Aric Audio Systems Unlimited Preamp
There's another thread happening regarding my "Super 211 SET" amplifier below if anyone is interested: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/head-ups-for-fans-of-aricaudio-designs-his-new-super-211-set-... |
Thanks for the heads up @david_ten and for the kind words @mac48025 ! @xenophon yes sir that's the second in a new chassis option I'll be offering on some models. I'll be revamping several of the current product line with this chassis and also offering a pre-fab Walnut chassis. The custom one in the 6Moons preview is a layered curly-maple and walnut chassis that was heavily inspired by Mac's amplifier. If anyone is on Facebook, my business page has both pictured (below): https://www.facebook.com/AricAudioSystems/ Best regards, Aric |
Thanks @david_ten !! I agree that if the reviewer had the Unos with the SET 300B, that things may have gotten even more interesting :-) On that note, @mac48025 's build is the most superlative example I have built or heard thus far to date. I'm glad he's still psyched with his 300B SET! Best wishes, Aric |
The review for my Alpha 300B Push Pull amplifier went live today on Enjoy The Music in case anyone had any interest in checking it out: http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0619/Aric_Audio_Alpha_300B_Push_Pull_Amplifier_Review.htm Aric |
I've had Aric's phono amp for a month now. It is the "special" as it has a few upgrades to the regular phono pre-amp listed on the website. I could not be happier with this amp. It replaced a Graham Slee Era V and is a major improvement. I was looking for a richer, more organic, smoother sound and this amp delivers in spades! I figured it would be an improvement over the Slee, but I was not prepared for what a substantial improvement it is. I run it between a VPI Scoutmaster and a Plinius integrated. It fit right in the chain seamlessly, which hasn't always been the case when I've added a new element to the system. Props on a substantial improvement to my system, as well as my vinyl listening pleasure! |
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With a couple weeks of the amp in my system, and a chance to get in extended listening impressions: Aric 6bq5 Push Pull
I have been rolling some tubes, I am not versed in the vernacular to put into words how tubes compare. Safe to say though The current setup is very pleasing to MY ear.
Those new Production Tung-Sol 6bq5, Paired with a very nice pair of 60's Telefunken ladder plate 12ax7's, and a vintage Raytheon twin (opposing) side getter 5u4GB rectifier. The amp is ticking off all my boxes. A very nice sparkle up high without the dreaded cymbol sizzle or ear piercing screech. Liquid, and inviting Mids. Emotional At times causing ones hair on the back of the neck to stand up and run a chill down the spine. Realism can be surprising as well quite often I find myself rewinding a file to see if that was in the music or ? while I am sure it would do well in the bass arena, I will refrain from comment as I Bi-amp and I have a crown SS amp pulling duty below 150Hz. (No need to guild the lilly ).........................Over all just a fun & pleasing amp to listen to nightly.
Sound stage is MASSIVE side to side and DEEP This is the forte of my preferred speaker (Open Baffle DiPole). I have had amps that affected that forte negatively, The Aric does none of that. The Aric adds a layer to the music that was not heard before, It has a way of bringing some of the nuances forward, Example Bruce Springsteen's breath can be clearly heard on Ghost of Tom Joad, & Nebraska Albums a pair I considered favorites of mine for many years, I thought I knew them quite well.
