First Note Labs

A scientific approach to audio purity.

Who we are

FnL is a small group of music enthusiasts who got together to share their experiences with India's audiophiles.

With interests ranging from mechanical to electronics to musical, we are poised to share our vision of high-fidelity music reproduction with the audiophile community - bringing a range of products that (we hope) will deliver outstanding performance at pocket-friendly prices.

Leveraging decades of collective experience and a well-oiled supply chain, we will be able to offer a gradually widening range of products to the community in India. And soon, the world.

What we believe

Quite simply, we believe that for a system to be classified as high-fidelity, it must be faithful to the source and source material. There is no compromise on purity - the first principle of handling any signal is to not alter it in any way at all as far as possible, apart from its amplification.

While in strict terms that is not really possible as all amplification generates distortion of some kind or the other, we believe keeping distortion low in amount and benign in kind is the best way to reproduce signals as faithfully as possible.

Thus our products and projects strive to deliver every single note as it was intended - by the performer, by the producer, by the mastering engineer. We achieve this with a combination of oversized power supplies, low-distortion front-ends and critically-biased output stages. We do not believe in unnecessary jewelry or toys and gadgets, but in keeping things simple and pure.

We use the most suitable parts for the job at hand, keeping parasitics low and not heeding hype or fable. Our PCBs are designed in painstaking detail, foregoing visual symmetry to allow optimised paths for each current loop. Even our entry-level product uses a stepped attenuator to eliminate the distortion from a carbon or plastic potentiometer, and relays to switch input signal so it does not go through a mechanical switch.

All our relays in high-end amps are oversized by 10x the maximum operating contact current and rated to a minimum of 10,000 cycles. Our power transformers are rated to at least 2 times the maximum output power, and our heatsinks are sized to ensure fault-free operation in 40C ambient temperatures. Our circuitry is guaranteed to a minimum -90dB THD at 1W/8ohm (for power amplifiers), and -100dB THD at 2VRMS/10K (for pre-amplifiers), regardless of the price of the unit. If it doesn't meet this minimum, it is not considered fit to market.

However we also believe that while excellent measurements are necessary for good performance, they alone do not ensure it. Hence all our amplifiers go through lengthy subjective evaluation across a range of music, speakers, sources, rooms and listeners. This ensures that you will be guaranteed a product that has both great measurements and an enjoyable listening experience, and is built to the highest possible standards.

For auditions and customised products, please contact:

https://www.harmonieaudio.com +91 98300 858043

http://soundfoundations.in/ +91 98925 85152

contact@firstnotelabs.in