Audio Note Mentor Preamp...
nooshinjohn
Posts: 25,446
Looking at building myself one of these...
http://www.ankaudiokits.com/L5-Mentor-Tube-Pre-Amplifier.html
What do you guys think? Am I better off looking at something else? This pretty thing goes for right around 5k complete, and of course I would be doing some tweaks along the way.
http://www.ankaudiokits.com/L5-Mentor-Tube-Pre-Amplifier.html
What do you guys think? Am I better off looking at something else? This pretty thing goes for right around 5k complete, and of course I would be doing some tweaks along the way.
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
Comments
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I can't give you any other recommendations, but that is some real deal shizzle.
Very good looking.2 ChannelTurntable - VPI Classic 2/Ortofon 2M BlueAmplification - Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, Parks Audio Budgie PhonoSpeakers - GoldenEar Triton 17.2 Home TheaterDenon AVR-X3300W; Rotel RMB-1066; Klipsch RP-280F's, Klipsch RP-450C, Polk FXi3's, Polk RC60i; Dual SVS PB 2000's; BenQ HT2050; Elite Screens 120"Man CaveTurntable - Pro-Ject 2.9 Wood/Grado GoldAmplification - Dared SL2000a, McCormack DNA 0.5 DeluxeCD: Cambridge AudioSpeakers - Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary; LSiM 703; SDA 2A -
I can't give you recommendations either as you have undoubtedly tried much more gear than I have I do own 2 pieces of their gear and am a Big Fan now..
If I were to go integrated I would seriously be looking at one of their units..ATC SCM40's,VTL TL 2.5 Preamp,PSB Stratus Goldi's,McCormack DNA 500,McCormack MAP-1 Preamp,Pro-Ject Xtension 10 TT,Ortofon Cadenza Red/Nordost RedDawn LS Speaker cables, Bryston BDP-2, Bryston BDA-2,PS Audio AC-3 power cables -
John, I'd just go ahead and snag it lol.
I think we've talked about this before and it looks like the right pre to mate with your tubes and make it look like your stuff."....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
yeah Dan, I have been kicking this can for quite some time. I am really diggin' the idea of building my own pre after the amps were done, but I also feel that 5k for something like this is a hell of a lot of coin when there are a TON of well regarded preamps at that price, both new and used.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
Audio note is no fly by the seat of their pants company. Well regarded in the higher halls of audio. Though 5k for a kit seems steep to me too, I might be looking at a used Joule, Bat, or Cary slp 05, and buy some good cables with the change.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
The Kit is supposed to be a variant of the M10 pre that retails new @ 125k, according to the designer of the kit anyway. I have never heard anything at that level... ever.
The kit company is no longer affiliated in any way with either UK Audio Note or Kondo, but they did loan the M10 to the kit company for comparison.
I still have a bit of time to consider this path as the kit will not be ready before October.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
The idea of DIY is a very cool one IMO. For those with the ability it makes this even more of a hobby. Plan to build parts of my system myself.
Having said all that ....I'm out of my league but a $5K kit seems steep. NO? It does look like a fine piece of gear. High end audio is SO hard to put a value on. I mean...I look at the component count of that kit and seems like a tough sell....even with the markups. I guess you have already looked at all the built $2.5K-$5K options? or cheaper DIY options?
,,,and that M10 looks impressive and I'm sure a lot of R&D went into it but.... Even if I were a multi-millionare audiophile it would be tough to drop down $125K on a preamp. Maybe a $25K preamp? or $125K total for the system? then spend $125K on a Tesla S and/or Audi RS7 or something. Who knows on a boring day what might happen? Its only money. Would for sure have to compare it to a $25K pre and hear improvements first before handing over the cash. LOL!
Whatever you do, it sounds exciting....especially if you do get the kit, you'll be one of the first!
2.2 Office Setup | LG 29UB55 21:9 UltraWide | HP Probook 630 G8 | Dell Latitude | Cabasse Stream Amp 100 | Boston Acoustics VS 240 | AUDIORAX Desk Stands | Mirage Omni S8 sub1 | Mirage Omni S8 Sub2 -
TBH John, you could almost build one of the DIY Pass Labs pre-amps and have a bunch of cash left over....
Otherwise look at maybe building something around this:
http://www.tortugaaudio.com/product/ldr3x-passive-preamp-controller-version-2/
Its a totally passive pre-amp and you can basically put it in whatever type of enclosure you build....
They sell a finished model here: http://www.tortugaaudio.com/product/ldrx-passive-preamp/
I mention it because unlike many passives you get a remote."....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
Another option is to buy a passive pre-amp like the ones from Goldpoint and then add a motorized pot from Bent audio:
Goldpoint: http://www.goldpt.com/
Bent Audio: http://www.bentaudio.com/index2.html
Otherwise you could buy this pre-amp and then build an enclosure for it yourself, and sell the one it comes with (or mod it with a granite top)....
http://www.akustyk.com/stereo_selector.html
All of these options again give you at least volume control. Maybe"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