I was shocked when I installed a matched set of RCA vintage smooth Gray plates with the angled pan getter they seemed to really dull down the sound I had a marked loss to the sparkle, I so dearly love. Confusing to me because in other 6bq5 amps I have had those were my go to tube. Could it mean I will save $$$$ on tubes (I sure hope so)
It really is a treat to set back and listen, the toes get to tapping spontaneously. I even break out my air drums, and occasional guitar for a solo. Wife rolls her eyes and boys just shake there heads as they walk away .............. |
I just wanted to post this here for anyone interested in getting a deal on an amplifier. I have a customized Transcend Push Pull (KT88/6SN7 based) as well as an EL84 push-pull, both demo units- in 9/10 condition (which is conservative). I built these recently for my personal use, and the thought occurred to me today that "I have too many amplifiers", and as such am offering these for what I believe is a great deal! Feel free to contact me here, or through the Contact Us on my website if interested. Note: Either of these units is a GREAT match with my Unlimited, or other preamplifiers. Thank you for the bandwidth and for looking! Best wishes, Aric https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9d1c6-aric-audio-southern-6bq5-el84-push-pull-tube https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9d1c4-aric-audio-transcend-push-pull-tube |
I own the Unlimited and it is simply outstanding. Specifically, the soundstage, detail, and focus it reveals is considerable. It is paired with a D-sonic amplifier driving Magnepan .7, the combination exceeds my expectations. Aric Audio is a rarity, quality, integrity, and value in one company. My audio vocabulary does not match the quality and enjoyment his product has brought me. In my research, the unit easily competes with those in the 3-4k range. Give him a call, you will glad you did. David |
I just wanted to share this here in case anyone was on the fence and just needed a small nudge to push them over ;-)
Up for sale is a custom version of my Transcend Push~Pull amplifier featuring a 12AU7 front end! Tubes are included as is the full warranty! This unit is in mint condition and has only been lightly used by myself- not fully broken in yet! I would of course prefer to sell outside of eBay to avoid their large take. Feel free to contact me to make an offer! Best wishes, and thanks for looking. |
I’ve been running my new unlimited for about a month now and am extremely happy with my purchase! I bought my preamp in burgundy and added a phono stage. Aric shipped it and it arrived at my house in two weeks! My decware zp3 took 4 months. As everyone has stated he was a pleasure to work with and his workmanship is top notch! Arics preamp is an excellent addition to my almost all American made system, vpi traveler, decware zp3, schiit bitfrost uber, inspire tube and emotiva ss amps, and new to me zu soul loud speakers. The unlimited replaced an old aricaudio pre that I picked up used and an old decware passive that I had been using for about a year. Imo the unlimited sounds better in almost every way over the other two. As mentioned by others the sound stage is huge and instruments are easily placed within that soundstage. The dual outputs are a huge plus! It makes it easy to switch between tube and solid state amplifiers. This was one of the features that drew me towards Arics designs to begin with. The unlimiteds phono stage is no slouch either. Again, it makes it easy to enjoy one of my other turntables without having to mess around with unhooking my other gear. On top of all this the unit is beautiful and sits nice next to my zp3. I’m extremely happy with my purchase and would recommend it any day of the week! American made audio at a price that a working man with a family can obtain. I’ve got about a hundred hours on this and am looking forward to hearing it mature over the next few months. Thank you Aric! I absolutely love my new preamp! |
@jtcf you're very welcome my friend and I'm glad that you're enjoying the Transcend Push-Pull amplifier as much as you are! Things will only settle in more with additional break-in which should add additional focus on soundstage and transparency as well. Much appreciated on the review! Best wishes, Aric |
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I'm yet another very happy customer of Aric Audio.I've had the Transcend Push Pull amplifier in my system for a couple of months now.Dead quiet background,wide and deep soundstage,outstanding timbre across all frequencies,the placement and three dimensionality of the musicians is almost spooky on good recordings.There is detail galore but presented in a natural nonfatiguing way. This is in comparison to the Quicksilver Mid Monos I've lived with happily for the past five years,a NuforceSTA200(auditioned and returned),and of course memories of other tubed and SS amps I've owned in the past.The Transcend is like supercharged Quickies-more and better of what I've always liked about them.The Nuforce is a fine amp but to my ears it lacks emotion.It's smooth and powerful but soulless.I clearly require that tube magic to reproduce my tunes:) The