Audio Note M2 Phono Balanced - Manual (Page 6)

Congratulations on your purchase of the Audio Note (UK) M2 Phono Balanced Pre
Amplifier.
It has been specifically engineered for sonic performance rather than technical
specification, and fulfills all Audio Note (UK) Level 2 criteria: -
Pure Class A operation
Zero negative feedback
Single Ended circuit topology
Valve rectification
Materials and component quality
It is well known that the accurate reproduction of music, not just sound, requires the
purity of the incoming signal to be preserved. It is therefore not difficult to conclude
that, in order to achieve this goal and to retain the musicality of the original
performance, the complexity of the circuitry itself must be kept to a minimum.
In response to this, the M2 Phono Balanced Pre Amplifier uses a single-ended, zero
feedback circuit topology. This is simply the most linear design possible, demanding
pure Class A valve operation and removing the need for a phase splitter, which
introduces unnecessary crossover distortion.
In contrast to the majority of the audio industry, we design our circuits with the aim of
minimizing non-harmonic and time base anomalies, rather than producing
vanishingly small harmonic or low intermodulation distortion measurements. These
non-harmonic amplitude and time base distortions have a highly perceptible and
adverse affect on the signal waveform, and it is far more important to address these
factors than participate in the increasingly irrelevant numbers game that chases
‘perfect measured response’.
As a result, the M2 Phono Balanced was designed for maximum linearity and
minimum transient distortion, and avoids the need for detrimental ‘corrective’
measures, such as inherently error-prone feedback loops.
The M2 Phono Balanced Pre Amplifier features a
pair of 5814a valves for the line
stage, an ECC83 and 6DJ8 Moving Magnet phono stage, and a valve rectified power
supply incorporating a 6X5 and an ECL82. It also has a correctly designed and
implemented balanced output circuit.
M2 PHONO BALANCED PRE AMPLIFIER