You can read many interesting things in books: for example, recipes, or even interesting things about interesting people living interesting lives. But then there’s this collection of booklets that came in all colors of the rainbow. The red one seems particularly interesting, it’s about the good old compact disc.
About four years ago clarity finally struck me. My hard drive was overflowing with nearly three terabytes of music. So much music for so many lifetimes. But who’s supposed to listen to it all? And when? And in what format? At what resolution? Moreover, what’s the best gear for listening to it? Frustrated, I realized that digital isn’t necessarily better, contrary to what Tocotronic were preaching back in the day. Thus, I decided to toss it all out. I made some space by distributing my CD collection and my matching vintage players among friends. Now, only a small box full of special silver discs is gathering dust – dry and well packed in the boiler room. Until today, that is, because now the box is gathering dust on the floor in front of my hi-fi setup as I rummage through my treasures. But there is a reason for unearthing them: the long-awaited arrival of a package from Partridge Green. Audio Note UK is the only supplier on our continent with a portfolio that offers everything from pickups to loudspeakers from a single source. And the concept of a one-brand setup is firmly engrained in the British manufacturer’s business philosophy. They offer salvation for those who were never quite satisfied with monumental amplifiers driving phone booth sized speakers, or with horns powered by flea watt lightbulbs.
Yet the Brits don’t offer hi-fi for showing off. The components are characterized by clean edges, few buttons, purist features – British understatement with occasionally royal price tags. The entry level – starting at around twelve thousand for the Zero – seems just about within reach for ordinary citizens. But every next step will leave your bank account begging for mercy. Despite the price tags, a surprising number of music lovers find their way to Audio Note anyway, often after years or even decades searching for perfect gear. You could start with a CD player that you can just about afford and save up for the rest over the years. The CD 2.1x/II is not the name of yet another Musk offspring, but instead the middle of six CD players. It weighs just under five kilos, costs a good five kilos and is completely unsuitable as a prestige object. We’re talking black metal housing, black acrylic front, a handful of buttons for rudimentary operation and a classic CD tray. There’s nothing exotic at the back either. Two RCA jacks for the analog signal, and one for the digital. That’s it. The power switch is located above the three-pin socket on the rear of the device. This is not too practical, but a “form follows function” approach is part of Audio Note’s philosophy. Furthermore, it didn’t really bother us during the review period.
For any device from Partridge Green, every component, no matter how small and inconspicuous, has been thoroughly tested, checked for functionality, and compared with alternatives. Audio Note devices always represent the state of the art when they leave the factory. However, neither Peter Qvortrup nor Darko Greguras, the chief developer behind the newer circuits, insist on their current opinion. If sensible modifications lead to even more compelling results, then these are naturally incorporated into the production. But one truth rings out above all others at Audio Note: the good old compact disc is the only truly viable digital source. And they believe in its original form, too: round, silver, with a hole in the middle, playing a maximum of 99 tracks in just under 80 minutes, at a sampling rate of 44.1 kilohertz at 16 bits. According to Darko and Peter, that’s all you need. The Redbook standard contains everything necessary for music playback. And anything beyond that is just geeky computer nonsense.
Rather than using small computers in a safe with an external atomic clock, Audio Note builds digital sources that are as analog as possible. Darko has even been working on a digital converter built entirely without silicon chips for some time now, which is expected to come onto the market in the foreseeable future. Initial demonstrations during hifideluxe in Munich were extremely promising. The CD 2.1x/II isn’t quite so elaborate, although its development is said to have helped inspire the new top-of-the-line converter model. A Philips L 1210 serves as the drive, which has been slightly modified by Audio Note. It doesn’t care whether it’s being fed burned or expensive discs – the retro drive has a decades-long track record proving its technical robustness and sonic excellence. Suspended below the tray is the circuit board with the drive control system, complete with all its gizmos and microcontrollers. Neatly arranged like a hanging garden, they ensure the drive’s smooth operation. In everyday use, the golden front buttons are sufficient for control, and the included remote offers more convenience. However, it doesn’t do anything to elevate the musical experience, so the plastic bar is the one thing on the 2.1x/II’s packing list that shows any sign of cost-cutting.
The rest of the design’s consistent approach places blocks the musical flow as little as possible. Rather than sampling the data up and back down, squeezing it through various filters, re-clocking everything and finally stitching it all together again in the hope that the result at all resembles what was originally on the disc, the signal remains largely untouched. Peter and Darko refrain completely from interfering with the digital signal. Only some minor error correction is necessary, after which an old acquaintance takes over the conversion from digital to analog: the Philips 1543 converter. It may not be the latest craze, but the developers believe that almost nothing can hold a candle to the Philips classic. Likewise, a tiny glass bulb in the output stage plays an equally decisive role. The miniature triode 6111WA was originally conceived for the military, but tube lover Qvortrup relies on its tonal capabilities for civilian use – make music, not war.
