Aric Audio Systems Unlimited Preamp

Congratulations. It should get better as the capacitors (and the tubes) break in. Coincidentally, there is a thread discussing the differences in the sound quality between using a passive (or direct connection) vs. an active preamp and your experience mirrors mine when I put the tube preamp in the audio chain. Keep us posted as you put more audio miles on the unit.

@rocray - That's great news she showed up in good order, and I'm glad you're enjoying what you're hearing thus far! Please do keep us posted on you impressions. Best wishes, Aric

rocray -- As kalali makes note, it will get better as everything settles-in (and I know that's hard to believe! But it's true.) That's an inherent element of this tube world -- and the overall experience changes us. Like everything, it's a good news, bad news ordeal. The good news is: a little over three years in, I still find myself breath-taken; the bad news is: in order to experience any more Aric Audio magic, I'm going to have to buy a bigger house. Congratulations, my friend.

Thanks 1gertrude,I had a little issue yesterday with a sub cable that wasn't making nice in the sandbox. Now that this is taken care of,some quick impressions.
    Here's a quick rundown of my gear. Right now I'm running a pair of Hornshoppe Great Horned Heils, a First Watt F5. Streaming Spotify through a Bluesound Node. CD's are handled by an inexpensive but trusty Onkyo C-7030. Vinyl is spun on a Pro-Ject RPM 9.1,with a Pro-Ject Tube box II,a Denon 301mkII. Lower frequencies are handled by 2 HSU stf-1'sup front,and a HSU vtf2-mk3.Connecting this all together are,Anticables,Analysis Plus,Audioquest,Dyson Audio,Kimber,and Signal Audio. And last but not least,the new kid in town,The Unlimited pre. At the end of the weekend,I will try to swap in my Nola Boxer 2's. My listening room is a small 9x13x8,with a bit of acoustic treatments.

        The pre I was running before the Unlimited,is a Promitheus Audio TVC. This is a very competent pre. I really love the F5 with the Nola's,but the F5 is not big in the gain department. The first thing that I found to be highly useful with the Unlimited,is the adjustable gain. This little feature lets me to match this pre perfectly to whatever configuration I happened to be running. I forgot to mention earlier when listing my gear,was a pair of Monarchy Audio SM70-mkII's.(these are much higher gain than the F5) 
           Another thing that grabbed me immediately,was the increased width,and depth of the soundstage.Wow!! My tiny room suddenly grew tremendously.  The separation of instruments is incredible. Having used a passive for about 3 years,I found it to be very detailed in my system. Not bright,but detailed. Aric's pre gives me the detail that I love,but adds more body to everything I listen to. 
  This ,I assume,is that tube"magic". I find this very addictive! 
            If this is Aric's entry level pre,I can't imagine what his "Motherload" sounds like. It has to be stunning! That's all I have right now. I'll report back after I have some more saddle time in,and work the Nola's into the mix.

       Ray

Hey Ray, Thanks for posting your impressions of the Unlimited and I'm glad she's blooming into your system! I wanted to post a link to the new Special series Push-Pull amplifier that's just been added to the site for anyone who may be interested. This one is based on the same platform as the Transcend Push-Pull amplifier that's being reviewed right now but has the build quality of the "Motherlode".

http://www.aricaudio.com/products.php?product=SPEKT150PP

Best wishes, Aric