Custom Built Audio Note
by Response Audio

Finished products that are fully tested and come with 5 year warranty.

Disclaimer: The Audio Note Custom products found throughout this website are enhanced versions of the Audio Note Kit division that were designed for those wanting the absolute potential these product have to offer from a company that also offers full service and 5 year warranty. They are also not to be confused with or compared to Audio Note UK finished products who's proprietary designs make them a world class product.

Response Audio is not a reseller of the Audio Note Kit product lines.

Response Audio is an authorized dealer for Audio Note UK manufactured products.  DETAILS

Let the Audio Note sound bring Soul back into your music! At Response Audio, we have always strived to bring you great value for the dollar, and our customers over the years have confirmed this. We've tried over the years many different entry-level tube products, only to end up with service problems and poor quality control.

Enter our Audio Note Custom. Our Audio Note Custom products are enhanced, custom built versions of those offered by Audio Note Kits and very near that which you would expect from Audio Note manufactured products in terms of build quality but at a price point that is attractive to those on more of a real world budget. Forget entry level.... with our Audio Note Custom we can now bring you high end audio at reasonable price. Please note that other than the L2 preamp, these pieces are not built to a price point rather to extract every last bit of potential these designs have to offer.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Audio Note music reproduction. Response Audio is now proud to offer you these wonderful products as a custom built, fully assembled and tested product that also come with a full warranty. We have taken these products to what we feel is their absolute fullest potential but were voiced to produce a slightly different presentation from what you may be accustomed to. Our goal with these units was to offer more articulation and detail along with upper end air and extension without sacrificing the body, soul and emotion Audio Note is known for. Another aspect of our Audio Note Custom pieces is that we have worked very hard on the layout and grounding scheme of these products to produce the quietest background and lowest noise floor. The Audio Note Custom products are dead quiet.

As with all of our custom Bella EXtreme exclusive products, the Audio Note Customs are built to the same standards and use only the most highly regarded internal components such as VH Audio V-Cap Teflon capacitors, Mundorf M-TubeCap Polypropylene film power supply capacitors, Panasonic ES and ELNA Cerfafine electrolytics, Caddock, Mills and Dale 1% Metal Film and 1% wirewound resistors and much more. Countless evaluations and listening sessions have been devoted to the signature sound of these products.

All Audio Note custom built products purchased from Response Audio are authorized through Audio Note Kits and come with a full 5 year parts and labor warranty on preamplifiers, DAC's and phono stages and 1 year on amplifiers offered by Response Audio. Please keep in mind that this page is dedicated to only fully assembled and tested products. Purchasing a Response Audio custom built version assures you a long, invested interest in your musical enjoyment.

All Audio Note Custom products must be paid up front and in full before assembly can begin. Turnaround times will depend on our current work load and the level of which you want the product(s) built. Additional options can add to the build time of these products. For all international orders, please contact us for territorial restrictions.

Shown at left is a picture of our in house demo DAC 2.1x Deluxe Custom with a 3/4" solid Cherry face and our signature Blue LED. See below for a picture of a DAC 2.1 Deluxe Custom furnished with a 3/4" Black Walnut face plate.

 Mundorf Power Supply

Standard on all Audio Note Custom products on this page, the new Mundorf M-TubeCap power supply. In a nutshell, these are high quality, low ESR capacitors made of Polyprophylene Film and designed for tube audio components. Using these high quality film capacitors as main PS filter capacitors brings forth a much smoother presentation without any of that 'electrolytic sound'.

The M-TubeCap is made of polypropylene film with special features. This is particularly thin and the self-healing properties are markedly pronounced due to a special coating.  The M-TubeCap combines a high degree of dielectric strength and low residual inductivity with a very compact form of construction. It has been developed as a high-quality technical alternative to high-voltage electrolytic capacitors and is thus ideally suited to use in tube amplifiers

 

The results from using the M-TubeCap capacitors in the power supply are stunning. You will realize a much smoother presentation with transparency and resolution only a high quality film capacitor can provide.

