Canuck Audio Mart

I've been questioned about this several times so rather than reply to each I will post it to the board in hopes to just get it over and done with. Close the door on it and move on.

A while back a poster stated the following:

"From what I read in your comments, only the reviewers of the mag you listed have a golden ear?"

This because I posted reviews that support my opinions. Fair enough.

So I want to provide the back story of my strongly opinionated views.

Try and put yourself in my shoes for a moment. I was an avid audiophile in the early 90Â’s going virtually weekly to audio shops and homes auditioning peopleÂ’s/storeÂ’s systems. I was hooked from one of my DadÂ’s friends who in the early 1990s had thousands of laserdisc movies and a big discrete surround sound system with separates room treatments the whole works.

At 17 I was hooked. I bought all the magazines, read the spec sheets and by 19 I knew more than most of the staff working at most of the stores selling it. I could at least read through their BS sales lines. I auditioned most all SS amplifiers and every major speaker brand that came through the province of BC from 1992 on. Hales, Dynaudio, Martin Logan, Apogee, Bose, Kef, NHT, Wilson Audio, PMC, B&W, Paradigm, Totem, M&K, Cabasse, Castle, JM Labs, Tannoy, Acoustic Research, ProAc, Quad, Boston Acoustics, Sonus Faber, Mission, Wharfedale, B&O, Bose, Energy, Gershman Acoustics, Monitor Audio, PSB, Klipsch, Advent, Cerwin Vega, Athena, Linn, Celestion, Magnepan, Snell, Inner Sound, Infinity, Reference 3a, off the top of my head.

I spent several years listening to this stuff, and like anyone I found some I liked more than others for some aspect that was being done better.

Then I heard Terry’s AN speakers (Terry is the owner of Soundhounds in Victoria) connected to a matched front end and it was one of those “Wes Philips” moments where I LITERALLY felt that everything I heard the decade before was “noise” or a louder version of the telephone (as Gerard Rejkind of UHF would say).

There is no way from that point forward to come across on a forum as anything but a zealot, or a nutter, or a shill, because for me it was not a “I like the treble more on the AN E than the B&W 805 because it was more a personal feeling that the AN E made music sound like music and the N805 a well respected industry standard standmount that was one of my favourite speakers and that I recommended myself a lot on forums was now the equivalent of a compost heap in comparison.

And the N805 was similar to a lot of other competitors which in turn to my ear made those slightly “below” the compost heap.
I’ve done a remarkable job in toning it down from those early days of true uproar on audio forums. But that was my “gut” reaction at that time. When I did the shootout with the K and other standmounts despite the K being a full grand less than the N805 to me it was no contest that it was superior. It’s not perfect – some colouration, a slightly “vague” soundstage but timbre, dynamics, instruments sounding real it had it all over the B&W’s and Paradigms and Revels that I was auditioning and auditioned later.

I took endless grief for my statements – “If they’re so great where are the reviews” “Stereophile is the biggest magazine and they review all the top gear and I see no AN E,” “SETs are joke look at the measurements” “It can’s sound good with that technology” “why are there no dealers? If they were good they would sell them everywhere” “that much money for a two way?” Thousands of posts reading the same arguments mostly by people who never heard a complete AN system or never heard a single component properly matched.

Then audiofederation who was and still are one of the best sources of show coverage on the net and are also one of the top dealers carrying Soundlab and Kharma – two heavyweights in the Panel speaker and boxed speaker market gave a best sound or some such thing to an AN room – even above the stuff they themselves were selling.

This group was harsh – they would often say some pretty nasty things about a lot of gear at these audio shows, the post 1000’s of pictures and have heard virtually every high end company going. As one of the top dealer’s in the U.S, they liked AN so much they not only became a dealer but the US distributor. That in turn gave AN the required presence in the US for Stereophile to review them. Stereophile has a minimum number of dealers in the US policy to get reviewed.

Before that my only support as a vocal fan was Hi-Fi Choice magazine who used the speakers in their blind listening tests – partly because several of the reviewers like the speakers and partly I suspect because they’re easy to drive but not horns, so they’re friendlier to lower powered amplifiers and won’t ruin any on a blind test due to power concerns.
I would post a review and someone would get on my case saying “so what! Everything gets a good review.” And in fact those people are correct.