Thanks to generous stockpiling, the tube supply is secured for the next few decades. Other components are developed and manufactured entirely in-house. Audio Note is already well known in the industry for winding excellent transformers. Meanwhile, vertical integration has been expanded to include inconspicuous components such as the film capacitors in the output stages, which are now also manufactured in-house. Many other details, such as the resistors, are manufactured in Japan according to the manufacturer’s specifications. But it’s these subtleties that turn the CD player into a playing partner. The quantity doesn’t make the music here, rather the carefully considered, sparing use of excellent components in the right places. I quickly realized that this is all it takes to extract an exceedingly emotional musical experience out of my old silver discs.
Time is a luxury that I was granted for the CD 2.1x/II – I was granted three months to thoroughly explore the sonic aspects of the player. Out of the box, it sounds a good bit more alive than my previous players. In direct comparison with a Marantz CD 17 KI, the Audio Note seems more direct and agile, which is an impression that has only intensified over time. Whenever I was out of the house, the Audio Note was put into continuous rotation with changing discs. Two days of Anna Netrebko, then two days of French rap, then metal, then industrial clatter. This ordeal didn’t hurt the player in the slightest. Unimpressed by what you feed it, the Audio Note finds things on the discs that most players neglect – but it never gets on your nerves with a know-it-all attitude. Instead, it simply lets the music unfold like magic.
When playing back an unfamiliar recording first piques your curiosity, then effortlessly sucks you in – something’s working. Whether it’s a large symphony orchestra or a smoky jazz club, live at the quarry pond or at Red Rocks, the Brit interprets recordings with a carefree naturalness, as agile, elegant and fluid as a foil fencer. Soloists are positioned cleanly, always as intended by the sound engineer. If Joe Bonamassa’s guitar and his voice are placed seemingly four meters apart, then someone must have had a reason for mixing it that way. The Audio Note couldn’t care less. It stoically reads the data contained and passes it on to the amplifier – unredacted, but never sterile or mechanical. On the contrary, sparks jump much more readily from the Audio Note, even with new discs, than from a computer or the internet.
It’s fascinating what a medium that we all theoretically declared as dead is capable of. But when was the last time you bought a compact disc? Exactly. Streaming is as easy as it is inexpensive. Given the vast amount of music available, it’s easy to forget that good sound quality sometimes falls by the wayside in the pursuit of convenience. The Audio Note CD 2.1x/II tempts you to dive back into the almost forgotten cosmos of the compact disc instead of getting lost in gigantic music libraries or the endless expanse of streaming providers. Leave the arguing about who has the biggest hard drive to the nerds. The true connoisseur enjoys a good book and listens to his collection of silver discs.
Accompanying Equipment
Turntables: Acoustic Solid Vintage, Technics SL-1710 Mk2, Technics SL-1210 Mk2 | Tonearm: Acoustic Solid WTB 213 | Cartridges: Clearaudio Charisma V2, Ortofon Quintet Bronze, Ortofon Nightclub | CD player: Marantz CD 17 Mk II | Phono preamplifier: Acoustic Solid phono preamplifier | Preamplifier: Riviera Audio Laboratories APL 1 | Integrated amplifiers: Einstein The Tune, NAD C 320 | D/A converter: Audiolab M-DAC Mini | Power amplifiers: Riviera Audio Laboratories AFS 32, Lehmannaudio Black Cube Stamp | Loudspeakers: Heco BellaDonna, Audio Physic Seemon | Cables: German Highend, AudioQuest, IsoTek, Vovox | Accessories: Steinmusic, Lehmannaudio
CD player Audio Note CD 2.1x/II
Concept: CD player with tube output stage | Analog output: 1 x RCA (unbalanced) | Digital output: 1 x RCA coaxial (S/PDIF) | Supported media: Audio CD, CD-R (compliant with Redbook standard) | D/A converter: Philips 1543 (16/44) | Tube configuration: Miniature triode 6111WA in the output stage | Special features: no error correction, no oversampling, no digital filters | Design: high-gloss black (acrylic front) with gold buttons or silver aluminum front with silver buttons | Dimensions (W/H/D): 45/10/28 cm | Weight: 5 kg | Warranty period: 2 years | Price: around €5250
Audio Note (UK) Ltd.
Viscount House,
Units C, D & E, Star Road,
Star Trading Estate,
Partridge Green,
West Sussex,RH13 8RA
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1273 830800