Audio Note (UK) Meishu Silver Line Tonmeister

Offering one of the best (if not the best) 300B SET integrated amps on the market. Note: This is the upgraded Silver model and additionally has the amazing Audio Note 4300E tubes ($1k) which takes this amp to another level. My unit is functionally and cosmetically in excellent condition and is about 1 year old.

I would really prefer to sell locally (Indiana/Chicago/S. Michigan/W. Ohio) to avoid shipping. Shipping will be a flat $150 to the lower 48. Paypal is extra unless using F/F option. I will not ship outside the US.

Reasonable offers considered, but low ball offers will be politely ignored.

Check out my feedback for peace of mind.

https://www.audionote.co.uk/meishu-tonmeister

From Audio Note UK:

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.
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From Amherst Audio:
Meishu, Meishu Silver, Meishu Silver Signature Tonmeister!

What’s a Tonmeister? It’s the first new Meishu integrated amp in many years and cause for celebration even before I heard one. The most popular Audio Note amp has gotten the full Andy Grove treatment. “Basically after 25 years we have upgraded the circuit to the same configuration as the JINRO, with driver transformers, upgraded power supply and better parts (as we have developed in the past 25 years.” PQ.

And now, the new 4300E tubes are here. And I’m floored. I could say take everything I’ve said above up 30-40% if that makes any sense. Or I could say that these new tubes make quite literally everything about the sound of Tonmeister better. More space, more air, more clarity from bottom to top, more refinement, and a clearer version of the characteristic 300B softness. But mainly these tubes simply take the amp’s ability to reproduce music onto a new terrain. Rather than say 30-40% better, I’d rather say that they make this amp magical. They transform it. With under 10 hours on them so far, all I can say is that if you’re even imagining a new Tonmeister (or any other Audio Note 300B amp), be sure to include $800 in your budget for a pair of these new 4300E’s. It makes no sense to settle for the standard tubes. The 4300E’s are the most significant and dramatic upgrade I can ever remember hearing. What I wonder is are they better enough to make them a more sensible upgrade than moving up the line from standard to Silver to Silver Signature Tonmeisters. Quite possibly. And if you’re sitting out there with any other Audio Note 300B amps, you have an easy decision to make.