Worth the money and time and any specifics on which kit model.

Thanks

jh

johnah5

@johnah5 - I've heard some Audio Note amps at audio shows, but not in my system. I think the kits deliver similar performance to the lower-end AN commercial units, but none of the kits (that I'm aware of) have the silver wire transformers and the highest quality resistors and caps that AN's top models have. Still, they are a good bargain and are amenable to upgrades to deliver even higher performance. 

@jaytor where did you source the upgrade components for you amp build? We’re these available from the ANK seller?

Long ago, ANK and Audio Note were more closely affiliated.  Now, the kit company makes electronics based on Audio Note designs and uses the parts thaat Audio Note sells to the public.  I don't believe they have access to the highest grade transformers.

Jaytor,

All of your builds look fantastic and well thought out.  I like the ANK 300B amps with the nekkid output transformers (looks better than potted trannies to me).  A local dealer who builds his own house brand of electronics built an amp with real Audio Note parallel 2a3 trannies (silver wire primaries and secondaries) that he bartered with Peter Qvortrup to obtain.  These clone Kageki amps sound very good, although they did not look as nice as your amps.  

@changeout - I bought the upgraded resistors/caps and the TentLabs DHT filament supplies from HiFiCollective.com.

The Jensen line input transformers came from PartsExpress.com.

I built the heater supply for the input tube using a pmillet PCB I bought on ebay with parts from Mouser.

The Maida regulator for the input stage, as well as the soft-start controller came from Neurochrome. Parts for the Maida regulator came from Mouser, although Neurochrome now sells assembled boards.

The delayed start output relay PCB was purchased from the DIYAudioStore.com site, with parts from Mouser.

I used hookup wire from DHLabs.com (solid silver for audio signals, silver plated copper for power signals, all using PTFE insulation).

The connectors were purchased from various places including PartsConnexion and Amazon.

The enclosure panels were purchased from FrontPanelExpress.com, and were all designed using their free software.

Here's a photo of the inside of one of the two amps. 

@larryi - thanks for the compliments. I imagine those AN silver transformers are pretty amazing. One of these days, I'd like to try to build an amp with silver OPTs. There are a few companies that will make them with silver wire, although they get pretty pricey.