On The Audio Note (UK) JINRO
The Audio Note (UK) JINRO is one of those amplifiers we were fortunate enough to live with for some time, and one we will not soon forget. The JINRO combines the purity and clarity characteristic of the finest single-ended amplifiers with a sense of power more readily associated with a push-pull design. But what makes the JINRO truly special is its ability to reproduce instruments and voices with an unusual degree of realism, combined with a level of emotional involvement that feels almost otherworldly.
About the JINRO
The JINRO is a 20-watt per channel, pure Class A, single-ended integrated amplifier built around the legendary directly heated 211 triode. In many ways, its design philosophy is easy to understand: Audio Note (UK) uses the same circuit design and topology as the celebrated ONGAKU, but where the ONGAKU uses silver extensively, including for its transformer windings and internal wiring, the JINRO takes the copper route. It is therefore not simply a more affordable ONGAKU, but an amplifier built around the same fundamental approach, with different materials and a distinct identity of its own.
Like the other amplifiers at this level of the Audio Note (UK) range, the JINRO follows a remarkably uncompromising philosophy: pure Class A operation, zero negative feedback, a single-ended output stage, valve rectification and directly heated triode operation. Audio Note (UK) also places particular emphasis on materials and component quality, and the JINRO uses copper throughout where the ONGAKU uses silver. Its transformers are designed and manufactured in-house, while Level 3 components form the foundation of the amplifier. On paper, 20 watts may not sound extraordinary. In practice, however, the combination of the 211 triode, the single-ended topology and the quality of the implementation gives the JINRO a character that is very different from what one might expect when simply looking at the power rating.
Audio Note (UK) JINRO – Technical Specifications
Amplifier type: Pure Class A, single-ended integrated valve amplifier
Output valve: 2 × 211 directly heated triodes
Rectification: 2 × 5R4WGB
Driver / input valves: 1 × ECC82 / 5814a, 1 × 7044
Maximum output: Approx. 20 watts per channel into 4 or 8 Ohms
Input impedance: 100 kOhms, line level
Input sensitivity: 450 mV for full output
Channel balance: ± 0.3 dB
Negative feedback:Zero
Output stage: Single-ended
Weight: 38 kg
Dimensions: 305 mm (H) × 305 mm (W) × 640 mm (D)
Mains input: AC 100–120 V / 220–240 V, 50/60 Hz
Maximum power consumption: 200 W
Technical specifications according to Audio Note (UK). Specifications are subject to change without notice.
Listening to the JINRO
We had the opportunity to put the JINRO through its paces for almost a year, using a wide variety of sources and loudspeakers. Naturally, we spent considerable time with Audio Note (UK) loudspeakers, including the AN-E, AN-J and AN-K. But the JINRO also found its way into systems with the Spendor 1/2 and D7.2, as well as Supravox Alizée Heritage and Tonapparate Model 55 loudspeakers – the latter two being highly sensitive designs.
Before each session, we already knew that, whichever loudspeaker was connected, we were in for something special. This is an amplifier that sets the bar remarkably high. If you have never heard a 211 valve in a properly implemented amplifier, or if you are unfamiliar with what a truly accomplished valve amplifier can achieve, the experience may come as something of a shock.
The JINRO treats us to a sophisticated listening experience, but sophistication should not be confused with restraint. There is an extraordinary purity to the way it presents music. Instruments do not merely appear as carefully defined objects between the loudspeakers; they possess body and an almost uncanny sense of presence.
What is particularly impressive is the way this realism is combined with scale and dynamic conviction. The JINRO has the delicacy one hopes for from a great single-ended triode amplifier, yet it does not feel fragile. Music can build in intensity without the presentation losing its composure. Large dynamic swings arrive with authority, while the smallest changes in level and expression remain intact.
This is where the JINRO becomes genuinely difficult to forget. Its strength is not merely detail, resolution or tonal beauty considered separately. Many excellent amplifiers can excel in one or more of these areas. The JINRO has a way of bringing these qualities together into something more coherent. Timing feels natural, instrumental relationships make sense, and music retains its flow even when the arrangement becomes complex.
And that, ultimately, is what makes the JINRO so relevant to us. It is easy to become absorbed by specifications, technologies and ever more elaborate solutions in high-end audio. The JINRO takes a different path. Its design is fundamentally simple in concept but uncompromising in execution, and the result is an amplifier that constantly redirects attention towards the music.