reason I was considering SS or any new amp is because I thought one of the Quickies wasn't working(just a bad cable,whew!) and thought a back up amp and a placeholder was a good idea until it was repaired.So now the Quickies are set aside for emergencies,which actually might solve another dilemma - which of my two kids inherit the stereo.So can get a couple of of new(or used) things and have something nice to pass on to each of them.What an excellent excuse to purchase stereo equipment,lol! "It's for the kids honey,really!" My system is:Vincent CDP(tubed),Rogue 66(tubed) preamp,Tekton Impact Monitors,SVS subwoofer. Music I love:Rock from the 60s and 70s,acoustic and electric blues,folk,a little country,a little classical. Every genre of music I've listened to with the Transcend in the system has simply become more alive and natural sounding to me.One example of a well recorded song is from an Analogue Productions sampler disc "Don't Let Your Right Hand Know" Sonny Boy Williams.I've heard this hundreds of times in various systems but now he's right there between the speakers.I can hear him breathing and the rustle of his clothing before he begins his performance,his lips moving on his harmonica,his position relative to the mic,his physical movements.It was startling,thrilling,and really not what I expected at all.On some recordings I can hear several musicians moving around on the stage.Attack and decay of notes is very good,bass has texture and impact.Even not so well recorded music benefits with better separation of instruments and vocals.I'll stop blathering on and just say I was expecting \hoping for a good amp.What I got is a great amp IMHO. A couple of other cool things about the Transcend are you can listen in triode or ultra linear with the flick of a switch,adjust the feedback,the volume, and it's self biasing.The flexibility is a real plus. So thank you Aric:) |
Hey Mark, Thanks for the kind words! I also wanted to mention, that from now until the end of October Aric~Audio will be running a site wide 10% off sale including all of the Transcend, Special pieces, cables and speakers. Anyone interested in taking $350 off a Transcend Push Pull- now is the time! It's easy- just use the Contact Us form on my website and let me know which model you'd like, and your zip code for shipping. As always, color options are available as well as modifications/upgrades (10% off does not apply to upgrades as those are charged at actual cost). http://aricaudio.com/tube_gear.php Thanks to all who post, and I look forward to any and all new orders as well. Best wishes, Aric |
Hi. A few months ago I purchased a Transcend 6SN7 Preamp (Line Stage Only) from Aric Audio. I needed something to pair with my Parasound H2200 amp and Magnepan 1.7i speakers. The couple of SS preamps I tried just didn’t mesh well. Enter the Transcend. It completely transformed my system, and made me really appreciate the Magnepans. Someday I will probably get with Aric and replace the Parasound with one of his tube amps. In the meantime, I am a very happy customer. My next few thousand dollars of disposable cash will go to for a cappuccino machine, though. Priorities. (Please don’t throw things at me) |
As an extremely happy owner of Aric's KT120, 300B SET and 6SN7 Linestage I just have to chime in here. Aric is such a pleasure to deal with and his products and service are superb. I've had the pleasure of having many great components in my system over the years but haven't enjoyed music more than I am now. I'd encourage anyone looking for great sounding, well designed and built components at very reasonable prices to give Aric a shout. You won't go wrong, but beware......you may be swept up in Aric's unbridled enthusiasm and passion in providing the best sounding components for your music needs. |
I just want to say that I greatly appreciate all of the positive words posted here. Building this gear is what I've wanted to do for most of my life- ever since I was bitten by the audio bug as a child, watching my Dad jam to his Pioneer rack system in the 70's. I take pride in building gear that people will continue to enjoy for years to come! Thank you all for your patronage. Aric |
I for one am so glad I found Aric Audio Systems. I first got his Limitless preamp and that made my music sound better than ever (so I thought). I use 2 Cifte 12au7 tubes. I later got his Transcend push-pull stereo amp which he designed for me to use 12au7 tubes. The 3 12au7's I use in it are a Valvo, RCA command 5814a and Brimar cv491. I have 4 Sophia Electric EL34 power tubes in triode mode. Holy crap folks is all I can say. Aric's equipment has given my music such life and the 3d sound is quite awesome. His prices are great for what you get that's for sure. What he builds and how he builds is what sets them apart from others. He is so easy to deal with and is always there to help you. Give him a try and put a smile on your face. |
