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Audio Note UK Meishu Tonmeister 300B integrated amplifier, P3 Tonmeister stereo amplifier, M6 Phono Balanced Preamp Review

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P3 Tonmeister and Meishu Tonmeister have exactly the same valve complement and circuit incidentally… the P3 Tonmeister is effectively a ‘single input integrated’ version of the Meishu Tonmeister, with all of the extra inputs, switching, tape loop etc removed.”

The P3 Tonmeister power amp gives you an upgrade path to use higher-end preamplifiers such as the M3, M5, M6, M8 etc. By going separates it makes upgrades easier. Another useful feature of the P3 Tonmeister is that it has a volume attenuator allowing more fine volume adjustments.

The Meishu Tonmeister Integrated is probably the finest 300B integrated amplifier that I have ever heard – if the 211 AN integrated amps didn’t exist – it would probably be the best-integrated amplifier I have ever auditioned in terms of goose bump factor and ear-to-ear smiles.

But can it be even better?

Audio Note seems to think so and so do their customers as they offer higher-level versions of the Level 3 Meishu Tonmeister (Silver and Silver Signature versions) as well as the Level 4 Konzertmeister (Concert Master – or First Violin) and Level 5 Kapellmeister (you guessed it “Conductor” of the orchestra).

 

The Audio Note UK M6 Phono Balanced preamp with P3 Tonmeister

The M6 Phono Balanced Preamplifier uses dual 36-step resister volume pots, one for each channel for precision left/right balance. I would like to make a note that prior versions of these preamplifiers used a 23-step pot and the problem with those preamplifiers is that some people, myself included, found that the gain was too high. What this means is that the volume becomes too loud too fast when turning up the volume from step to step so that on some systems the volume would jump from quiet to quite loud without much in between.  This has been an issue with a number of my favourite amplifiers over the years.

Thus, if you are buying secondhand, make sure that you try the preamplifier with your system first as 23 steps will be fine in many systems but not all. Alternatively, budget ahead to purchase the upgraded 36-step attenuators, or to upgrade the older M6 to a modern equivalent to save yourself some possible grief.

Another note of possible grief is that all of the stepped attenuators are “make or break” contact volume controls. This means they can be noisy when turning the knobs and that noise comes through the speakers. This occurs when dust gets onto the internal resistor volume pots. Using an air can to spray the pots and turning the volume up and down several times before turning on the preamp nullified the issue for me. This is the nature of the design of these preamplifier volume pots and does not impact sound quality. Once the control is set to the step there is vanishingly low audible noise and none at the listening position.

The M6 is beautiful in its own way – there isn’t any sort of wow factor that you get from competing brands – it’s a big square box that comes in two options – black with gold knobs and silver with silver knobs.  There are no exposed tubes or blue meters to show off a tube as you often see with some designs.  There are three knobs on the front – two volume controls and an input selector. There are too many variations of this preamp to go into detail, but you can purchase it with or without a phono stage with or without balanced connectivity. You can decide which permutation you prefer.

So how does this stuff sound? Well, it shouldn’t have a sound in theory. But everything has some sort of impact. For many years I felt that the best sound should come from a passive preamplifier – essentially straight wire with gain and nothing “added” to the signal. The problem is that while I find this logic sound, the real-world experience often says something else.

You will often find audiophiles asking on forums about adding a tube preamp to “warm up” the sound of their stereo system. Whatever one wants to take from words like “warm up” I think we generally understand that to mean add weight, texture, body, and richness to the sound. But we also want clarity, speed, attack, and sound to remain neutral. We want it all.

People often find that passive preamplifiers or certain solid-state preamps do the speed, attack, clarity and neutral side of the spectrum quite well but over time they find music dry, hollow, and lean. They’re missing the body, texture and weight.

