Интегральные усилители — Audio Note Meishu Konzertmeister

The Meishu Konzertmeister is a 300B integrated amplifier from Audio Note (UK), developed from the Meishu Tonmeister. It is one of three current Meishu models and sits between the Tonmeister at Level 3 and the Kapellmeister at Level 5, carrying Level 4 performance and component quality in the company's hierarchy. The first Meishu reached the market in 1994 and, like this version, used a pair of 300B directly heated triodes. The price is USD 65,000.

Key specs that matter

All Meishu models share a single-ended triode topology in Class A, and here the pair of 300B valves gives approximately 8 W per channel into either 4 or 8 ohm. Line inputs present an impedance of 100 kohm with a sensitivity of 110 mV for full output, and the built-in phono section offers 47 kohm. Channel balance is held within 0.3 dB. The chassis measures 220 mm high, 460 mm wide and 530 mm deep and weighs 35 kg. Power consumption is 200 W, and the mains input accepts AC 100 to 120 V or 220 to 240 V at 50 or 60 Hz. Fascias come in anodised aluminium or black acrylic.

Engineering and use context

A single 5U4G handles rectification, and the rest of the valve line-up is two 300B output triodes, one 6463, one CV4068 and three 5670 types in the phono stage. Audio Note produces transformers, resistors, foil capacitors and electrolytic capacitors in-house, which the company says lets it control the signal path in a way outside sourcing does not allow. The interstage and output transformers are double C-core types wound with copper and silver wire, while the mains, filament and choke transformers use copper wire. Signal capacitors are Audio Note copper foil types, and the electrolytics are Audio Note STD and Kaisei parts. Resistors are non-magnetic tantalum, niobium and silver niobium types rated at 1 W and 2 W. Volume is set by custom resistor-based mono stepped attenuators, one per channel. Internal wiring mixes copper and silver, and construction is point-to-point hand-wired silver on Tufnol boards.

Pairing

The low output of a single-ended 300B circuit calls for high-efficiency loudspeakers, and the dual load rating leaves flexibility. The integrated phono section lets a turntable connect without a separate preamplifier, while the line inputs take CD players, converters and streamers.

Alternatives

The Audio Note Meishu Kapellmeister is the Level 5 model of the same 300B integrated series.