 Read consumer feedback on our Audio Note Custom products.

Looking for reference cabling to go with your Audio Note custom system? Be sure to check our or Musica Bella MB Series interconnect and loudspeaker cables. Click on the cable of choice at right for further details.

 

Ultimate L3 Preamplifier

AN Custom L3 MBX (Musica Bella eXternal)
Balanced preamplifier with full dual mono external power supply

 

The Ultimate L3 MBX Custom will have you melting in your listening chair and in awe wondering where all that information you never heard before in your favorite recordings came from.

The Ultimate L3 MBX Custom utilizes a twin choke de-coupled 5687 input circuit. The output transformers connects directly to the power supply B+. The B+ from the power supply connects to the decoupling choke and this feeds the HT (High Tension) voltage on the 5687 line board.  A high quality film capacitor is used for the shunt location.

The Ultimate L3 MBX Custom linestage is a transformer coupled output linestage comprised of a full dual mono version of our custom M2 power supply in an external enclosure. The MBX external power supply is 100% dual mono right down to a separate power cord, power switch and fuse for each channel. In each of the two power supplies, a 6X5 tube is used for tube rectification and the ECL82 for regulation.

The main power supply filter capacitors are high grade Mundorf M-TubeCap poly film capacitors for a smooth, transparent presentation. VH audio V-Cap Teflon capacitors are found throughout the power supply as well. Dale RN and CW resistors are used as well as Elna Silmik capacitors.

The 5687 line board is comprised of VH Audio V-Cap Teflon capacitors in the main coupling positions., Dale RN and CW resistors, Elna Silmik cathode bypass capacitors and silver wiring are also used throughout the circuitry.

The output transformers are 33:1 step down transformers. In unbalanced mode (RCA) there is an overall maximum gain of about 8:1. In True Balanced mode, using the XLR outputs, we have a gain of 16x. Choices of either I/E cores or Double C-Core and even Ultra Hi-B types are available. Like silver transformers? Just ask.

Using such a transformer output stage has many advantages both sonically and for matching purposes. It's low impedance output means that it will match with virtually any power amplifier - valve or transistor - making it a highly versatile linestage

High quality ELMA switches are used for input selection and high quality silver plated PTFE signal wire is used for signal input wiring. Output XLR duties are handled by high quality connectors.

A custom umbilical cord is used to connect the power supply chassis to the main chassis. Standard length is 3 feet.

Main Features:

• Custom twin chassis design

• Transformer coupled output

• Mundorf Poly film power supply filter capacitors

• V-Cap Teflon signal path coupling capacitors

• Highest quality Mills, Caddock, Dale/Vishay resistors used throughout.

• High quality silver plate input signal wire

• ELMA source selector switch

• Gold Point Custom volume control

• NOS 6X5 rectifier tubes

• Up to 5 line level inputs ( 3 sets standard)

• Silver RCA input/output jacks

• Balanced and/or single ended output

• 2 sets of single ended line outputs standard

• One set of XLR Balanced outputs
   

 Specifications:

• Tube compliment: 2 pieces 5687 -linestage
  2 pieces 6X5 for tube rectification and the 2 pieces ECL82 for regulation.

• Input impedance - 100K ohms

• Output impedance - 10 ohms

• Output noise: <0.08mV

• Input sensitivity: 126mV for 1V output

• Gain 8:1 single ended / 16x Balanced

• Labor:  8 hours + testing.

• Warranty: 5 years parts and labor / 90 days on vacuum tubes

Prices starting at $5,495
 

What are customers are saying

First off, Bill told me when the preamp shipped that I'd really notice the channel separation. Channel separation? I kind of regarded the comment like Allen Iverson did "practice" back in his Philly days. Now I understand.  My upgraded preamp has dual AC inputs, so the channels are separate from wall sockets through XLR output jacks. I initially balked at the idea but I did have an unused pair of Furutech IEC inlets and a pair of PCs, so I went along. I'm so glad I did! The preamp's channel separation (passing to monoblock amps) translates into stereo imaging precision/soundstaging which defies description.

