Audio Note Meishu Tonmeister

As with what we learned developing the 211 amplifiers, each element in a circuit is like each lens in a microscope, and has to be perfectly chosen and formed to correctly work with the proceeding and following lenses (or stages in the amplifier circuit).

If the lenses in a microscope are not correctly chosen and adjusted, the image becomes blurred,  and detail and information is lost. The same is true for an amplifier circuit; if each stage is not absolutely correctly chosen and matched to work optimally with the rest of the amplifier, the result will be blurred, unfocused, uneven sound lacking in information.

So to create a better amplifier, the natural idea was to simplify the circuit and optimise every element, so the combination works seamlessly and harmoniously together. This is exactly what we have done with the MEISHU Tonmeister.

The new PSU uses only one mains transformer, one 5U4 rectifier valve and one choke. When this arrangement is optimised, it works extremely well, producing a very homogeneous and ‘complete’ sound.

The input and driver stage is very similar to that found in the JINRO, TOMEI and ONGAKU, with a 12AU7 and 5687 driving an in-house designed and manufactured inter-stage transformer for the best energy transfer, evenness and authority. This is the most important, fundamental upgrade over the original design.

The output transformers for the new MEISHU were designed specifically for the project by Andy Grove, and it is not an overstatement to say that they are superb.

The circuit is now a beautiful example of elegant simplification, something that could only be realised thanks to our ability to create extremely closely matched transformers in-house, and having our own supply of custom resistors, in-house made foil capacitors and custom made electrolytic capacitors. These allow us to exert extremely tight control over the performance and voicing of the complete amplifier from input to output, something that is simply beyond the possibilities of manufacturers who have to rely on ‘off the shelf’ components.

The result is an amplifier that maintains the legendary Audio Note musicality, midrange magic and glorious tonal colour of the original MEISHU, whilst bringing new and previously unheard levels of information retrieval and dynamic expression, redefining what is usually expected of a 300B SET amplifier.

Specification