Note that this is a discontinued product. You may want to visit the brand's page here to browse their newer products.

What reviewers think

Magazine reviewers and YouTubers have tried this product—so we've summarized their strongest opinions below.

Product Strengths

  • Superb intelligibility of voices
  • Excellent depth and three-dimensionality, which improves with further break-in
  • Powerful transients and clear placement of instruments
  • Separates complex, overlapping threads of musical dialogue in an intelligible and easily distinguishable manner, making for rewarding listening
  • Lowered noise floor and added resolution of low level detail, significantly increasing the amount of ambient information coming through

Product Considerations

  • The stepped attenuator on the preamp coupled with high gain amps can result in a narrower than ideal range of volume adjustment
  • The M10 during break-in can sound a bit "hard" at times, but this seems to disappear over time
  • The size and complexity of the M10 Signature, with its separate power supplies, can create siting issues

Comparisons (according to reviewers)

  • Compared to Einstein preamp, the Audio Note M10 Signature is superior in every respect—except ergonomics
  • Compared to Einstein preamp, the M10 Signature has improved depth and three-dimensionality
  • In some areas, the M10's performance cannot be improved upon at any price in terms of accuracy of tone/timbre, dynamics, coherence and retrieval of detail

Takeaway: The Audio Note M10 Signature preamplifier brings out the best in music with exceptional clarity and realism, with details easily distinguished. It's a fantastic piece of equipment that will make listeners want to listen for hours.

How useful are hifi reviews? We consider them useful for three things: (1) Surfacing new products you should demo in person at a dealer. (2) Learning which products reviewers unanimously praise as the best they've ever heard (this means they probably are legitimately great). (3) Identifying a product's unique attributes that satisfy your idiosyncratic needs and tastes. Beyond that, we  discount what reviewers say because they heap praise on everything—rarely being negative for fear of souring relationships with manufacturers. Further, they seldom have more than a couple products on-hand at once, relying on their imperfect memories to compare to past products.

Compared to their other products

We think it's helpful to understand how this product fits into the brand's full lineup (below). To learn more about these products, visit the brand's page.

DAC 0.1x

  • Positioning: Entry-level model in the Audio Note DAC lineup.
  • Description: Features a 1x oversampling technology that avoids digital filtering, which is unique compared to higher models that may include more complex circuitry. Uses a Philips TDA1543 chip and a 6111WA valve output stage, making it ideal for small rooms or budget-conscious users who still want quality tube sound.

DAC 1.1x

  • Positioning: Positioned as a step above the entry-level, offering enhanced performance.
  • Description: Improves upon the 0.1x with an 18-bit AD1865 chip, providing a richer sound experience. Maintains the no-oversampling approach.

DAC 4.1x

  • Positioning: High-end model designed for serious audiophiles.
  • Description: Features advanced components like custom transformers and a sophisticated output stage, providing superior sound clarity and detail.

DAC 5

  • Positioning: Flagship model representing the pinnacle of Audio Note's DAC technology.
  • Description: Features the most advanced digital circuit and highest quality materials, including silver-wound transformers.
See all the brand's products

Read the reviews

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An excellent review of a great product
/
Publisher
/
3/1/2022
An excellent review of a great product
Publisher
/
3/1/2022

Manufacturer's notes

The Audio Note (UK) M10 Pre Amplifier is without doubt or question, one of the finest line level preamplifiers in production today, only surpassed in performance by our own M10 Signature, and is a full Audio Note (UK) Level 5 product.
  • Input Impedance: 47K Ohms
  • Input Sensitivity: 160mV for 1V Output
  • Gain: 16dB at 1 KHz
  • Output Impedance: 600 Ohms
  • Output Noise: -80dB unweighted (RMS)
  • Valve Complement: 1 x 6463, 1 x 12AU7, 2 x 5Y3, 2 x 6X5, 2 x OD3, 2 x 9N9S/6SL7 (Standard) / 6SJ7, 2 x EL34 (Standard) / CV345[12E1] (Signature)
  • Weight: 65 kg (between three units)
  • Dimensions Pre: 140mm (h) x 440mm (w) x 410mm (d)
  • Dimensions PSU: 210mm (h) x 460mm (w) x 450mm (d)
  • Power Input: AC 100-120V / 220-240V 50/60Hz
  • Max Power Consumption: 170 VA
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Average Price
$40,001-$75,000
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Brand Popularity
50
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54
Founded
1998

Our take on the brand

Audio Note UK is one of Europe's largest manufacturers of valve-based audio equipment, designing and producing nearly all components in-house, including transformers and capacitors. The brand has achieved cult status among audiophiles who appreciate its minimalist, non-oversampling approach and its emphasis on musicality over technical specifications.
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi
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What if you spend a bit more?

