- Feb 8, 2025
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Hi! I'm new to this forum but wanted to share my thoughts on an amplifier brand completely designed and hand made in India. It's called Anode Acoustics.
I came across the Anode Acoustics website in October 2022 and really liked how the tube amplifiers looked, giving the feel of a Decware Triode amplifier 🙂
I thought of calling them up right away! I spoke to the owner and designer, Mr. Nitin Kaushik who patiently listened to my requirement. He suggested that I try the tube pre-amp first before trying anything else.
I got a good deal on their 12au7 based preamp. This preamp is based on military grade long plate Brimar 12au7 tubes. I thought it would be a good match to my (rather analytical sounding) vintage Adcom power amp. Nitin offered a very good price and I decided to go for it.
I didn't have very high expectations but after opening the package, I was truly amazed to see the lovely fit and finish and the teak wood side panels. Needless to say that I really liked how it looks!
I let the preamp play in my system for a few days before I actually started listening to it. The first thing that I noticed was the purity of tone and texture of real instruments along with it being lively. It seemed almost as if I'm listening to a different pair of speakers, very airy, articulate and effortless!
I could feel the timbre of the instruments (Duduk, alto flute, soprano sax, banjo and drums) and they were exactly positioned within the soundstage. The instruments seemed to appear out of nowhere (the background was pitch black). I got a feeling of seating in the first or second row of a concert!
It seemed to me as if this preamp just amplified the positive qualities of my Apertura towers and Quad bookshelves by almost five times. Late night listening is out of the world extraordinary! I could not believe that a little purist analog preamp could make such a huge difference. This is just amazing engineering and craftsmanship at play!
I spoke to Nitin again as I wanted to know more about his headphone amps. I'm not much into headphone listening but wanted a setup for my work system. While discussing, he told me that he has actually designed a small speaker amp in the same chassis as the headphone amp #1 using the same tubes capable of delivering just 2.3 watts in SET mode. He asked me if I would like to try it in my system with my speakers and I agreed.
Well, I'm glad I did. My speakers are just moderately efficient at 88-89 db, so I was thinking how these might sound with the small amp. However, I've been a SET amp user for some years now and I know how organic and natural music can sound with SETs. But this time 2.2 watts made me think. Once again, superb fit and finish! I connected the amp to one of my speaker pairs and started playing some tracks that I know well and use for testing audio gear.
Good lord, is this sound coming out of this little beauty? The organic and natural tone that I mentioned about earlier came across in spades. I felt as if the tweeters in the speakers disappeared in thin air. Ambient sounds appeared out of nowhere, vocals sounding as natural as singers in my room. The bass was firm and well extended but as expected, chest thumping bass from a 2 watt amplifier was not on the menu. It didn't deter me as the bass it recreated was more about quality rather than quantity. It was sure footed, agile and brought out great layers and textures.. I could not believe my ears and that with only my 88db efficient speakers!!
My previous 18 watt SET amp sounded deeper in the bass but couldn't quite match the tonal correctness of this tiny amp in comparison.
Without a second thought, I decided to buy this little master and I did 🙂
'Little master', haha..
Someday, I will try to get more efficient speakers and that will take the listening pleasure to a whole new level but for now even with the not so efficient ones, the little master is a real treat to my ears!
I really appreciate Mr Nitin Kaushik's commitment to quality. Many thanks! When my funds permit, I plan to add the solid state monoblocks from AA.
To conclude, I just want to add that when the day has been quite tiring, these 2 little amps come across as a breath of fresh air to put a smile on my face 🙂
I came across the Anode Acoustics website in October 2022 and really liked how the tube amplifiers looked, giving the feel of a Decware Triode amplifier 🙂
I thought of calling them up right away! I spoke to the owner and designer, Mr. Nitin Kaushik who patiently listened to my requirement. He suggested that I try the tube pre-amp first before trying anything else.
I got a good deal on their 12au7 based preamp. This preamp is based on military grade long plate Brimar 12au7 tubes. I thought it would be a good match to my (rather analytical sounding) vintage Adcom power amp. Nitin offered a very good price and I decided to go for it.
I didn't have very high expectations but after opening the package, I was truly amazed to see the lovely fit and finish and the teak wood side panels. Needless to say that I really liked how it looks!
I let the preamp play in my system for a few days before I actually started listening to it. The first thing that I noticed was the purity of tone and texture of real instruments along with it being lively. It seemed almost as if I'm listening to a different pair of speakers, very airy, articulate and effortless!
I could feel the timbre of the instruments (Duduk, alto flute, soprano sax, banjo and drums) and they were exactly positioned within the soundstage. The instruments seemed to appear out of nowhere (the background was pitch black). I got a feeling of seating in the first or second row of a concert!
It seemed to me as if this preamp just amplified the positive qualities of my Apertura towers and Quad bookshelves by almost five times. Late night listening is out of the world extraordinary! I could not believe that a little purist analog preamp could make such a huge difference. This is just amazing engineering and craftsmanship at play!
I spoke to Nitin again as I wanted to know more about his headphone amps. I'm not much into headphone listening but wanted a setup for my work system. While discussing, he told me that he has actually designed a small speaker amp in the same chassis as the headphone amp #1 using the same tubes capable of delivering just 2.3 watts in SET mode. He asked me if I would like to try it in my system with my speakers and I agreed.
Well, I'm glad I did. My speakers are just moderately efficient at 88-89 db, so I was thinking how these might sound with the small amp. However, I've been a SET amp user for some years now and I know how organic and natural music can sound with SETs. But this time 2.2 watts made me think. Once again, superb fit and finish! I connected the amp to one of my speaker pairs and started playing some tracks that I know well and use for testing audio gear.
Good lord, is this sound coming out of this little beauty? The organic and natural tone that I mentioned about earlier came across in spades. I felt as if the tweeters in the speakers disappeared in thin air. Ambient sounds appeared out of nowhere, vocals sounding as natural as singers in my room. The bass was firm and well extended but as expected, chest thumping bass from a 2 watt amplifier was not on the menu. It didn't deter me as the bass it recreated was more about quality rather than quantity. It was sure footed, agile and brought out great layers and textures.. I could not believe my ears and that with only my 88db efficient speakers!!
My previous 18 watt SET amp sounded deeper in the bass but couldn't quite match the tonal correctness of this tiny amp in comparison.
Without a second thought, I decided to buy this little master and I did 🙂
'Little master', haha..
Someday, I will try to get more efficient speakers and that will take the listening pleasure to a whole new level but for now even with the not so efficient ones, the little master is a real treat to my ears!
I really appreciate Mr Nitin Kaushik's commitment to quality. Many thanks! When my funds permit, I plan to add the solid state monoblocks from AA.
To conclude, I just want to add that when the day has been quite tiring, these 2 little amps come across as a breath of fresh air to put a smile on my face 🙂
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