Soulnote – Exploring Series 1 & Series 2

We’ve had Soulnote on permanent demonstration for just over 3 months now and in one form or another it has occupied the demonstration room almost permanently and I’ve received nothing but fantastic feedback across the board from those who have come to listen.

I posted a short blog introducing Soulnote at the end of October and briefly covered the Series 1 components (the A-1 Amplifier and D-1N DAC) which were the first 2 products I unveiled on demonstration. Since then I have subsequently added the the A-2 Integrated Amplifier, D-2 DAC plus the X-3 Clock Generator from Series 3. Further key products from Series 3 will be making an appearance in due course.

Performance across each range is superb, build quality and attention to detail is first rate and the overall appearance and design of the brand is very strong. Soulnote are very much on the rise and I’ve no doubt that 2025 will be a strong and successful year for this Japanese brand.

One important standout with Soulnote is value for money, right across their whole range this is a really strong element, customers are comparing it and to preferring it to other brands costing more money, it has taken a few customers by surprise for sure.

I had a customer call around to collect an order and he asked if he could listen to whatever was in the demonstration room. The system was an A-2 amplifier, D-2 DAC, a Melco N50 and a pair of Fyne F1-8 loudspeakers. I made the customer a coffee and left him to have a listen for half an hour. It was the customers first experience listening to Soulnote and when I returned to the demonstration room his first question was how much is the amplifier (the A-2 is £6300), when I told him his response was along the lines of  “if you’d told me it was twice that I wouldn’t have been shocked”, effortless and completely immersive were a couple of the terms he used to describe what he experienced, this customer will undoubtedly be a future A-2 owner when funds permit.

Series 1 is Soulnote’s starting point and compared to many brands Series 1 commences at a relatively affordable level, but as alluded to above the performance comfortably exceeds what could be expected from components at these sort of price points.

Build quality and fit/finish is excellent, the fluted front panel really looks superb, on Series 2 this extends around the sides of the casework, although on Series 1

this detailing ist just on the front panel, the lid and sides are more modest compared to Series 2.

The A-1 integrated is priced at £3300 and is Soulnote’s least expensive product. All of their integrated amplifiers are exactly that, there is no option for a built-in DAC, network streamer or phono stage, they all exist purely as amplifiers. The reason behind this is two-fold, one is performance, but importantly there simply isn’t the space available to accommodate the additional circuitry that is needed, this is due to Soulnote’s use of discrete components.

The A-1 is rated at 80 watts per channel, it is nicely biased into Class A, meaning it runs fairly warm, but it delivers a sound that has a real sweetness and richness about it, it has an ability and level of finesse that no product at this sort of price point should possess.

The D-1 DAC is £5400 and it has a really strong feature set with both NOS and FIR modes, a Lock Range button for use when the D-1 is in FIR mode, plus there is a low pass filter switch on the rear panel. There are 4 digital inputs which should be enough for most users (USB-B, AES, RCA SPDIF x 2), analogue outputs are both XLR and RCa.

The USB-B connection has been the most commonly used input, this supports PCM up to 32 bit / 768 kHz and DSD512. With a Melco N50 S38 connected to the D-1 they combine to create an insightful, musical and incredibly seductive combination. Whether you are playing music from the SSD drive or streaming Qobuz or Tidal it is  a combination that is seductive and alluring but with really well developed timing and dynamics.

Stepping up to Series 2 we move into Soulnote’s middle ground, there are 3 products here and following on from Series 1 we have an integrated amplifier, DAC and a phono-stage.  Larger boxes, improved build quality and a sizeable jump in performance, that theme of strong value for money with Series 1 continues with Series 2 and in many ways Series 2 is even more impressive in that regard.

The A-2 integrated is £6300 and it builds on the performance of the A-1 in every way. Weighing in at 20kg the A2 is a dual mono 100 watt amplifier and like the A-1 it is quite heavily biased into Class A. It delivers subtlety, articulation and insight in droves, spatially it is very strong and it paints a soundstage that is as deep as it is wide.

It is almost tube like with many of its sonic traits but without the inherent inconvenience that tubes can bring.

The A-2 is an elegant sounding amplifier that will happily sit amongst more illustrious company and it has more than enough ability to ruffle some feathers, as several customers have already found out.

The D-2 DAC is priced at £7700, it comes in the same sized case as the A-2 which is quite a bit bigger than Series 1 and due to Soulnote’s use of discrete components there is actually very little free space inside the D-2 when you look inside. There are many products today where there is more air and space than circuitry and components but that is certainly not the case with here.

Soulnote have really put in some serious effort with the D-2 to take the great performance of the D-1 to a much higher level.

There are 5 digital inputs (2 x AES, 2 x RCA plus USB-B), sample rate support is the same as the D-1 and you have the choice of FIR oversampling or a NOS mode, a low pass filter, a lock range selector (when in FIR mode only)

The D-2 is a DAC which both simultaneously hugely transparent and resolving whilst having a superb sense of naturalness and sweetness. Both filter options make a meaningful difference to the performance, I preferred NOS mode, but in a different system I could totally appreciate what the FIR mode brings, there is no right or wrong of course.

At £7700 the D-2 is clearly not an entry level DAC but the level of performance the D-2 delivers it really does offer excellent value. It is possible to further enhance performance with the addition of the X-3 Clock Generator, it improves bass response, textures, layering and really developed the soundstage as well.

Soulnote are a relatively unknown brand to many, although they’ve existed since 2004 and are making significant inroads into the high end marketplace. Excellent performance and strong value for money are the 2 primary standouts for me, the customers who’ve experienced it so far have been delighted and I would highly recommend those looking for a new amplifier or DAC this year to explore them further, the demonstration room is ready and waiting.