It’s so refreshing to see a review that is not just another take on the same product that everyone else has already covered. Love to hear about great sounding gear from small companies like this. Keep em coming Jay!
When looking for "perfection", your search will never be over and it will be in vain as well. Because, first and formost, there's always going to be someone who makes something that sounds better to you, and secondly, we are imperfect beings and as such, "perfection" will never be attained. Good luck.
I went from an EAR 912 to the Lampizator Poseidon. The former has less body even with NOS Mullard&Bugle Boy tubes and is subject to power regulation problems in areas with high summer temps/A/C on the line. Maybe it's not the "best" but it is superior sounding unit. Now, the Aric Audio could be excellent and costs less (as well as the McIntosh 1100) than the Lampizator Neptune at $16K pre-amp only.
Fun review Jay. Enjoyed you venturing into the boutique audio manufacturing area. There are some great products out there. My Lounge Audio phono pre-amp comes to mind. Thanks for bringing this one to our attention.
2a3 can be pretty sweet with the correct speaker. Has to be high impedance and at least 100db sensitive. When you get the speaker right the 2a3 is magic
I have had an EAR 864 for about 15 years. I still find it very satisfying. It's clear and detailed up and down the frequency spectrum and seems to add a bit of holography to the sound. With hot speakers, it's just a tad edgy. Similarly with cartridges. But it is wonderful in every other way. I also have another system with a Pass Labs 0.2. It is smoother and just as revealing as the EAR, but a little less lively. This is a great review. I have to say that your reviews are getting really good.
Hi Jay. Spot on title! This preamp is truly an end-game component... If you are looking for a musical experience that seems magical in that it transports you to the venue of the recording and gives you the extreme pleasure of hearing the performance as if you were there listening to real musicians and singers, live, in person, give this or the single ended version a try! The lifelike realism is breathtaking! Truly incredible. I spent most of my adult life pursuing this hobby and the pursuit was over when I found this preamp and his Super 300B amp. Again, end game stuff. I would encourage you to get one of his Super 300B amps to try with it. Thanks Jay
Looks like I found another preamp to try over my modwright LS100. I really wish they didn’t use stickers for the labels on the back but it is on the back. Thanks for the review Jay and congrats on 100k
I am so proud of my home country Poland! Khosmo is polish high end attenuator producer. I love that american company incorporated it to their product. It is something! You Jay say and discover lot of Korean high end products here and my kudos to you, great I can say some good also of my country. Please try Staccatto discrette opams, Closer Acoustic and/or Qualio Audio speakers. You will love them!
@@Jayiyagi 😉Sorry man, it was such an easy joke to come up with. Had to do it. Thanks for the review. Also, for introducing what is for many of us, a new audio brand.
High praise, but seems warranted, seeing the hand wired high quality parts where they matter, apparently resulting in a great sounding preamp with great imaging and soundstage. It seems like a no brainer even at $6,500 if that’s what you’re looking for, and wanna buy your last preamp. Love the classic wooden based PSU and preamp section. Thanks very much, Jay. Appreciate your thoughts on this preamp. 🔊✌️🎶😊 Edit: Also great to see actual quality transformers and not a cheap chip used for the balanced inputs, plus switchable balanced or SE outputs.I looked up the input impedance is apparently 500K and an output of 300 ohms, so it should work great with pretty much any amplifier driving it. This preamp really checks of most of, if not all the boxes for me. Thanks again, Jay.
Nice , I have a single chassis Aric Audio line amp and its great. If you want to take that pre to the stratosphere put Jupiter silver Comets in it. They are not cheap but worth it if you can swing it.
The Mcintosh is using PCB and the Arik Audio is Point-to-Point and very minimal in terms of components and wires. this potentially leads to better results if done right. point to point can only be done by hand.
Great review Jay . Beauty done . They look nice they look similar to Decwares devices . I don’t know if they are better than Decware but Decware seems to be less expensive I think but not sure if they are an equal comparison . Take care friends ❤️
Wow! I'm going to write to them to encourage them to get a room at the SW Audio Fest in Dallas next year so I can hear this myself... $6500 for a line preamp is way out of my league. I had my point to point wired tube line preamp built for $500...
I know you love NAT audio amps and hope you will get to their preamps. I have the Magnetic and it is everything the Aric is from your review, but in spades! Quirky in that you have to wait to switch from single ended to balance (only when I listen to my tuner or cd player's output), and it takes a little getting used to volume. Those quibbles aside, a great preamp. Check one out.
That's exactly how a good preamplifier sounds .....and that's the privilege of tubes .....I experienced also that the vert best /natural /human performancres were recorded with tubes arround 1966....this when having listened over the years to more than 4000 thousand records ..... But Ibuild my preamplifiers and amplifiers myself ........took a lifetime living and working with tubes , only NOS tubes will excell over current production .........
