Building the Audio Note Kit 1 SET amp...

Charles, yes, what the Kit 1 does in terms of purity of tone and the ability to re-create ambient space (where it exists on the recording) and unravel complex musical material is quite something. I feel like I owe you some thanks for inspiring me to move in this direction. The level of emotional engagement with the music and the ability to re-create such beauty is really delightful.

Jetrexpro, I'm not a huge classical music aficionado but I do have some classical records that I like and also some film soundtracks but I really enjoy. Back in the 1980s, I purchased a number of Chesky LPs that I'm going to have to go back and explore – they should sound really terrific. If you haven't heard it, I am a big fan of a somewhat obscure animated film soundtrack. It's an anime film called Princess Mononoke. It's on the "Milan" label. Extraordinarily well recorded and some beautiful music, too.

Map, Sebrof may be lending me his Tekton Katz Meow speakers to try out at home. It will give me a chance to see what a much higher efficiency design sounds like. I am very interested in the prospect of getting a much higher efficiency speaker in the mix and seeing what that does for the synergy of the system. On the other hand, the De Capo is sounding VERY good right now. Decisions, decisions

Rebbi,
So good to hear that you have success. Just enjoy the music, no need to rush...take your time.

Very glad to hear the good news, Rebbi.

Speaking of Chesky, and also of classical music, I recommend that you consider purchasing a used or new copy of Chesky CD31, Dvorak's "New World Symphony," Jascha Horenstein conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. A magnificent performance of great and immediately likeable music, which is also one of the best sounding orchestral recordings I have ever heard. And one which I suspect would be particularly revealing of whatever the differences may be between the sonics of your De Capos and the Katz Meow or any other speakers you may compare them to. You won't believe, btw, that this CD was created from a recording made in 1962!

Although it is out of print, the CD can be obtained from a number of sellers offering it at Amazon.

Best regards,
-- Al

Al,
Thanks for that CD recommendation, I'll order a copy today.
Charles

Rebbi,
I don't listen to large scale symphonic music very often, but when I do it's enjoyable and engaging in my system. I can relate to yours and Jet's comments. Before I got my SET amp one of the warnings was they can't unravel complex music. Implied is they're only good for low demanding simple music. That may be true for lesser SETs or if there's a poor speaker match.

The first time I played a classical orchestra CD(RCA Living Presence CSO late 1950s) I was nearly stunned by how good it was,layers od depth, fine separation,clarity. Nothing fell apart or collapsed. Now I wasn't listening at peaks of 110 db(I just don't listen at that loud level). The music was at a volume I found to be very satisfying and involving, that's good enough for me. I would likely require a more powerful amp if that type of listening was my primary fare(but it isn't). I truly enjoy all genres of music when the mood strikes. For the most part it's a large collection of jazz of various size groups. The point is you have an excellent amplifier that with appropriate speakers will allow you to enjoy whatever you like at a very high quality level of reproduction.
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