Stereophile and most magazines online or not will not give out negative reviews for fear of losing advertising. Plus, if youÂ’re noted as the magazine that gives out negative reviews there would be no reason for a big company like a B&W to send you anything. There is not much a B&W can gain from a review at this point because theyÂ’re the established name in hi-fi loudspeakers. I suspect this is a reason why UHF magazine typically reviews the same product manufacturers over and over and over because many companies like Arcam refused to send them anything for decades after a negative review.

So yes people had every right to say “everything gets a great review” and the review won’t sway me into taking RGA’s word for it.
But as the years have gone by and so many more reviews have come out my argument is not about the review but about the “proportion” of very experienced reviewers (most of them more experienced than I by a lot) actually put out their own money for Audio Note versus the entire rest of the audio industry.

Take a look at ALL of the high end name brands out there – Old ones that have been around for decades and new ones. Then look at how big those companies are versus a tiny operation from Audio Note and note that many of those companies sell just as expensive if not far more expensive components.

The “good review” matters less to me than what the reviewer spends his money on and “what the reviewer has heard.”
Hopefully you can see the difference between showing a review "X speaker was really nice, nice imaging, staging and wonderful timing - I recommend speaker X" versus "better than any other system I'd heard at CES" and "may have been the best hi-fi I have ever heard".

This elevates the system beyond the good review to a stature that means “this is better than anything I’ve thus far given a good review to.”
There is a big difference from “good review” to best I’ve heard and “I actually BOUGHT the thing because while I gave out 50 good reviews to loudspeakers in this price range only ONE of them was worth me actually Buying and putting in my home to listen to day in and day out. And while the B&W n801 costs the same and looks nice and I give it a great review – I think it’s better suited to someone else dear reader and not for me.

That does not mean the N801 is not a good loudspeaker – it can be – but buying it to me says more than a good review. And second to buying it is “this was the best I’ve heard but I can’t afford it” Reviewers are not all millionaires – There is a lot I’d rather have that i can’t afford.
And those are the kinds of reviews that I post because they carry more weight.

When several writers from every single magazine and E-Zine not only give a product a great review but are actually BUYING them then there is both correlation, but an extremely strong “putting your money where your mouth is” correlation.

The argument against me goes something like this that "RGA" likes it and everyone else is wrong or that I am knocking other gear because I think AN is better. As if I am some lone wolf championing Audio Note.

So, I feel vindicated when some of the heavyweights in the press are now saying what I’ve been saying for more than 5 years. And all those people saying I needed to hear it my own home with my own gear – well I did not need to and I was saying this for more than 5 years. Now the industry heavyweights who are hearing them at shows OR in their own homes are often in agreement. (and yes I know there are some who will not agree – but that is not really the point since lots of people dislike Schindler’s List too and I understand that nothing can please all of the people all of the time. )

I am not “selling” you or “convincing” you – I only wish to tell you where I am coming from and impress upon people that I am not a lone wolf on this matter.

The only argument I can muster is by showing examples of audio reviewers who have actually auditioned Audio Note’s better products and have parted with their money. Of course it is incredibly lopsided as there are reviewers who auditioned Audio Note and bought something else. Yes of course this is the case but remember my argument is to defend my position that I am not the “only one” who feels this way. And the following list is my “defense.”

1) Bob Neil (Positive Feedback magazine) – liked Audio Note digital so much that he stopped reviewing and became a dealer for them.
2) Peter Van Wellinswaard (Stereophile technical writer) Owns AN E loudspeakers and uses them for measurements of tube equipment
3) Art Dudley (Stereophile) Several Audio Note products over the years and now an AN E/Spe HE owner.
4) Martin Colloms (Stereophile, Hi-Fi News, Hi-Fi Choice, founder Monitor Audio, court case expert on audio products, writer of many books on audio) Has reviewed many AN products over the years hailing the DAC 5 and TT3 as the best digital and turntable he has heard. Also hailed the Ongaku as the best amplifier ever made
5) Constantine Soo (editor of Dagogo.com) owns AN E/Sec Signatures and are his reference speakers
6) Chris Redmond(reviewer dagogo.com (AN E owner)
7) Steven Rochlin (editor of enjoythemusic.com AN J/SE reference speakers for more than 10 years)
Hi-fi Choice (AN E speakers have been used as reference speakers since 1992) – They bought an updated pair in 2001) Editors Choice award in blind listening auditions.
9) Wes Philips (Stereophile) 2009 CES said the AN E/SEC Sig based system was the best he had ever heard. (See 2009 CES blog)
10) ME (reviewer Dagogo-me) Owns AN J/Spe speakers and OTO and believes the AN E/ SEC to currently be the best speakers he has heard.

