From B&W to Zingali and Audio Note

Speaker Asylum

General speaker questions for audio and home theater.

Some of you may remember that I made a post a few months back enquiring about good equipment matches for my B&W CDM 1NT's. Over a couple of years I had tried Arcam, Rotel and Musical Fidelity but continued to be disillusioned and ultimately unsatisfied.
I thought I would return with an update â€¦
It was suggested to me, at the time, that if I really wanted to hear the music, which of course I did, I might re-think my approach completely (thanks RGA!!) and check out some companies off the beaten track (from the High St. vendors at least) and get into some valve hardware.
Well, re-think it I certainly did, the outcome of that process is most fulfilling indeed.
My first purchase was an Audio Note OTO Phono SE, Peter Q. was gracious enough to let me borrow a demo model to try, that way I could hear the benefits for myself, in my own room.
Basically, to cut a long story short, I bought the first OTO I could find on the s/h market almost immediately - I was that impressed.
At this time I still had B&W CDM 1NT's, the B&W's sounded the best I had heard them with the OTO, but I soon realised I wasn't hearing the OTO at its best - the B&W's were a complete limitation on the OTO. I quickly came to the conclusion that they were harsh and unrefined / brutish.
So I returned here to re-read some of the suggestions in my previous thread - to see what speakers I could pair with the OTO. With so many speakers out there I needed to narrow it down somewhat.
I read many times, both here and elsewhere, that Zingalisâ€™s paired particularly well with AN kit, generally speaking, based on this and my own research, which suggested that I wouldn't lose too much money buying a second-hand pair and selling them on, if they weren't suitable, I found a good priced pair of Overture 3s' within a few days.
Wow, now that is very different to B&W I thought to myself (understatement of the year) .. its hard to compare really - night and day, sonically speaking.
The Zingalis do have some very wonderful talents - their midrange is glorious - their performance with piano, female voiced jazz and strings is quite breathtaking.
At the time I was running the OTO, a Sony transport to AN DAC One Signature, AN-V, AN-Vx silver interconnects and AN-Lexus copper to the Zingalis.
I should say at this stage that I am about to be brutally honest with regard to the Zingalis â€“ so fans may want to avert their eyes at this stage.
After a few days, what struck me most, was how much the Zingalis lacked openness and had horribly uncontrolled looping bass (in my room anyway). There was no comparison to the AN-Jâ€™s and AN-Eâ€™s I had heard @ Audio Note's office. I found the Zingalis were very picky about placement and even pickier with what you chose to play on them it seemed.
I also found myself becoming increasingly frustrated by the narrow listening sweet spot â€“ if the speakers were not positioned, toed-in so the horns faced your ears at 45Â°, then the whole focus and soundstage collapsed â€“ it was an aspect that really started to irk me after a while!
I came to realise just how wrong, sonically speaking, the Zingalis really were - after my initial enthusiasm, I stopped enjoying the music completely. It is now my opinion that while the Zingalis excel with certain types of music, and they certainly do, they completely suck the life out of other types of music.
I found they lack coherence, to quite a significant degree.
So perhaps the Overture 3s' are not such a good match with AN components after all â€“ in my opinion they donâ€™t compare to Audio Notes own line of speakers â€“ not even close Iâ€™m afraid.
So, it was my very good fortune to come by a pair of AN-J's going cheap - wow, what a difference! The openness and CLARITY - the sweetness and musicality - resolution, scale, impact but most importantly I found they allowed me to listen to the MUSIC. They are immensely involving, possibly the most coherent speaker I have ever heard (aside from the Eâ€™s of course).
The highest praise I can offer the J's, and all the AN kit for that matter, is that every time I sit down with the intention of "analysing" the sound I get totally sidetracked by the music â€“ I completely forget about "hearing" something and just end up listening, quietly, or loudly with toes tapping!
What more can one ask?
To me, the Zingalis are not in the same league, not even close - they are a partial picture, substantially more with certain types of music granted, but without a doubt side-by-side, overall, the AN-J's were far and away the better speaker.
I felt the need to make a comment about this based on all the talk about good pairing with Zingali and Audio Note â€“ having heard the benefits of system synergy first-hand, all I can say is before you hear any other speaker, if you run AN amplification, try ANâ€™s own speakers â€“ I have yet to hear better pairing.
Anyhow, several months on and several thousand pounds lighter of pocket, I have upgraded to AN-SPx cable, a CDT Two/II, and a DAC 3.1x Balanced (on loan from a friend) - I can sincerely say that I am in aural ecstasy every evening now. I have found, sonically / musically speaking, exactly what I was seeking.
A big thanks to everyone here, for giving me suggestions in the first place ... it was a big help to get me started on the right path..
One very happy listener.

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Schiit Audio

Topic - From B&W to Zingali and Audio Note - dave32 03:09:18 03/31/07 (1)

Congrats... - RGA 07:05:51 04/01/07 (0)

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