“Amongst today’s high-end makers of vacuum tube amplifiers, Audio Note may be the most exemplary champion of Western Electric’s 300B “dream tube”, and this is evident in their latest creation, the Meishu Line 300B Tonmeister amplifier.”

“The evolution in previous generations of the OTO and Meishu is a testament to Audio Note’s design philosophy, where materials always come first. This model is no exception, and it is instilled with new ideas both inside and out.”

“The input and driver stage of the Meishu Tonmeister has been modified, where one single 12AU7 valve now drives one 5687 valve, a combination that is derived from the brand’s Ongaku and Jinro series. The circuitry carries the same “simple is beautiful” principle, where the previous combination of a 5U4 [rectifier valve] with 6SN7 and 6X5 is now pared down to one single 5U4, and the power source transformers and ring chokes are now reduced to one each.”

“Another key feature that is specially concocted with heavyweight materials for the Meishu Tonmeister is the inter-stage transformer, which is designed for the best energy transfer that makes the voicing of the amplifier more stable, even and rich. Bearing in mind that one of Audio Note’s signatures is their hand-coiled transformers made in-house. After checking the specs, the Meishu Tonmeister is 2 kg heavier than the original Meishu!”

“[The Meishu Tonmeister] has an extremely broad range and musical tolerance, and its speed which flows as quickly as water and moving clouds, is markedly more brisk and more natural than the previous models of Meishu I’ve heard….. Its intonations not only make my emotions spill over, it also adds layers more to its interpretation. In short, it fully deserves to be called the king of 300B integrated amplifiers!”

–        Charlie Ma

Tube World Monthly – December 2019