I too am a satisfied listener of one of Aric's unlimited preamps. I would love to match it with one of his Transcend amps but my checkbook always has a way of ruining my desires! I replaced the supplied JJ 12ax7 tubes with some Tungsol tubes that I had that were broken in already and I like it very much. To be fair I didn't give the JJ's time to break in but they are being broken in in another source and I'll swap em back in to the unlimited when they are to compare. Aric recommended also the JJ gold pin 12ax7 as an upgrade. I don't know what I would do to improve or upgrade the unlimited as it nice as it is. It is so nice dealing with a small outfit that has a human face to their business! The Unlimited was money well spent imo Aric was a pleasure to deal with. |
Aric- Thank you for your talented craftsmanship. I love my Unlimited. Where do I start!! I am not an Audiophile, but I do love to HEAR the music . My 20 year-old equipment is what I listen to and that is what I can afford. It was good enough but I knew it could be better. 4 years ago, I took a chance on a Aric Expressions tube preamp as my first foray into tube sound. I really liked it, but I still could not "hear" all of the music. It sounded boring!! 2 weeks ago, I thought what the hell, I want another preamp. Screw the bills!! It needed to be done!! So I FINALLY took the plunge and contacted Aric. He was so patient with my questions and requests!! Yesterday I received my burgundy-colored Unlimited. When I unboxed the amp I just stared at how beautiful it looks and how well constructed it was!!! 1 hour later I had everything rewired and turned everything on. The longest 5 minutes EVER!!! I loaded my favorite song onto Jriver, pressed start, and turned up the volume!! Now, after 20 years listening to this particular song, I thought I knew every note, that there is nothing new the Unlimited will show me!! How wrong I was!!! I heard cymbals that "finished" their run. The bass notes were so clear and defined. Not artificial boominess! When the singing started, I just closed my eyes and could "see" the soundstage!! Where the musicians lined up!! I have never once heard that from my equipment!! This is out of the box, with new tubes. No burn-in.The joy and the sense of "searching for the sound" was happening in MY living room. I kid you not!! Well, 3 hours flew by as I listened to Miles Davis, Donny Hathaway, The Dead, Phish, Aretha, Allman brothers, JRAD, Little Feat "Waiting for Columbus" (Felt as if the band stopped by for a private concert), The Unlimited is opening up some, soundstage is so delicious. I can go on, but don't want to bore you!!! If you are on the fence about getting the unlimited Preamp, Lovingly hand made by Aric, take the plunge and don't look back!!! 2 things I have in my life that are totally mine is my name and my promise. I don't give promises lightly, but I promise you this. Get the Unlimited an you will not regret it!! |
@teajay 's review of Aric Audio's Transcend Push-Pull amp went live yesterday. Here it is: https://hometheaterreview.com/aric-audio-transcend-push-pull-tube-amplifier/ |
Wanted to echo rocray's comments with one minor change, in my case I would change the 2 1/2 months to 2 1/2 years. I long ago lost track of the hour count, but I'm retired and spend most of the day, every day, sporting that "huge smile" borne of an ever so rare sense of complete satisfaction. When Aric described his process to me as "building amps the way they used to be built but using the best parts available to us today" I liked the way it sounded; when I'm listening to his equipment, the "listening" becomes a different experience altogether. |
I've had the Unlimited plugged into my system for about 2 1/2 months. I've logged about 300 hrs so far. Every time I fire my rig up,it brings a huge smile to my face. It's sooo non fatiguing,and sooo delightful to listen to. I've read about upgrades,however I just can't wrap my head around this thing sounding any better! This is one of the best audio purchases I have ever made. |
Guys, I wanted to add myself to the long line of happy Aric Audio customers. When I was looking to tubes to add musicality to my system, it was this very thread and your feedback that made me decide Aric was the right way to go. I emailed Aric, and he kindly offered to jump on the phone with me even though he was on his vacation. Over the next week or so, we discussed and finalized the build on a Trascend 6SN7 Linestage to the exact spec and functionality I wanted. He was patient with all my questions and "what if"s. After all the parts arrived, he put it all together in record time. I was saying how it would be great if it arrived before the weekend, and Aric shipped it out in 2 days to make that happen. Now the sound. By 20 hours, you can really start to hear the magic of this thing. By 60 hours, it's doing exactly what I wanted it to do. I used to cringe at the older, poorly recorded albums on Tidal because it sounded very harsh. Now no matter what the music, The Transcend brings a level of fluidity and polish to it without sacrificing any detail or seeming veiled. And this is about 100 hours in on the stock tubes. I have asked for a HT bypass switch on the back and have used it to A/B the music with/without the preamp in the chain. I vastly prefer it with. Overall I'm extremely happy with my purchase. Big thanks to Aric, who was a great guy to deal with. If I had more efficient speakers, I'd be seriously looking at his amps too. Can't wait to try some different tubes at some point and see how much more magic that unlocks. |
