Audible Illusions M3B with Aragon amp?

bojack.....i am mad.

lol.....i think it's mine.

Will probably make many mad here, but I ordered an MB3  recently, and it was on my doorstep in 10 days. When I saw the box, I think I scared my neighbor when I exclaimed, "NO WAY!" Apparently, AA is pretty unpredictable in their delivery, but boy I lucked out big time.

stmike..
yeah, good advice,thanks..looks like i have to dial 'em up..lol..

glad it was worth your wait!

mike from pa

Good luck with that Mike.  I think the secret is to phone and bug them about it on a weekly basis.  It seemed to me that they only had one tech working on them, and he was out for a bit.  But I'm 3000 miles away from them, so can't vouch for anything.  But I can say that, although very frustrating to me, it was worth the wait.

stmike, consider yourself lucky that you received the preamp in under 2 months. i ordered mine at about the same time as you. i hope this is a good sign for me.
 also, i was concerned that hurricane irma might have affected his operation in northeast florida....i guess he's ok down there thank goodness... good luck with yours!

(anxiously awaiting mine)

 mike from pa

I read many articles and reviews by Corey Greenberg- joey54.
He is missed.
Happy Listening!

I remember back in the 90’s Corey Greenberg used an AI M3A with the Aragon 4004 and he loved the combination. I believe he was using some large Snell speakers with them.

Good Luck!

I received the M3B this morning, got it all set up, reversed the polarity on the speakers as well as on the subwoofer, and have been sitting here listening to music and loving it. I too thought there’d be a problem with the gain, but the problem doesn’t exist. Not in the least bit noisy. The volume switches are set at 11:00 for a moderately loud but comfortable listening level, and no attenuators are required. I think I’ll like this preamp for a good while.

Apparently it is a big step up, and I got a good deal on it - as long as they send it to me.

The older versions had the high gain and were noisy. They were also really hard on the tubes so you were stuck with the Russian 6922 iirc.  Just looked at the pricing, wow, hope the 3B is a huge step up from the earlier iterations for your sake. 

Carmen, I used to have a McCormack and liked it while it worked. Unfortunately when it totally crapped out on me, their customer service was particularly unhelpful and left a bad taste. But if I stumbled across another one for a great price I'd consider it. A fellow I know has a pair of PSE Studio V's that I'd like to buy but he's not anxious to sell.
BDP24, yes, still the high gain.

Does the AI pre still have 30dB line stage gain? Ridiculous!

Ideally you'd want an amp with 100kohm input impedance like a Belles or McCormack.  Probably others I can think of right now.  By the way, the AI and Belles amp have been a classic combination for years.  The inline attenuators appear to be a clever solution though.  Best......

Is it now in vogue to boast about how long it took to get a repair or a new product because he's a good guy? Does he have any of your money? Do you actually understand why your waiting? Unique parts supply? Don't care? 

I believe this is the where the M3A/B design originated and you wouldn't believe the difference in sound quality.  

 http://hometheaterhifi.com/volume_10_3/bruce-moore-companion-iii-preamplifier-7-2003.html

Everyone needs a set of these in their proverbial drawer, they are only about $65.00 and can come in rca or balanced can be used between amp and preamp (this is the way I use them typically) but can be used at the source as well, I have the 10db ones.

Thanks. Not familiar with this item, but I'll check it out.

Good luck if your dealing with Al, good guy but just can't get right on delivery times. Sent him a M3A for repair, wound up trading it in on a NOT YET BUILT M3B, promised in 6 weeks delivered in 15 months with delayes every 2 weeks, thought I would go nuts. Like I say, really loved the preamps and used them in my system for 15 years, go ahead and get you a set of Rothwell in line attenuaters to offset the gain, I use them with no ill affect.

Thanks for your reply. It is too late, but that’s okay, as I’m looking forward to trying the M3B. I’ll try it with my current amp, and if I don’t like it I’ll sell the Aragon and look for something else. Maybe a Parasound A21 which has higher impedance as well as gain controls.

It appears your preamp output impedance is on the high side at 1.2 Kohm but I would be more concerned about the preamp gain.  You better look for an amp with input gain control or better still go with some other preamp if it is not too late.