Commander
93800
93800
/
4
Reviews
Gryphon
Gryphon is one of the most respected high-end amplifier brands in the world. Its bass grip is phenomenal, thanks to an unusually high level of capacitance, which keeps everything tight and controlled, even with demanding speakers. Gryphon is also known for its bold, brutalist design—a look that a lot of people love. You’ll find their gear all over Europe and Asia, and the Diablo 333 is often considered an ‘endgame’ amp by those chasing the very best sound and aesthetics.
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Expand Details

Our Summary

Product Strengths

  • Superlatively low noise floor contributes to dynamic prowess and resolution of fine details
  • Linear and immaculate signal processing with minimal alteration of the source signal
  • Delivers silky black backgrounds on recordings
  • Provides effortless relaxation and clarity of musical line due to exactitude
  • Excellent soundstage depth

Product Considerations

  • The unit produces a lot of heat, so ensure adequate cooling
  • Physical buttons and volume knobs are absent on the preamplifier
  • Infrared remotes are not as good as Bluetooth remotes

Comparisons (according to reviewers)

  • The Commander preserves the signal about as well as a Boulder preamplifier, but adds a degree of silkiness to the proceedings
  • The Gryphon lacks a bit of the supernatural musical flow and midrange bloom of a darTZeel preamplifier, but has superior dynamics, a lower noise floor, better bass control, and more accurate transient pitch definition
  • The Commander improves upon the Pandora's widely recognized exceptional performance

Takeaway: The Gryphon Commander is a high-end preamplifier that offers exceptional clarity and control, making music sound pristine. It's a great option to explore for those who want a powerful and accurate sound.

Video review

Our take on the brand

Gryphon is one of the most respected high-end amplifier brands in the world. Its bass grip is phenomenal, thanks to an unusually high level of capacitance, which keeps everything tight and controlled, even with demanding speakers. Gryphon is also known for its bold, brutalist design—a look that a lot of people love. You’ll find their gear all over Europe and Asia, and the Diablo 333 is often considered an ‘endgame’ amp by those chasing the very best sound and aesthetics.
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi Writer
Visit our
Commander
page
Product Page
727
77975
77975
/
2
Reviews
soulution
Soulution Audio is distinguished by its ultra-wide bandwidth and high-speed circuitry, which allows for high levels of local negative feedback without adverse effects, and uses switch-mode power supplies that provide stable voltage under any load. The brand's amplifiers minimize signal path length by using copper bars instead of wires, while achieving exceptionally low noise floors and precise bass control through their high-speed, high-feedback circuit design.
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Expand Details

Our Summary

Product Strengths

  • The Soulution 727 preamplifier sets benchmarks in terms of noise, phase errors, common mode rejection, and distortion
  • Offers improved noise reduction, increased resolution, and more extended bandwidth compared to its predecessor, the 725, without significantly altering the tonal balance
  • Timbres are natural, uncolored, and true to the source material
  • Provides impeccable control from deep bass to stratospheric highs, with excellent timing
  • The soundstage gets wider and deeper with more air around instruments and performers, offering higher resolution combined with more lifelike musicality, even more heft and authority in the bass, while smallest details get resolved with greater delicacy
  • Careful attention to grounding is needed, as the quality of the electrical ground can significantly impact the sound

Product Considerations

  • The new layout of buttons and knobs might take some getting used to for existing Soulution users
  • The maximum gain for the balanced and unbalanced inputs to the balanced outputs was a little lower than the specified 4dB, at 3.7dB
  • The optional MC/MM phono section is not included in the base price and must be purchased separately
  • The 727 might require assistance to put in place because it weighs 62lb

Comparisons (according to reviewers)

  • Vs Soulution 725: The 727 offers incredible detail, focus, and definition without the leaned-down, more analytical presentation of the 720, and the 727's imaging is more embedded in the recorded acoustic, while the 725 tended to project images forward
  • Vs Dan D'Agostino Relentless: The Relentless threw a wider and deeper soundstage, also surrounding instruments and voices with a lovely extra cushion of air, yet sounded even faster than the impressively fast 727
  • Vs Soulution 720: The 727 now offers the incredible detail of the original 720—maybe even in a greater amount—without the 720's somewhat leaned-down, more analytic presentation

Takeaway: The Soulution 727 is a top-tier preamplifier lauded for its neutrality, detail retrieval, and accurate reproduction of sound, making it a solid choice for audiophiles seeking uncolored and honest sound. Its advanced engineering and meticulous design result in a sound that's both revealing and musical.