This is off the top of my head.

Like I said - I am passionate about it because I think the stuff is some of the best out there. I think it's a lot better than most of the trest out there. I merely wanted to let people in on a lesser known brand. Granted 5 years ago they were much less known.

That's where I come from - not telling anyone what they should like just what I like - some of you may agree some of you will not.

Also - since that time several years ago I have found other makers making terrific gear at all sorts of price ranges from Grant Fidelity, Tannoy, Quad, and other good value stuff like Sugden(which I always liked), ASL, Sennheiser/AKG, Ref 3a, Gershman Acoustics among numerous others.

Not disagreeing with your comments RGA, but I think there is an unavoidable negative gut reaction from audio enthusiasts when they hear that a DAC5 Sig at US$75,000, a TT3 at a similar price, or SEC Sig speakers at $35,000 or whatever they are now, are the best sounding components that an experienced reviewer has ever heard.

The vast majority are trying to put together a system for a fraction of that cost, and would be more receptive to comparisons between AN Level 2 components and others in the $2-5k range. I know that the lower level OTO/SORO and J/E s are reasonably well reviewed, but somehow hearing how "magical" a Level 4 or 5 system is takes some of the wind out of the still-quite-pricey Level 2 sails (and maybe sales!).

Finally, there seems to be an undercurrent of "if it ain't AN, it ain't worth a damn" among some supporters of the brand, and of course that gets under the skin. My 2 cents.

I believe you, I feel the same way about classic BBC monitors, as do others. So as I have learned there is always more than one right answer and yours may not be right for someone else. T.

His constant commentary on AN borders on the obsessive. When there are a few days of silence on this greatest-product-ever-produced, the silence is too much for him to bear.

ENOUGH!

I wasn't including RGA as one of those individuals. He clearly states at the end of the post that there are several other manufacturers that are well worth considering. Never a dull moment when AN appears in thread title!

So to resume your statement...There's your way or the wrong way.

Why not list other reviewers with what they listen music with? What are you trying to prove?

What makes Art Dudley better than Gerard Rejkind? Rejkind doesn't have an Audio Note system.

What makes Bob Neil better than Arturo Salvatore? From what I read on his website, Salvatore does not have Audio Note products.

Dare to an individual who will say he doesn't like an Audio Note product. You will be on his case. Rejkind did not like the sound of the Audio Note room in the 2007 CES show. Strange that you did not discuss this matter.

And I could go on.

I am sure Audio Note products are good, but give us a break with your list of Audio Note owners. So it gives more credibility to Audio Note.

Everyone one of us audio guy have the right answers, that probably each one of us think ... This is such an individual hobby, no one has a right to tell someone else what sounds good and what doesn't.

Nobody is right or wrong in this hobby.

The main thing is to spend time listening to music and enjoying every minute of it.

You know Richard, the list of peoples you gave above are just peoples like you and me.

Do you need reinforcement for your liking of Audio Note?

Myself, I don't care which reviewers have the same stuff that I do. Who cares? Where do you find all the energy to make your point? Geez, you must have time to waist.

That is a very valid point - cost no object should in fact sound good.

How does a level two system compare at the price to other systems for similar prices? I am going to try and embark on that very thing. As you may or may not know my preference is for system approaches in all reviews. Not just from the same maker either but agreed upon systems.

In other words if I am reviewing a B&W loudspeaker I want to know what B&W wants their stuff to be reviewed with - generally at a show these companies make partnerships with other companies and you would think both makers agree that the other is a good match.

I dislike the notion of reviewing a speaker with my amplifier when clearly the loudspeaker is not designed for 10 watts. I realize saying this seems obvious but you'd be surprised how little care seems to be afforded on such very obvious aspects.

Even my review of the Grant Fidelity system may have yielded better results had they had a production speaker ready that is more suitable to that kind of amplification/source.

The level two amplifiers would be either OTO/SORO J/Spe or E/LX and TT2 arm 2 IQ2 and CD-2.1x Mk.II with Lexus cables.

This as a system would run $15k - $20K for two sources or $10k-$15k for one source.