Excellent review. I’ve been looking at this preamp to potentially replace my Conrad Johnson ET7-S2 Enhanced-Triode Preamplifier. A used ET7-S2 retails for about the same price, but it’s hard not to admire the build quality of Aric Audio.
I have this on a very short list of tube preamps. My coda no.8 impedance balanced is very limiting with tube line stages. I've been looking for balanced tube premaps with low impedance for a while. Not v easy lol. The coda..balanced only gives me 10k ohms to play with.
Yes I had heard of Aric Audio but it was a while ago and I was never familiar with their products. Consequently, seeing this review was a real treat for me! That pre is a real thing of beauty, inside and out. Congratulations on getting to review it, Jay!
Thats interesting! My friend had the Don Sachs (I don't know the exact model) and heard the ARIC in my room and decided to switch. I'm not sure if he still has it, if he does I'll see if I can borrow it from him to see for myself! Oh and yes I heard the Maria, albeit it at a show setting but very good stuff. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Jay, hope you see this despite the video being older :) If one wanted to go the tube pre-amp route (for warmth and soundstage) but not splurge on something like the Aric yet, do you have any lower budget recs?
How does this sound sonically compare to Integrated Pre/Amp like the flag ship of Electrocompanient, Aavik, Daniel Hert etc.? I know those are not tubes but they do have some characteristics of a tube sounding. The preamp on this one + a decent Class D amp like the AGD would pump it way over $15K.
For me, it came down to either Aric's preamp featured here or Backert's Rhumba Extreme. A deal on a Rhumba Extreme 1.3 fell into my lap that I just could not pass up on. Couldn't be happier with the purchase, especially now that I've had plenty of time to get familiar with it over the last several months. Although, for curiosity's sake, it would have been nice to have had an opportunity to audition the Motherlode preamp at some point prior to making the final decision.
@_WTR_ very nice. congrats on the deal you found. :) Are you using a solid state amp? I'm trying to find options for my coda no.8. Codas 10k ohm impedance has become a little problematic finding a proper tube preamp (if I want to continue using it balanced)
Thank you for the excellent video and the info on a less known brand. I think you mentioned in a past video the Modwright Ls100 as one of your preamps… but I have not noticed any comparaison or mention of it sonically. Were you thinking of talking about it on its own or using it as a comparaison? It’s a great company with very good customer service, but not too many quality videos on their products for some reason. Thanks and congrats on the 100k!
It would appear that this amplifier presents solid evidence that component quality is of paramount importance. Any of you who think boutique components are snake oil, take note.
The preamp is not transformer-coupled at the output stage, as stated on the product page, it uses jupiter copper foil capacitors for output stage. Therea a reason some of the best preamps like VAC, Allnic, ares cerat, BAT....they use transformer-coupled output stage (as well as the input).
How does this pre-amp compares with the dodge 8 clarity? Currently I have a Audible Illusions L3A equipped with reflector holy grail tubes --> This is a superb match and I will never sell this pre-amp but I wanted to try some other options too.
I see that you have the Belanger & Bisson, Conversations album on show again. It truly is a stunning album and one of the best recordings I've ever heard. The album was produced in conjunction with Lily Luo of XLO. XLO are a high end cable manufacturer. I became aware of conversations via XLO. My good friend has his system wired entirely with their cables. We have tried quite a wide variety of cables and in his system they were by far the best. Unfortunately they didn't gel with my system, synergy is crucial. Have you tried any XLO cables? I'd like to hear your opinion.
I've known lily over 10 years now. wow... and of course I have tried XLO cables and even bought some of them in the past. I still have them somewhere. I find that in a warm/dark system, it can really bring out details but that's just me
The nice thing about point to point is easily upgraded and to service,it will basically last 50 years assuming it doesn't use PVC jacketed wiring,but hi end good wiring
Interesting preamp. Do you know anything about the 6 position output level control ? It also lists the Khozmo remote volume controller w digital display. Does that mean that there’s a remote control available? Really curious how this compares to my Audio Research preamp. It looks like it has better parts and is half the price. The only thing is it lacks a lot of the functionality
Doge 8 Clarity is leaner and less warmth but great airy high frequency. Lots of spaciousness. Still over-all musicality and performance I think Aric wins here... clearly there's the difference in parts quality as well as the cost
Doge 8 Clarity is leaner and less warmth but great airy high frequency. Lots of spaciousness. Still over-all musicality and performance I think Aric wins here... clearly there's the difference in parts quality as well as the cost
I mean... it's a boutique brand. They need to cover business expenses and also make profit. I'm sure he would be more than happy to entertain custom parts if your willing to pay more
Very nice piece. I'm personally more of a fan of solid state/digital or analog front end with tube power amplification. Especially if you've got high sensitivity speakers the noise floor of most tube pres is just too high for my liking. I Don't like hearing any hiss at all from my listening position when nothings playing. Also as for Mac, I have a soft spot for them given the history and all but Accuphase and Audio Research is better.