Video review

Our take on the brand

Soulution Audio is distinguished by its ultra-wide bandwidth and high-speed circuitry, which allows for high levels of local negative feedback without adverse effects, and uses switch-mode power supplies that provide stable voltage under any load. The brand's amplifiers minimize signal path length by using copper bars instead of wires, while achieving exceptionally low noise floors and precise bass control through their high-speed, high-feedback circuit design.
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi Writer
Visit our
727
page
Product Page
Statement
82000
82000
/
1
Reviews
VAC
VAC is a hifi brand known for its unique iQ Continuous Automatic Bias System, which maintains optimal tube performance and prevents drift during music playback. Their amplifiers feature point-to-point hand wiring and custom film and foil capacitors, with each unit undergoing extensive quality control including listening sessions before shipment.
Check on Amazon
Expand Details

Our Summary

Product Strengths

  • Renders timbre accurately with unassailable truthfulness, conveying tonal color in fine gradations of shading and articulation
  • Offers a balanced, coherent, and color-free spectrum of sound across the entire audio bandwidth
  • Conveys the dynamic range of musical scaling, including its weight and impact
  • Delivers unflappable power, offering unsullied transient response and exhibiting a vise-like grip of control of the loudspeakers
  • Recreates space and acoustical properties of recordings in a stunningly authentic and credible way

Product Considerations

  • Compared to transistor-based electronics, it falls perceptibly short in macrodynamic scaling, microdynamic nuance, perceived speed of transients, and assured control of the lowest bass frequencies

Takeaway: The VAC Statement 452iQ Musicbloc™ amplifier offers unmatched tonal purity and spatial presentation among tube amplifiers, pushing the boundaries of what's possible with valve-based amplification. It delivers engaging, emotional, and credible sound, making it a worthwhile consideration for those seeking a top-tier listening experience.

Video review

Our take on the brand

VAC is a hifi brand known for its unique iQ Continuous Automatic Bias System, which maintains optimal tube performance and prevents drift during music playback. Their amplifiers feature point-to-point hand wiring and custom film and foil capacitors, with each unit undergoing extensive quality control including listening sessions before shipment.
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi Writer
Visit our
Statement
page
Product Page
HD Phono
87500
87500
/
1
Reviews
NAGRA
Nagra Audio, a Swiss brand with roots in professional recording and film (including two Oscars for soundtracks), brings watchmaking-level precision to their hifi equipment through extensive in-house manufacturing of components like transformers. Their HD Preamp and Classic DAC showcase unique technologies, including virtual battery power supplies and PCM-to-DSD conversion, while their commitment to quality is demonstrated by rejecting over half of their tested valves to maintain exceptional standards.
Check on Amazon
Expand Details

Our Summary

Product Strengths

  • Reference-class device that orchestrates an audio experience of enchanting clarity
  • Impeccable construction with a flawless machined chassis housing complex technology
  • Extraordinary custom cobalt core transformers that are cryogenically treated and hand-coiled with meticulous care
  • Six vacuum tubes are used, including the rare use of EF806S—a high-gain pentode tube, which is extremely low in microphonics
  • Switchable loading from 5 to 390 ohms with 5 ohm incremental adjustability and a remote control allowing refined adjustments

Product Considerations

  • Best suited for pairing with the finest cartridges for optimal vinyl reproduction
  • It is important to consider cartridge pairings to achieve the desired sound

Takeaway: The Nagra HD PHONO provides an audio experience of enchanting clarity because of its exceptional design and construction. It's a great choice for people who really love listening to music on vinyl.

Video review

Our take on the brand

Nagra Audio, a Swiss brand with roots in professional recording and film (including two Oscars for soundtracks), brings watchmaking-level precision to their hifi equipment through extensive in-house manufacturing of components like transformers. Their HD Preamp and Classic DAC showcase unique technologies, including virtual battery power supplies and PCM-to-DSD conversion, while their commitment to quality is demonstrated by rejecting over half of their tested valves to maintain exceptional standards.
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi Writer
Visit our
HD Phono
page
Product Page

What else competes at this price?

