Audible Illusions Modulus 3 Audio Research SP-11

I have owned the Modulus 3, 3a, L1, L2 and L3 and I can say for the money nothing comes close. The M3a, when it first came out, was the preamp of the ages. Stereophile had it in their "Class A" ranking for a long time and it did sound better than the M3.
As for sound, as is usual for audiophiles, sound is in the ears of the beholder. The AI stuff was always very neutral for a tube pre. Compared to ARC, the ARC had a more "Tubey" sound. ARC's did not have as good bass and more midrange bloom. Compared directly, I always felt the AI a notch above personally and I liked their more neutral presentation. Many like the euphoric tube sound but I personally feel it masks certain aspects of the sonic picture. Easy to listen to though with the warmth, etc. But an accurate portrayal of the music, no, I don't think so. But each has their own thing and the debate of the "Best" is an effort in futility.
My last AI was the L3, which was too me, one of the best sounding preamps I had heard to date. Clean, neutral and very quiet. The price has gone up to $3795 but I still consider it a steal for the money.
As for tube life, as long as you use good quality 6H23's from AI or a place like Upscale Audio, you are fine. These tubes were very durable and stayed quiet. Never an issue with me. Other NOS tubes, hmmm, good luck. They may go a month before they got noisy and I couldn't really say they improved the sound, just different.
As a side note, I have personally felt that the tubes the manufacture installs and were used to fit the design of the preamp sounded and worked best overall. I know this goes against everything audiophile but the circuits were designed for the particular tube. Of course, because of price and availability, manufactures can't design for NOS tubes. With AI, my advise is to stick with original tubes and you will be rewarded by longevity and great sonics.

Stefanovitch, it appears to me that what you really want is the AI and are hoping that the comments about it being the equal of the AR are true. I am with Mofimadness; I would take the SP11 any day. He also rightly points out the price differential. I would submit that there is a reason that the differential exists; and it is not only because of the AR's original list price. I think that this thread proves, once again, that there is no substitute for listening for oneself and that "better" for one listener can be a totally different thing than for another. My perspective:

I owned the AI Modulus 2C and then the 2D for many years before replacing the 2D with a Counterpoint SA5 which I thought was an infinitely "better" preamp that the 2D. Why? Because although the 2D had a larger and more stable soundstage with practically no image wander, it lacked the sense of dynamic aliveness (like live music) that the Counterpoint had. The Audible also sounded dark and with images that were too thick (but pinpoint stable). A couple of years later when the upgrade bug bit again I purchased the recently released Audio Research SP9 which was very very similar sounding to the SP11; the hottest preamp at the time. While auditioning the SP9, I was able to also listen to the SP11 quite a bit in order to compare. They both sounded fantastic in the two different systems that I heard them in. I bought the SP9 and it turned out to be one of the most frustrating audio experiences that I have ever had. Long story short, what the experience taught me was that, while the SP9 was a potentially much better preamp than the Counterpoint, my system was not ready for the true neutrality of the SP9; it did not add much character to the overall sound and caused the system to sound way too lean. However, it was very realistic dynamically and very very clean sounding in comparison; the potential was obvious. After living with the SP9 for a while I sold it and started looking again; around this time the AI M3 was released and I was able to compare it to the SP9. Similar reaction as to the AI M2D: the Modulus had beautifully stable and large soundstaging, but sounded thick and dark in the sense of not having a sense of limitless extension in the highs; it also sounded dynamically polite to me.

IMO, the Audible is a terrific preamp for the money; maybe impossible to beat. However, in my audio book, it is not in the same league as the SP11. The SP11 is one of the classic preamps and I don't think it does anything less well than the Audible. However, I believe that for your system to make its superiority obvious, it needs to be at an overall level where you, as it's architect, are thinking more in terms of removing sonic character instead of adding character in order to come up with a pleasant end result. If the price difference between the two is not an issue, I think that you would ultimately have much better sound with the SP11. Good luck.

Re, no response from AI. Email is not used by owner for business. Had 3A for a long time, very nice class A sound on a class B budget. Got in touch by phone. Was told that a matched set of tubes from them with the specs they had in house on the unit was in order to improve sound. Sent check with explanation, etc., to Florida address. No tubes.
My bad.
Traded it in on something else, more happy.
Suggest you scan web on customer experiences with AI.

@ Frogman!

The point is that I have alread heard a Counterpoint SA-5 and it was far beyond anything Audio Research ever did. The warmth, the depth, the beauty of the sounstage and no bubbled edges even with the most difficuilt recording material.

Yes, there is a price reason for going with the A.I. But as what I have heard peeopl are not really missing much compared to the SP-11.

****The point is that I have alread heard a Counterpoint SA-5 and it was far beyond anything Audio Research ever did****

Proves my point; one has to listen for oneself and make one's own decisions. For me, the Counterpoint was superior than the Audibles, but "far beyond anything AR ever did?" Really? AR has improved on the SP11 quite a bit, but even then it was better sounding unit than the Counterpoint IN MY SYSTEM. Good luck.