I moved the speakers away from the Klipschorns and 26 inches into the listening room, where they stood 48 inches away from the heavy draperies to the rear, 14 inches from the side walls and 65 inches apart.
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However, the corner positions positioned the speakers too far out to the sides, creating excessive interaction between the wide-dispersion drivers and room, resulting in a smeared soundstage and a lingering midrange resonance.
This arrangement boosted the voice and instrumental presence and produced substantial bass. I initially positioned the AN-E/D’s close to the wide front baffle of each of my Klipschorns for better bass. In my room, which is slightly larger at 204 square feet (12 × 17ft), a pair of Klipschorns occupy the two viable corners (see upcoming Klipschorn review). Near side/rear wall corner placement is recommended for enhancing bass response to 18Hz at -6dB. The AN-E is designed for room sizes from 18 to 60 square meters, which converts into about 59 to 197 square feet. In this arrangement, the woofer pointed at ear level, with the tweeter pointing above my head. Two miniature upside-down spikes at the front edge angled the speaker’s front baffle slightly upward. Sand-filled, they provided additional inertia. In addition to the speakers, I received a $450 pair of 10-inch-tall, black-sprayed, steel-spiked speaker stands. The top AN-E SEC Silver uses Audio Note™ AN-SPz silver cable, ALNICO magnet on bass driver, Audio Note™ silver wired voice coils and crossover inductors, Black Gate bipolar capacitors with Audio Note™ silver foil adjusters, and a vinyl-veneered cabinet made from MDF with Russian birch plywood front & back.
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Finally, regardless of model, cabinets, crossovers and drivers are matched to within 0.2dB over the full bandwidth.įrom the same basic design, six higher levels of the AN-E are also available. Audio Note also claims that speakers with narrow baffles sound “distinctly ‘hi-fi’” and unmusical because of peaky response and loss of low level information. Quoting from AN’s website, the enclosure’s uncommon shallowness forms “an integral part of the wave launch support and controlled diffraction characteristics pioneered by Peter Snell in the 1970’s.” Audio Note is also of the opinion that, when executed appropriately, a wide front baffle produces a musical and natural sound, as opposed to the “fashion-victim” narrow baffle designs that compromise midrange frequencies and impart tonal colorations. The AN’s ordinary-looking cabinetry is intentionally simple. Representing a fundamental conceptual departure in baffle design from other contemporary speaker makers, such as B&W, Celestion, Thiel and Vandersteen, the AN speakers’ front baffles are devoid of treatment, and the tweeter and bass units are spaced a considerable distance apart. Knocking on the front and side did not induce cabinet resonance, thus confirming rigidity of the construction.Ī port near the bottom rear of each speaker reinforces bass output. AN claims the AN-E sports the “widest frequency range of any speaker this size and efficiency.” It is equipped with Audio Note™ AN-D copper cable, heavily silver plated Audio Note™ speaker terminals and a meticulously polished, faux-veneer vinyl-clad cabinet made from soft chipboard. The $2,750 a pair, ported, two-way AN-E/D is Audio Note’s flagship speaker. In addition to the AN-E/D, Audio Note provided an entire matching system for auditioning: the M3 line stage preamp, Quest 300B monoblocks, 2 pairs of AN-V RCA silver interconnects and two pairs of 8-meter length AN-La copper bi-wired speaker cables. For example, the bookshelf AN-K/D costs $999 per pair but can also be purchased in the AN-K SE top model for $5,999 per pair with the following extras: Audio Note™ silver cables, Audio Note™ solid silver inductors and Black Gate bipolar capacitors in the crossover, copper-foil adjusting capacitors and exotic wood veneer. Each successive model advances in performance and the incorporation of premium parts. I was interested in investigating their other, lesser-known products, such as the AN-E/D loudspeaker under scrutiny here.Īccording to its US pricing sheet, Audio Note makes five loudspeaker models: the AZ (Absolute Zero), AN-K bookshelf speakers, AN-J full-range and AN-E full-range. Kondo operates his own company in Japan under the eponymous brand-name Kondo.Īudio Note is well known for its amplifiers. The name Audio Note is now legally to be used only with Peter Qvortrup’s Audio Note operation. West Coast Importer, Peter has the largest private vinyl collection in the world. According to Ray Lombardi, Audio Note’s U.S. Peter Qvortrup is an avid vinyl connoisseur. Founded by Hiroyasu Kondo in the ’70’s, the current Audio Note is a British operation reflecting twenty years of collaborative effort between Peter Qvortrup and Hiroyasu Kondo.
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