Thoughts on AES DJH signature preamp

I got the straight AES-3 preamp used on 'Gon and then had the good folks at Cary do a few things to it: added oil caps, a Noble volume pot, changed some resistors, added a second pair of outputs and rewired with Kimber. Am not sure how close it is to a DJH but its a sweet piece. The rest of the system is a heavily modded Cary SLA-70 (triode, zero distortion, caps, silver wire, new WBTs) and Silverline Sonatina Mk1's

Have run a wide range of tubes through it - the good news is there are a lot to choose from, the bad news is that they are on the spendy side. Am currently running the Raytheon 6SN7WGT which has nice warmth and lots of air. Also have run the RCA Reds, RCA grey glass, Sylvania JANs, TungSols etc. It's all good and most likely its a synergy thing with ICs and the amp as the other factors. Get the Spring 99 issue of Vacuum Tube Valley or search on Audio Asylum for lots more opinions.

I run everything through an Equitech and truth be told do not hear a lot of differences in PCs. I am using a Stealth M-7 Plus.

I did find that Aurios made a real nice difference. I found them a significant improvement over the Mapleshade brass feet I was using.

Music is jazz, the great ladies and a bit of everything else - predominantly acoustic though this rig will pick it up and rock a bit.

Hi James, I am assuming you changed the stock tubes out of the AES to make the comparison. Strange thing I heard the Minimax and I wasn't that wowed by it. Maybe I will look at it again? Was the AES run with a ss or tubed amp?

I auditioned the heck out of one of these against an Eastern Electric MiniMax, and an Audible Illusions 3A (used, of course) and I bought the Minimax, which I'm still in love with. Sweet and slam in one package - it's a great preamp! The AES sounded lush, but slower and mushier, to me. Now running Nuforce Ref 9s for power, and couldn't be happier! Check it out before you buy, if you can.
Cheers!
James