Certainly an interesting challenge for me to come up with something else for the same money that I would like more. I'd have to try some things out. It would likely have to be something that soundhounds doesn't carry. The trick for me is to get around the speakers. I have not heard better than the AN E/LX HE for the price. The ones that I consider to be stiff competition cost double and thus the level two system for me already has a huge price advantage on the strength of the speakers.

Taking the one source CD based system I'd be open to comparing a $15k set-up that would take down the Level 2 $15k CD based AN system. I think the speakers and the digital will be the toughest areas for competitors to beat.

People rave about Space Tech - well I can be convinced - anyone making tube gear makes me interested - especially Canadian companies. I'm back in July and if they want to send me a system I'd be happy to oblige.

Bazz I explained why I posted the reviews.

In UHF magazine's case - they reviewed only one product in their entire existence as a magazine - until that cd player they admitted to having never heard a single Audio Note component - EVER. That CD player was out of date when they reviewed it too and they still waxed poetic on it.

The thing for me is two fold - what the reviewer has actually heard and what the reviewer has purchased or believes to be best. UHF has not heard Audio Note (as a system) so naturally they would not buy it. I am not saying if they did hear it they would buy it either - they may in fact not like it if they did. But no reviewer would buy it unheard and most people do not.

My point was that very experience reviewers who have heard a lot of gear reveal to me a fairly credible consensus - it's not just RGA blathering on which is what I get accused of often on this forum.

I am merely pointing out that I am not the only one. I am not saying that because of those reviewers you should sell what you have and buy AN = not saying that at all - I know it may look like that but it is meant to defend that one issue and only that one issue.

Of course people will prefer other things and for very good reasons too.

RGA, do you realize you come across as an individual with deep psychological issues ( I am not trying to be rude but am offering a valid observation inwhich anyone in the field would agree ). Do you believe it is normal to spend so much time and energy on countless long winded posts about a particular brand just because you like the brand ? What would you think if a guy posting in the same fashion and frequency about his chevy( posting day after day, week after week,month after month, year after year) ? What would you think if someone posted in the same fashion and frequency about his fine dining experience at a particular restaurant( day after day,week after week, month after month, year after year)? What conclusion would you come to about these 2 individuals? Get it now?
No, this is not normal behaviour ( unless you have a monetary stake which you claim to have none).

RGA = OCD

Your obsession with being right is insane.....your obsession with AN gear is even more scary.

Your posts generally take us down this apparent long journey with you to a point where you "saw the light", and came to 'know' that AN is better than all else. When I took the time to meander through the many fights you have had with Audioasylum members I noted how many of them had many more years in this hobby then yourself....it definitely seemed that you were attempting to convert those that had more exposure than yourself, and that in this way you could validate your point of view.

When I have had the mispleasure of being in a thread where you are involved it always seems that you intentionally challenge those that can identify many years in this hobby, and those same people seem to be a perceived as a threat. On many occasions I have seen threads go perfectly well with your involvement when a few who identify themselves as 'new' to the hobby' are happy to listen to your rants.....easy converts....easy prey?

If you really believe what you say in your posts than great....but I sadly think it goes way beyond that.....and for many years now.

RGA, I tend to agree with the other posters here in thinking you're a little insane, and your repeated posting of long-winded and unsolicited novellas on the greatness of AN (or whatever else is on your mind) doesn't really do anything to convince anyone otherwise...Not that I mind, cuz in this hobby most of the participants cannot really make a good case for 100% sanity.
That being said, at least you got rid of that scary and more-than-disturbing avatar.

have to agree with the posters. The excessive postings and promotion of Audio Note is a little ridiculous. Having owned Audio Note, I really do not see the big deal considering what you have to pay for them. Owned a few of their digital products including a reviewer's own CD player which he replaced with another brand.

To say Bob Neil just up and quit reviewing because of Audio Note is a little over the top. I just can see it now. Reviewer's liking products so much they give up reviewing and start their own stores. Thank goodness he did not like his Chev as much as Audio Note as he'd likely be a GM dealer now.

I just can't wait to someday hear AN gear........

Why don't they show up at FSI?

What's really insane is the cut out picture of Art Dudley's head pasted on a small budda statue on RGA's night stand.

RGA - I've never heard nor seen AN gear. The prices of AN means I will never pursue it. I find your posts funny, entertaining and passionate. It's your opinion and your passion, which your entitled to. I'm smart enough (barely) to filter out what I want/need to hear. I do respect you for NOT personally bashing others who disagree with you or have opinion and experiences different than yours.