As I listened to the system of M6 Phono Balanced, P3 Tonmeister, and CD 2.1x CD Player (the latter two units on loan for this review), I was struck by the weight, tone, and full-bodied texture that came from CDs. The bass was impressively tuneful, and the voice band sounded vibrant. Describing this presentation has been difficult because I kept thinking tone, tone, and tone. But at the same time, hard rock was fast, resolved, and had ample bass depth and impact. To achieve this you must own higher efficiency and higher sensitivity speakers. If you are reading a review of an 8-watt per channel 300b SET amplifier, I assume you know this.

Changing over to my Audio Note TT3 Turntable with PSU1, Arm3V2 and IQ3 MM cartridge added more delight. It surprises me even after 20 years with tubes how transparent the sound can be while offering texture, depth, and colour, and that solid-state equipment fails to capture.

If you read enough reviews of Audio Note systems you will read the reviewer say things like “this sounds like music” or “this sounds right.” The problem with those statements is that when you get to something that sounds right it probably isn’t sounding “Hi-Fi”. What passes as “high fidelity” often sounds antithetical to music. The listeners are sitting in the chair listening to sonic cues in the recording: the imaging, the soundstage, bass-slam, or off-axis frequency response.

Audio Note, arguably, makes the best Single Ended Triode amplifiers in the world. The P3 Tonmeister and the Meishu Tonmeister Integrated are easily the best 300B SET amplifiers I have auditioned. They marry the big tone and body of why people like the 300B valve, but also provide some get-up-and-go life and speed and drive reminding one of a good 2a3 and even a 211 SET.

Ultimately, if it’s about winning the audiophile pyrotechnics – look elsewhere. This equipment isn’t for a mindset like that. The Audio Note M6 Phono Balanced preamp and P3 Tonmeister 300B stereo power amp are two big boxes with exceptional music replay regardless of genre.

Highly Recommended.

The system used for this review:

  • Audio Note TT3 turntable with PSU-1 (Power Supply Unit 1) with Arm3/II and IQ3 MM cartridge
  • Audio Note 2.1x/II Non-oversampling CD Player (On loan for this review)
  • Audio Note 0.1x DAC 0.1x
  • Audio Note Empress Silver 2a3 monoblock power amplifiers
  • Audio Note AN-E/SPx AlNiCo HEMP speakers
  • Audio Note AN-K/SPe speakers
  • Audio Note AN-V silver and Lx copper IC cables
  • Audio Note AN-SPe silver speaker cables

4 Responses to Audio Note UK Meishu Tonmeister 300B integrated amplifier, P3 Tonmeister stereo amplifier, M6 Phono Balanced Preamp Review


  1. NORBERT REIS says:

    Kappellmeister is actually Concert Master, a title typically bestowed to the leader of first violins, rather than Conductor.
    Praising AN as best of breed without reference to Kondo, Shindo or Wavac is at a minimum courageous.

    • Norbert,

      Thank you for your comment and readership. I don’t follow your reasoning. Would praising Kondo as best of breed without reference to AN, Shindo or Wavac equally hubristic?

    • Richard Austen says:

      Hi Norbert

      Konzertmeister is the first violin while Kapellmeister is the director of the choir or leader of the orchestra or conductor according to the three definitions I researched.

      I have auditioned The Shindo Vosne Romanee, The Shindo Petrus, The Kondo M7, The Kondo G-70, The Kondo Overture PM-2i and the Wavac ES 300B. I think I’ll stand by my statement especially given that the price/performance ratio wherein I found none of those units to sound better – different – not better. The Meishu 300B sounds more powerful and dynamic than the Wavac – that may not be to everyone’s taste but I liked it better and it’s around 1/3 the price. The Shindo Petrus I auditioned at an owner’s home who owns the same speakers and was running AN power amplifiers. Again that is their top preamp – I think the M6 is at worst at least as good for half the price.

  2. Simon says:

    Thanks for a great review. Sorry for being an anorak, but the original Meishu’s power amp section (from the 1990’s) was based on the Conqueror not the P3 Tonmeister which was a later development. It (the vintage model Meishu) is a very fine sounding amp imho and of course the early models being 25+ years old, is becoming age annealed and like fine wine improving with the passage of time 🙂

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