The first Audio Note Meishu hit the market back in 1994. You read that right–over 30 years ago.
Of course the Meishu has evolved over the decades and the Konzertmeister that arrived in Barn a few days ago is one of 3 current Meishu models which include, in ascending price order, the Tonmeister, Konzertmeister, and Kapellmeister. If you know Audio Note’s general approach, these fall into their Level 3, Level 4, and Level 5 Performance Levels and as you step up in Level you get higher quality parts. It’s also worth noting that there are 6 models in the Tonmeister line and I recommend a visit to the Audio Note website for more information.
As you more than likely also know, Audio Note makes a complete line of products, a very complete line from source to speakers and everything in between, which you can see in their product guide.
From Audio Note:
The Meishu Konzertmeister includes the following components:
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- In house designed and manufactured, copper / silver wired Double C Core UHiB interstage and output transformers.
- In house designed and manufactured, copper wired Double C Core SHiB mains transformer, Double C Core IHiB filament transformer, and Double C Core SHiB choke.
- Copper and silver internal signal wiring throughout.
- Audio Note (UK) copper foil signal capacitors
- Audio Note (UK) STD and Kaisei Electrolytic Capacitors
- Audio Note (UK) 1W and 2W Non-Magnetic Tantalum, Non-Magnetic Niobium and Non-magnetic Silver Niobium Resistors
- Audio Note (UK) custom resistor based mono stepped attenuators using Non-Magnetic Tantalum resistors.
- Point-to-point silver hand-wired circuit, using Tufnol board materials.
All Meishu’s share the same Single-Ended Triode (SET) Class A topology using a pair of 300Bs in the output stage generating 8 Watts of power, more than enough when paired with appropriate speakers. It’s funny how many people miss that last bit. OK, it’s really not funny.
The Meishu Konzertmeister measures roughly 18″ W x 20″ D x 8.5″ H and weighs a lift-with-your-legs 77lbs. ‘Round back we find a black acrylic panel with 2x RCA and 1x XLR line level inputs, 1x MM Phono input, Tape In/Out, 4 and 8 Ohm speaker terminals, Signal Ground, Chassis Ground, On/Off switch, access to fuses, and an IEC inlet.
The front panel comes in two styles, Anodised Aluminium or Black Acrylic, and the review unit shows the mirror-like finish of the Black Acrylic option. Four gold colored knobs sit symmetrically in pairs with Function (input) sitting over Record (for Tape) and dual volume controls, one for each channel, a feature I appreciate for its balanced approach (wink).
The Konzertmeister comes with all tubes including a pair of Psvane HiFi Series 300Bs and a 5U4GB rectifier which are installed by the user, me in this case, a simple process that involves removing 20 Phillips head screws that hold the black metal chassis in place. All other tubes are already in their respective spots but the manual recommends checking to make sure they didn’t get unseated in shipping.Â
Of course there’s a lot more to say about the Audio Note Konzertmeister which will happen in the review. I will share I’ve been interested in reviewing a Meishu for a few decades so I’m really ready to listen…
Audio Note Meishu Phono 300B Konzertmeister Integrated Amplifier
Price: $65,000
Website: Audio Note
Specifications
Input Impedance: 100K Ohm, line level | 47K Ohm Phono
Input Sensitivity: 110mV for full output
Maximum Output: 8 Watts (approx.) per channel into 4 or 8 Ohm loads
Channel Balance: +/- 0.3dB
Valve Complement: 1 x 5U4G, 2 x 300B, 1 x 6463, 1 x CV4068, 3 x 5670 (phono stage)
Unit Weight: 35 kg
Unit Dimensions: 220mm (h) x 460mm (w) x 530mm (d)
Mains Input: AC 100-120V / 220-240V 50/60Hz
Max. Power Consumption: 200W