Audio Note IO Limited Field Coil
About the
Audio Note IO Limited Field Coil.
The IO Limited Field Coil is the flagship Audio Note UK cartridge — a field-coil moving-coil design where an external power supply drives the magnet rather than a permanent magnet, the same principle applied at much larger scale on the AN-E Ltd Field Coil loudspeaker. The result is, in the brand’s words, presence rather than power — more articulate at the micro-dynamic level, with the same calmer, more legible voicing the field-coil platform produces wherever it appears.
Sold as a system: cartridge + dedicated PSU box + matched AN-S8L step-up transformer.
Audio Note IO Limited Field Coil across 5 variants.
Five Audio Note UK cartridges climbing through the moving-coil tier (and one moving-magnet at the entry). The IO line is the brand's flagship cartridge family — directly heated permanent-magnet MC at IO-1 / IO-2 / IO Gold, and the unique field-coil IO Ltd FC at the top of the line, where an external power supply drives the magnet rather than using a permanent magnet.
| Model | Type | Output | Load Impedance | Needs Step-up | Tier | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IQ3 | Moving magnet | 5 mV | 47 kΩ | No (MM) | 1 | — |
| IO-1 | Moving coil | 0.15 mV | Use SUT | Yes | 2 | — |
| IO-2 | Moving coil | 0.10 mV | Use SUT | Yes | 3 | — |
| IO Gold | Moving coil, gold coils | 0.10 mV | Use SUT | Yes | 4 | — |
| IO Limited Field Coil | Moving coil, field-coil motor | 0.10 mV | Use SUT | Yes + external PSU | 5 | — |
