Who it comes up against
38 lost · Anchored, Artisan, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Characterful, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Twin Arms
Against the Anchored brief, the van den Hul The Frog keeps the slot decisively.
With the Musical Fidelity M8x Vinyl, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
With the Vertere Groove Runner X, the pairing gains most on bass control.
On its own merits the Audio Note IO I is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
One honest caution: this pairing runs the phono stage near its limits — quietness suffers.
ebb and flow of dynamic shading easily discernibleEnjoy the Music (Rochlin) 2007
ebb and flow of dynamic shading easily discernibleEnjoy the Music (Rochlin) 2007
29 lost · Anchored, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Characterful, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Twin Arms
Against the Characterful brief, the van den Hul The Crimson keeps the slot decisively.
With the Musical Fidelity M8x Vinyl, the pairing gives up most on low-level clarity.
With the Vertere Groove Runner X, the pairing gains most on bass control.
On its own merits the Audio Note IO I is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
One honest caution: this pairing runs the phono stage near its limits — quietness suffers.
locks the band togetherTNT-Audio (Graeme Budd), IO 1 review, Mar 2021
locks the band togetherTNT-Audio (Graeme Budd), IO 1 review, Mar 2021
8 lost · Silent Path
Against the Silent Path brief, the Goldring Eroica HX MC keeps the slot decisively.
With the Whest Audio 60Se Pro, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
On its own merits the Audio Note IO I is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
One honest caution: this pairing runs the phono stage near its limits — quietness suffers.
8 lost · Anchored, Characterful, Intimate, Romantic
Against the Anchored brief, the Hana EL MC keeps the slot decisively.
With the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
With the ProJect Tonearm 8.6 Carbon (Debut PRO), the pairing gives up most on speed stability.
On its own merits the Audio Note IO I is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC gives up quietness at rest under the Anchored weighting.
One honest caution: this pairing runs the phono stage near its limits — quietness suffers.
locks the band togetherTNT-Audio (Graeme Budd), IO 1 review, Mar 2021
remarkable job tracing groovesPositive Feedback (Gibbs) 2018
locks the band togetherTNT-Audio (Graeme Budd), IO 1 review, Mar 2021
remarkable job tracing groovesPositive Feedback (Gibbs) 2018
8 lost · Artisan, Cavity-Native, PRaT, Reference
Against the Artisan brief, the Sumiko Blue Point No.3 Low MC keeps the slot decisively.
With the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
With the ProJect Tonearm 8.6 Carbon (Debut PRO), the pairing gives up most on speed stability.
On its own merits the Audio Note IO I is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC gives up quietness at rest under the Artisan weighting.
One honest caution: this pairing runs the phono stage near its limits — quietness suffers.
locks the band togetherTNT-Audio (Graeme Budd), IO 1 review, Mar 2021
locks the band togetherTNT-Audio (Graeme Budd), IO 1 review, Mar 2021
6 lost · Artisan, Reference
Against the Artisan brief, the van den Hul The Colibri keeps the slot decisively.
With the EAR Yoshino 88PB MM/MC, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
With the Vertere Groove Runner X, the pairing gains most on bass control.
On its own merits the Audio Note IO I is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
One honest caution: this pairing runs the phono stage near its limits — quietness suffers.
locks the band togetherTNT-Audio (Graeme Budd), IO 1 review, Mar 2021
locks the band togetherTNT-Audio (Graeme Budd), IO 1 review, Mar 2021
4 lost · Vocals-First
Against the Vocals-First brief, the Etsuro Urushi Gold MC keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Audio Note IO I is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
4 lost · Vocals-First
Against the Vocals-First brief, the Etsuro Urushi Cobalt Blue MC keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Audio Note IO I is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
One honest caution: this pairing runs the phono stage near its limits — quietness suffers.
3 lost · Romantic, Twin Arms
Against the Romantic brief, the van den Hul MC One Special keeps the slot decisively.
With the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
With the Technics S-shape magnesium tonearm (SL-1200G), the pairing gains most on bass control.
On its own merits the Audio Note IO I is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC gives up quietness at rest under the Romantic weighting.
One honest caution: this pairing runs the phono stage near its limits — quietness suffers.
almost total lack of groove noise and distortionSoundStage! (Lyle) 2001
almost total lack of groove noise and distortionSoundStage! (Lyle) 2001
2 lost · Twin Arms
This cartridge’s output is far below what the phono stage’s input can work with — without a step-up this is not a real system.
2 lost · Vocals-First
Against the Vocals-First brief, the Ortofon MC Quintet Black S keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Audio Note IO I is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
One honest caution: this pairing runs the phono stage near its limits — quietness suffers.
2 lost · Silent Path
Against the Silent Path brief, the Rega Nd3 MM keeps the slot decisively.
With the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
On its own merits the Audio Note IO I is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
One honest caution: this pairing runs the phono stage near its limits — quietness suffers.
2 lost · BBC Sound
Against the BBC Sound brief, the Linn Koil MC keeps the slot decisively.
With the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC, the pairing gives up most on low-level clarity.
With the ProJect Tonearm 8.6 Carbon (Debut PRO), the pairing gives up most on speed stability.
On its own merits the Audio Note IO I is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC gives up low-level clarity under the BBC Sound weighting.
One honest caution: this pairing runs the phono stage near its limits — quietness suffers.
locks the band togetherTNT-Audio (Graeme Budd), IO 1 review, Mar 2021
locks the band togetherTNT-Audio (Graeme Budd), IO 1 review, Mar 2021
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Koetsu Azule Platinum MC keeps the slot decisively.
On its own merits the Audio Note IO I is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
One honest caution: this pairing runs the phono stage near its limits — quietness suffers.
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Koetsu Onyx Platinum MC keeps the slot decisively.
On its own merits the Audio Note IO I is the weaker cartridge for that brief.
One honest caution: this pairing runs the phono stage near its limits — quietness suffers.
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Goldring Eroica LX MC keeps the slot decisively.
On its own merits the Audio Note IO I is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
One honest caution: this pairing runs the phono stage near its limits — quietness suffers.
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Goldring 1042 MM keeps the slot decisively.
On its own merits the Audio Note IO I is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.
One honest caution: this pairing runs the phono stage near its limits — quietness suffers.