General Asylum: REVIEW: April Music Aura Note Minisystem by slope

Model:	Aura Note
Category:	Minisystem
Suggested Retail Price:	$2495
Description:	All-in one CD/Reciever
Manufacturer URL:	April Music

Review by slope on November 03, 2007 at 00:01:13
IP Address: 24.71.223.152 Add Your Review
for the Aura Note

I located this review in Minisystems for lack since I felt that it was the best discription of this particular product.

I have had the Aura Note for a week now, situated in our Den/Office. The unit gets about 10 hours a day on it ( maybe more??). We purchased the Aura Note to replace the Yamaha CR-820 receiver( circa mid 70's)that we had been using for the past few years....sad to see it go.

However, the Aura note has been a very pleasant replacemet. It is matched with a pair of Epos M15 floor-standing speakers. The Aura Note is rated at 50 watts a side into 8 ohms. There is no pre or sub out & only one aux input. It does however accept an USB feed for MP3's...but not any uncompressed format as far as I can tell. It also will record to a USB device in MP3.Speaker posts are first rate gold plated brass.

Physically, it is small at about 11" square, and about 3" high. It does look good....funky good. It's finish is chrome and does have a kinda industrial overtone to it with a "retro" red LCD display. The chrome is bright, and makes reading the small type under the buttons very hard (for me). The top load CD is neat also, and works very simply by sliding away the glass protector and placing in the CD, anchored with a magnetic centre weight. The remote is tiny,.....very tiny, with blister bubble keys. It is very simple to navigate, but does feel a bit on the cheaper side. I applaud the simple commands, but would have liked something a bit bigger and more substabtial. Remote comands will take time to register, particularly with the CD playback. Selecting CD mode will cause the CD to spin to recognise that a disc is present....hitting play will get the unit going, but after about a 3 second pause...you can't be impatient or you'll
get frustrated ( been there, done that). I think they're trying to get you to slow down and relax.

As mentioned, this is not a complicated unit to get working...hook up the speakers, plug it in....spend five minutes on the manual (not required if you are intuative to modern elecronic controls).. and you're up and running.

Soundwise, we wanted to at least match what the Yammie used to do.... we loved the analoge tuner in the Yamaha as we listen to some great FM in our area. The Aura Note did not dissapoint. All the favourite channels, and more caame in loud and clear..utilizing only the supplied wire antenae. FM sounded cleaner and slightly boulder than the Yamaha...more detail was forthcoming IMO...I guess the Yammie was getting tired.

CD playback, as mentioned is straight forward. Soundwise, I was quite impressed with the warmth and detail the Aura Note provided. FM always sounds warmer to me than most CD sources....but CD playback on the Aura Note has a warmer, pleasant tone IMO..not mushy...relaxed sounding, but does provide desired detail as well. This came through on Jennifer Warnes' Hunter CD, where the weight of the bass was excelent om all tracks, and Jennifers voice didn'thave a strained quality I can sometimes find. The interplay of the dialogue on track 2 "Somewhere, Somebody" was conveighed with real "emotion".... it just sounded right. On Patrica Barber's Companion disc, again the bass was solid and quick, but I like to listen deeper to the interaction of the live crowd..I find that bringing these details out leads to a more realistic experience, and again the Aura Note was up to the task.

As comparisons...I have a Linn Classik in our bedroom. It, like the Aura Note has a poorly designed remote, IMO..but does get the job done. The Linn is matched with Epos M12 speakers. Soundwise, the Linn presents itself as a bit more polite, not quite as dynamic, perhaps a bit more nuetral, both on FM and CD. I feel the Linn is located in the right setting, as it's presentation is perfect as a bedroom system.

Comparing the Aura Note to my family room system, consisting of a Jolida 801 Reference Integrated amp from Response Audio matched with Usher X-718 speakers, and sourced by a Rotel FM tuner and Sherwood CD changer.. I find that the tubes sound just that much more relaxed, yet still articulate. The Aura Note just has a bit more edge to it, though again, that's perfect for where it's located.

In summary, the Aura Note definitely deserves an audition. When we did this at the dealer, the demo actually sounded more edgy and forward than when we got the unit home, and I attribute that to the speakers used during the audition.... I have always preferred the Epos speaker sound.

The Aura note holds it's own with the Linn Classik IMO, and also is comparible to my Jolida tube amp. Please notice that I didn't say better. All these systems have there own characteristics, but generally they share much more in common with each other than have diparate differences... again since they were all tuned to both my and my wifes tastes. could have easily gone out and bought a Linn Classik for the Den/Office and been just as pleased I believe ...but I've already got one.

I feel the Aura Note was a great purchase for what we wanted it to do, sound great, be covenient, and also look good as well.

Give it a listen.

slope

Product Weakness:	smallish remote
Product Strengths:	sounds great,convenient, good looking

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: n/a
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): n/a
Sources (CDP/Turntable): n/a
Speakers: Epos M15
Cables/Interconnects: Linn supplied zip cord (?)
Music Used (Genre/Selections): yes
Room Size (LxWxH): 12 x 1010 x
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): n/a
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	n/a
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	n/a
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	n/a
Speakers:	Epos M15
Cables/Interconnects:	Linn supplied zip cord (?)
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	yes
Room Size (LxWxH):	12 x 1010 x
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	n/a
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner