Κώστας Φ.
Truth hurts. Here's a teddy bear.
- Μηνύματα
- 8.978
- Reaction score
- 895
"The AN-UK CD1.1x is the cheapest model in the current range, but fully subscribes to all the design principles mentioned above. It doesn't use oversampling or upsampling, the output of the DAC chip is not filtered, the output stage consists of a single miniature valve, the output is AC coupled by a pair of chunky Audio Note tin foil capacitors and the output connectors look like they're silver plated. The price for this basic model is also very Audio Note: at £1350 it's more expensive than many a company's top model!
So, this seems to be a real Audio Note player, and should be something special because of it. One thing that certainly isn't very special is the first impression, I do have to admit. The case work can only really be described as agricultural, if I'm honest. Although it is all put together well enough, it does make a quite basic impression. The player is small, not very heavy and very minimal with only a set of RCA outputs at the back and not even a digital output. I didn't like the look of the display very much and it isn't very clear when viewed from an angle. The remote is a very basic plastic affair. When you press 'eject' the tray comes out with a noise that makes one wonder if the machines hasn't broken. Where ever the money went in this machine, it certainly wasn't the cosmetics!
One look inside the player makes you wonder again where they've spend all that £1350, as there's not that much inside. The main PCB really has no more that 20 or 30 components on it, all very widely spaced. I have to admit that there are two rather large 'block type' transformers and that those big tin foil output capacitors look impressive. But just like the outside, it looks anything but expensive inside. Of course, all of this doesn't matter at all to me: if it sounds good I'm happy. I just mention it in case you do care about these things. Some friends did comment on the build quality and found it lacking in 'pride of ownership', given the asking price.
The single valve used is a 6111WA miniature type and is soldered in place, so cannot be replaced at all. AN claim a very long life of about 100,000 hours, which represents over 11 years of continuous use so there’s no real need for replacement, actually. There were no problems during the 2 months of the review period.
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Conclusion
I have enjoyed my time with this player very much. It certainly is one of the better sounding machines I've had in my system. It does need a very solid support and takes forever to burn-in, so don't judge it too quickly. The ear will also need some time to adjust to the character of this CD player, as it clearly does things in a slightly different way as most other players. It does have a brutal honesty which makes some recordings sound better than others. It also has enormous talents, though, and sounds fantastically vibrant, life-like and dynamic. Bass is as good as it gets at this price and the midrange is glorious. The only small weakness is a slight rawness in the upper treble.
If you highly value the way your hifi looks or like excellent build quality then look elsewhere. If you really want a very smooth and comfortable sound there might be better options. Still, I don't hesitate to strongly recommend this player. It is something very special and if you like its personality you will fall in love with it for sure."
Full Review: TNT-Audio