Much appreciated on the post Mike! I also wanted to let anyone who may read this, and is interested, that there will be a review of the Transcend Push-Pull coming up soon on Home Theater Review. This is likely one of the best bargains in a high powered tube amplifier that is reliable, well-built, uses high quality components and offers the harmonics, depth and midrange typical of only a SET amp. Stay tuned! Best wishes, Aric |
Thanks Xenophon for the kind words and detailed review of the ML. I believe that unit has a great synergy with the combination of high end parts used throughout. I collaborated at length with Laaudionut when we were designing the first build for him (and he with grannyring). I had the circuit already down in my drawings and it was then deciding where and what to build out, upgrade and implement to get the absolute best performance out of the Motherlode. I believe she'll only get better and open up more the more hours you put on her. Best wishes, Aric |
I came I came across Aric Audio on the Tekton Double Impact thread. I’ve been researching an audio upgrade for quite awhile and I started with the Double Impacts with upgrades. A few weeks ago I pulled the trigger on Arics Motherload. I took delivery Friday before last and I could not be happier. I’m not a reviewer but I wanted to give a shout out on this wonderful pre. The first song I played was from David Grier’s Evocative album. He’s a great flat picker from right here in Nashville. The very first thing I noticed was a dramatic increase in in overtones, decay and dynamics. These are attributes the DI’s are known for but it took the Mother Load to bring it out of them. The sound is crystal clear through all frequency’s with no high end glare. I even got an increase in low end punch which I was not expecting. Unfortunately I had to go out of town for work on Monday and did not get to spend more time until the weekend. The sound stage is really started coming together. Imaging is tightening up with sounds becoming more precisely staged and spaced. Deminsionality is strengthening. I was listening to the song Mr Tillman by Father John Misty and there is a bell part in the background from the right speaker. The bells sounded like they were coming from the back of the hall. The hallway is about two feet away from the right speaker. I think the sweet spot may have expanded. I’m having a lot of fun and enjoyment with the addition of the Mother Load. I’m out of town working again and I am missing my music. At this moment I estimate I have about 25 hours on it. I’ve been told that the Duelund capacitors don’t even start to open up until 50 hours of break in so I am really excited to hear what is to come. I also want to thank Aric not only for the great craftsmanship but for the great customer service. He kept me updated through all stages of the build and beat my expectations on lead time. I knew I was not buying an off the shelf item. Aric is a great guy to do business with and great guy in general. If any one one is considering a tube preamp I would definitely recommend considering the Mother Load as a contender. |
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 |
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 |
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. |
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. |
Well, I finally have the Unlimited in my possession. Aric shipped it out last Thursday as he said he would,and according to tracking I was to have it on Sat. the 26th. The USPS had different plans. After having taking a tour around the upstate NY area,it's here! This will be brief,as I only have about 45 minutes of saddle time with it. After first connecting it in my system,one channel wasn't working. I started to panic a bit. I had just removed my Promitheus Audio TVC passive, and everything had been working. I started to check wiring,and low and behold,an interconnect had gone bad. Unbelievable! I switched the defective cables out and Shazam,two channel music! The first thing that was quite obvious,is it appears my listening room just grew larger. Wider and deeper than I have ever experienced before. So far,I'm so excited,I can hardly contain myself. Tomorrow I will have a few hours to really sit and do some listening at a bit more spirited volume. With that being said,more to follow.......... |
Thanks for the heads up kalali. That is funny you mentioned tubes. That is one of the questions I asked him yesterday. He gave me some good recommendations. I have some 12ax7,and some t7's I'll try. I hope to have the pre at the beginning of next week. I'm out of work for another 2+weeks,so that will give me plenty of time to play!! As far as internal mods,I will probably wait until upgradus gets the best of me! |
You’ll love your new preamp. After you use it for a while, ask him about the tube upgrades that he recommends and later consider have him do other internal upgrades, capacitors, etc., to take the preamp to a higher level. I’ve done both and I can tell you it will compete against preamps that are priced several times more. Keep us posted. |