XS Phono
45000
/
Released
Pass Labs
The Xs Phono preamplifier represents an all-out assault on the state-of-art in Vinyl and the most intensive and difficult design effort made at Pass Laboratories. The final product of this massive effort extracts the utmost performance from a simple topology and operates with the extremely small and delicate signals coming from today's wide variety of phono cartridges. The result is music that emerges from a quieter background and blooms into a richer, more precise soundstage.
Check on Amazon
Pass Labs Class A amplifiers are celebrated for their distinctive sonic character, delivering a rich, full-bodied sound with a notably lush midrange. They imbue a unique sense of "plumpness" and warmth to the music, an intentional coloration that many enthusiasts find highly engaging. The pure Class A design ensures smooth, beautiful sound but comes with the trade-off of generating significant heat, which can warm up a room.
Expand Details

Our Summary

Product Strengths

  • A phonostage without compromise in every parameter of sound reproduction
  • Easy access via three large front knobs for IMPEDANCE, CAPACITANCE, and GAIN
  • Each phono input has its own discrete gain section, as it is a triple dual mono design
  • The front panel has a large volume control and a display friendly to read from across the room
  • Three pairs of RCA inputs in the back and one pair of RCA and XLR outputs

Product Considerations

  • The Pass Labs XS Phono comes in two large chassis
  • Pass Labs products are not known for being space saving
  • The lack of balanced inputs or an EQ button for early Decca and Columbia pressings might be annoying
  • Blue LEDs are built into each change segment of the three large knobs as well as above the push-buttons, though the minimal brightness suggests close proximity operation is expected

Takeaway: The Pass XS Phono exceeds what the reviewer has heard regarding analog playback, with incredible versatility that makes music sound effortless and is worth the investment. If you have multiple turntables, it has musicality at your disposal.

Video review

Our take on the brand

Pass Labs Class A amplifiers are celebrated for their distinctive sonic character, delivering a rich, full-bodied sound with a notably lush midrange. They imbue a unique sense of "plumpness" and warmth to the music, an intentional coloration that many enthusiasts find highly engaging. The pure Class A design ensures smooth, beautiful sound but comes with the trade-off of generating significant heat, which can warm up a room.
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi Writer
Visit
XS Phono
Page
Product Page
APL01 Special Edition
51995
/
Released
2023
Riviera
The APL01-SE is an All Tube, pure class A, Zero Feedback tube line preamplifier. This circuit gives high technical performances and exceptional musical results. It is an SRPP of 6350/6463 designed and optimized to achieve the "aural" shape of distortion that makes it absolutely transparent for the human ear, as we do in any other Riviera design.
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Riviera Labs designs amplifiers that match the human ear's natural distortion patterns, focusing on subjective listening experiences rather than technical specifications. Their products use a hybrid design combining tubes for signal processing and solid-state components for power stages, with the unique ability to switch between pure Class A and Class AB operation in their LEVANTE integrated amplifier.
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Our Summary

Product Strengths

  • Highly optimized to provide a pure musical outcome in the absence of mechanical sonic traits
  • Full tube, pure class A, zero feedback circuit design
  • Fully balanced operation achieved with ultra-high-quality transformers on both inputs and outputs with mu-metal core and mu-metal shielding
  • Massive, machined aluminum enclosure was designed from the very beginning to deal with unwanted micro-vibrations and resonances

Product Considerations

  • May require careful system matching due to its harmonically rich inner kernel

Comparisons (according to reviewers)

  • Vs Robert Koda Takumi K-10 preamplifier: Both similarly addressed inner clockings

Takeaway: The Riviera Audio Labs APL-01SE is a remarkable preamplifier with a unique approach to music reproduction and a design focused on sonic purity. Its vibrant sound and exceptional build quality make it a standout choice in the hifi market.