Another immediately apparent significant improvement was in upper bass/low midrange authority and timber, especially on tenor sax, drums and upright acoustic bass. It is NOT an overemphasis of this portion of the musical spectrum. One still hears the breath across the saxophone reed in proper balance with the notes played. Listening to Billy Cobham's "phase" drumming on "Crosswinds" reveals both more oomph and timbral complexity, yet the stick strikes still come through as they should.

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As for the preamp: I'm stunned by what I've just heard on the first cd I spun. Your custom L3 is a remarkable accomplishment. None I've owned before come remotely close to the L3 in performance - and this is apparent in the first 45 minutes! I am privileged to own it.

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While I'm always grateful for the work of others and diplomatic in assessing new audio gear even when they impart little or no positive change, this is different. No doubt that I now have in place the other components of a really well-matched, high quality system, but your custom L3 is by far the single most musical piece of audio gear I've ever experienced.

               <READ FULL TEXT>

NEW     DAC 2.1 TC Reference MBX     NEW
Transformer coupled single ended or balanced output digital - analog converter with full dual mono external power supply
 

 

Bella Extreme is very excited to bring you the long awaited DAC 2.1 TC Reference DBX. This represents the ultimate in a custom built DAC; evolving from the highly regarded and popular DAC Kit 2.1 Deluxe, the DAC 2.1 TC Reference DBX is now equipped with a 100% dual mono power supply, a new 5687 line board board  which then drives two 33:1 step-down output transformers with either single ended or balanced outputs.

Using such a transformer coupled output stage has many advantages both sonically and for matching purposes. It's low impedance output means that it will match with virtually any pre-amplifier or integrated amplifier - valve or transistor - making it highly versatile.

The DAC 2.1 TC Reference MBX Custom is a transformer coupled output DAC comprised of a full dual mono version of our custom M2 power supply in an external enclosure just as is used in our Ultimate L3 Reference linestage above. The MBX external power supply is 100% dual mono right down to separate fuses for each channel. In each of the two power supplies, a 6X5 tube is used for tube rectification and the ECL82 for regulation.

The main power supply filter capacitors are high grade Mundorf M-TubeCap poly film capacitors for a smooth, transparent presentation. VH audio V-Cap Teflon capacitors are found throughout the power supply as well. Dale RN and CW resistors are used as well as Elna Silmik capacitors.

The 5687 line board is comprised of VH Audio V-Cap Teflon capacitors in the main coupling positions., Dale RN and CW resistors, Elna Silmik cathode bypass capacitors and silver wiring are also used throughout the circuitry.

A custom umbilical cord is used to connect the power supply chassis to the main chassis. Standard length is 3 feet.

Here are some of the things that make the DAC 2.1 TC Reference a clear cut above the rest:

• Custom twin chassis design

• Transformer coupled output

• Digital and analog sections both have dedicated power supplies.

• Dual 5687 (individually heated) analog board equipped with Mundorf Silver/Oil coupling capacitors - driving 33:1 output transformers.

• No analog filtering (analog filtering has been totally removed).

• I/V transformers to maximize energy transfer in the digital to analog section coupling

• I/E Core single ended output transformers standard. Balanced output Hi-B, Ultra Hi-B and Silver output transformers available as an option.

• Coax digital input. USB digital input also an option but you must choose between the XLR input and the USB input. Can't have both.

• Signature digital board equipped with Audio Note Digital Interface Transformer and Black Gates

• Mundorf Poly film power supply filter capacitors

• V-Cap Teflon signal path coupling capacitors

• Highest quality Mills, Caddock, Dale/Vishay resistors used throughout.

• High quality silver plate output signal wire

• NOS 6X5 rectifier tubes

• Silver RCA input/output jacks

• Balanced and/or single ended output

• One set of XLR Balanced outputs

•  Please Note that the assembly of the DAC 2.1 TC Reference is a very time consuming undertaking as we have rearranged the internal layout to accept our custom Mundorf power supplies.

• Labor & Testing: 12+ hours
   

Prices staring at $5,500