Video review

Our take on the brand

Riviera Labs designs amplifiers that match the human ear's natural distortion patterns, focusing on subjective listening experiences rather than technical specifications. Their products use a hybrid design combining tubes for signal processing and solid-state components for power stages, with the unique ability to switch between pure Class A and Class AB operation in their LEVANTE integrated amplifier.
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi Writer
Visit
APL01 Special Edition
Page
Product Page
Pre DHT Line Stage
41979
/
Released
2022
Audio Phonique
Audio Phonique PRE DHT fully balanced line stage is the effect of our decision to abandon all design and component compromises, which resulted in its incredibly spacious, warm and emotional sound profile, additionally enhanced by KR Audio's inherently rich PX25 tubes. The Audio Phonique PRE DHT line stage not only will provide you with unforgettable musical experiences, but most likely it's the last such a product you'll ever buy.
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Audiophonique is a Polish hifi brand that hand-makes all its products using 316L stainless steel enclosures and medical and military-grade components. Their DAC DHT stands out for its rare use of directly heated triodes and DSD conversion, while their cables feature a proprietary Extended Air Geometry with monocrystalline silver and copper conductors.
Expand Details

Our Summary

Product Strengths

  • Utterly posh and elegant behavior with a romantic sound profile built upon a somewhat elevated tonal temperature, round edges, remarkable smoothness, sensible heft, and spatial humidity
  • Equally gifted on romance and tone as it was on crack, snap, and vigor, making it fabulously balanced
  • Staged even deeper than the Trilogy 915R, and enveloped key sound sources by more air to make them even more distinctive
  • Weightier upper registers that lingered in air for longer, and heftier bass that dug deeper was still held in as tight of a grasp
  • Hand-polished mirror-like chassis built upon 2mm 316L stainless steel sheets that are non-corrosive, non-magnetic, and better in damping micro-vibrations via mass

Product Considerations

  • The shiny chassis is a potent fingerprint attractor, and gets very hot near tubes
  • The menu can't be accessed via the remote control, and doesn't cover naming inputs and dimming display
  • No DC trigger ports are available to conveniently power on the entire set with other Audio Phonique products via just one button press

Comparisons (according to reviewers)

  • Vs Trilogy 915R: The PRE DHT artfully combined tone, muscularity, roundness, and euphony to imaging size, illumination, top extension, quickness, and control downstairs—emerging as the more sorted wholesome product

Takeaway: The Audio Phonique PRE DHT is a luxuriously executed and brilliantly voiced preamplifier that offers both romantic sound qualities and high-performance capabilities. It is an ambitious product that can elevate the listening experience.

Video review

Our take on the brand

Audiophonique is a Polish hifi brand that hand-makes all its products using 316L stainless steel enclosures and medical and military-grade components. Their DAC DHT stands out for its rare use of directly heated triodes and DSD conversion, while their cables feature a proprietary Extended Air Geometry with monocrystalline silver and copper conductors.
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi Writer
Visit
Pre DHT Line Stage
Page
Product Page
Mimesis PH3.8 Nextgen
51555
/
Released
Goldmund
Thanks to this exceptional phono amplifier, the most exacting turntable owners can now fully enjoy the best of their vintage analog sonic source. Its optimal built-in playback equalization works to reproduce pleasing realistic music. Compatible with both moving magnet cartridge (MM) and coil cartridge (MC), its versatility makes it the best choice for any vinyl hi-fi system.
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Goldmund is a Swiss hifi brand known for its "mechanical grounding" technology, which reduces vibrations through heavy, precisely engineered components, and its proprietary Telos amplifier technology that significantly reduces intermodulation distortion. The brand appeals to audiophiles who prioritize pure sound reproduction, focusing on musical realism through minimalist design and high bandwidth circuitss.
Expand Details

Our Summary

Product Strengths

  • Phenomenal reproduction of instruments and vocalists in the bass, midbass, and lower mids, delivering power-range octaves with speed, definition, and impact
  • Exceedingly neutral timbral balance, neither top-down nor bottom-up
  • Astonishingly transparent to sources, revealing both how the music was recorded and performed
  • Creates a continuous soundfield, weaving details together into near-palpable wholes within a seamless soundscape
  • Limited I/O, with only two sets of RCA inputs—one mm and one mc—and a single pair of RCA outputs; there are no balanced connections

Product Considerations

  • Occasional tendency to shoutiness in the upper midrange, particularly on very hard transients at very high volumes—source-dependent
  • Lacks modern features like a rumble filter, alternative EQ curves, and a digital readout of loading values
  • Granularity of potentiometers for resistive and capacitive loading has broad gaps between values

Comparisons (according to reviewers)

  • Vs Soulution 755, the PH3.8 NEXTGEN is better in timbral neutrality, as the Soulution is a bit dark-sounding

Takeaway: The Goldmund PH3.8 NEXTGEN delivers realistic, revealing, and deeply enjoyable sound, excelling in bass reproduction and timbral neutrality. For vinyl enthusiasts, this product is a reference-grade phonostage that merits auditioning.

Video review

Our take on the brand

Goldmund is a Swiss hifi brand known for its "mechanical grounding" technology, which reduces vibrations through heavy, precisely engineered components, and its proprietary Telos amplifier technology that significantly reduces intermodulation distortion. The brand appeals to audiophiles who prioritize pure sound reproduction, focusing on musical realism through minimalist design and high bandwidth circuitss.
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi Writer
Visit
Mimesis PH3.8 Nextgen
Page
Product Page
Statement Line
75000
/
Released
VAC
The Statement Line Amplifier is a high current, low impedance, balanced Class A1 triode vacuum tube amplifier. While inherently balanced in design, its high precision wideband transformers accomplish conversion to single-ended operation in a sonically transparent way.
Check on Amazon
VAC is a hifi brand known for its unique iQ Continuous Automatic Bias System, which maintains optimal tube performance and prevents drift during music playback. Their amplifiers feature point-to-point hand wiring and custom film and foil capacitors, with each unit undergoing extensive quality control including listening sessions before shipment.
Expand Details

Our Summary

No items found.

Product Strengths

  • Unfailing ability to accurately render timbre
  • The overall spectrum of sound is among the most balanced, coherent, and color-free
  • Offers meticulously expressed musical resolution, while being able to convey it with organic, natural, and coherent voices
  • Near absolute in performance comes with its effortless ability to convey the dynamic range of musical scaling, including its weight and impact
  • Easily delivers the finest performance in the areas of macrodynamic scaling, microdynamic nuance, perceived speed of transients, and assured control of the lowest bass frequencies

Product Considerations

  • Dynamic prowess and nuance, cleanliness and speed of transients, and low-frequency grip is slightly less than transistor-based electronics
  • Installation of these larger-than-average machines is challenging—and best accomplished with help

Comparisons (according to reviewers)

  • The VAC Statement 452iQ Musicbloc's performance represents a new benchmark for valve-based amplification

Takeaway: The VAC Statement 452iQ Musicbloc™ amplifiers offer a new level of valve-based amplification performance. They have no equal among tubed challengers in terms of tonality and spatial presentation.

Video review

Our take on the brand

VAC is a hifi brand known for its unique iQ Continuous Automatic Bias System, which maintains optimal tube performance and prevents drift during music playback. Their amplifiers feature point-to-point hand wiring and custom film and foil capacitors, with each unit undergoing extensive quality control including listening sessions before shipment.
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi Writer
Visit
Statement Line
Page
Product Page

Note that this is a discontinued product. You may want to visit the brand's page here to browse their newer products.

What reviewers think

Magazine reviewers and YouTubers have tried this product—so we've summarized their strongest opinions below.

Product Strengths

  • Superb intelligibility of voices
  • Excellent depth and three-dimensionality, which improves with further break-in
  • Powerful transients and clear placement of instruments
  • Separates complex, overlapping threads of musical dialogue in an intelligible and easily distinguishable manner, making for rewarding listening
  • Lowered noise floor and added resolution of low level detail, significantly increasing the amount of ambient information coming through

Product Considerations

  • The stepped attenuator on the preamp coupled with high gain amps can result in a narrower than ideal range of volume adjustment
  • The M10 during break-in can sound a bit "hard" at times, but this seems to disappear over time
  • The size and complexity of the M10 Signature, with its separate power supplies, can create siting issues

Comparisons (according to reviewers)

  • Compared to Einstein preamp, the Audio Note M10 Signature is superior in every respect—except ergonomics
  • Compared to Einstein preamp, the M10 Signature has improved depth and three-dimensionality
  • In some areas, the M10's performance cannot be improved upon at any price in terms of accuracy of tone/timbre, dynamics, coherence and retrieval of detail

Takeaway: The Audio Note M10 Signature preamplifier brings out the best in music with exceptional clarity and realism, with details easily distinguished. It's a fantastic piece of equipment that will make listeners want to listen for hours.

How useful are hifi reviews? We consider them useful for three things: (1) Surfacing new products you should demo in person at a dealer. (2) Learning which products reviewers unanimously praise as the best they've ever heard (this means they probably are legitimately great). (3) Identifying a product's unique attributes that satisfy your idiosyncratic needs and tastes. Beyond that, we  discount what reviewers say because they heap praise on everything—rarely being negative for fear of souring relationships with manufacturers. Further, they seldom have more than a couple products on-hand at once, relying on their imperfect memories to compare to past products.

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