I can’t stand when reviewers claim that something sounds ‘50 percent better’ after a break-in period. It’s all psychological! I’d believe it if they said there was a slight improvement after a proper burn-in, but this exaggerated idea is why I don’t base my purchases solely on reviews
I have actually heard of Aric Audio before...good to see their gears on here...but Jay, I have a something that's been bothering for a minute...WHAT HAS HAPPEND TO SOME OF YOUR AUDIO BUDDIES YOU USED TO HAVE ON THE CHANNEL? I hope you didnt ditch or fall out with them, you gotta bring them back. Havent seen them since you got robbed at that audio show.
Hi! Well we are all still very good friends. Actually met up with Thujan just a few days ago to catch up. We were all very young and enjoying reviewing/bouncing things off each other on this channel but as you may know… not everyone wants to do reviews as their carreer and they wished to explore while they are Young. I am proud to say my friends are killing it out there
Whats the point of having balanced inputs if you have to convert them back to single ended for the amplification, and back to balanced at the output ? That’s just a very fancy and expansive courtesy XLR plug that doesn’t provide any real advantages since the actual amplification circuit isn’t balanced 🤷♂️
Well can you imagine a fully balanced version of this? It would essentially cost double since its 2X all the components in a potentially bigger chassis! At least they are using quality transformers
I understand what you are saying, but there are some benefits. Its good if you have other components that are only balanced. Also, it allows you to run long IC's if the unit isn't close to the amps. But you're right in that it really won't sound any better using the balanced connections. Also, I don't think the price would double to make the component fully balanced. You only have to double up on the components in the signal path.
Fully Balanced preamplifier circuit , if perfectly done (only really possible with IC circuit because discrete circuit will never match an IC wafer) , cancels 2nd harmonic which you probably do not want to achieve here for the sound objective. However it is still beneficial to have balanced connections outside of the equipment to cancel noise pickup by long interconnect cables. If you use positive and negative discrete circuit (balance) then since they do not cancels enough then there is no gain and it only uses more parts….
I dig it & i can really appreciate a good tube preamp. I think the attention to detail & parts in the power supply really paid off with this preamp. Thanks for the review & sharing your thoughts. Does anyone know which Edcor balanced transformers are used on the output?
Every single part of an Pre- Amp would destroy the beautiful pure and clean signal which came out directly from my HiEnd DAC into my Monoblock Amps! The best preamp in the world is a world without preamps. That easy but so so true 👍👍👍
They need someone in the shop who can route the wires in a better manner. It looks completely amateurish inside. I shudder to imagine the quality of the solder joints.
@@stevieg2755 Me too. Seeing it raises immediate red flags. I would think twice or maybe three times before buying a vintage DynaKit that looked like that on the inside.
it may look a bit messy and I felt the same way when I first opened it but if you see carefully, its routed and wired in a way to achieve the shortest signal path. It's a trade off of what you will never see unless you open it VS shortest signal path for sound quality. Personally, I'd take the latter option any day
If you are a fan of EQ, you can get a unit that has an EQ like the Eversolo DMPA6 or A8 and run it fixed output to the ARIC audio. But no, the pre-amp itself does not have an EQ functionality
Yes products are sent to me for review but I do not get to keep them for free. This unit was sold to a customer already and will be shipped soon. I might get one in maple but you are right... the price point is pretty hefty
@@fadetoblack.- nah, I don't think demanding such a thing is ethical. I'm just a dude sharing his opinion on products I love. They do have less expensive ones that I might check out later but I'll dearly miss these.
@@Jayiyagi you putting in work to make videos! Time is money! But you do the best for what you see fit many blessings! Btw if you sell 2 of these off your videos they would be ecstatic!
@@Jayiyagiwell to be fair he does have a point, you are advertising their products and even if you are indeed just sharing your passion it deserves to be paid i believe. You’ve just made a 21 minutes video of you explaining all the details about the product, this alone can be worth way more than 7k given your audience. But i get what you are saying and it shows your character, i think it’s nice that you see it like this but every once in a while i think companies should be kind and let you keep the product if you truly love it, because it means they make something so good that even a reviewer who sees tons of gear every year decided to use their creation.
Unless it is clearly stated otherwise, all videos are not sponsored, no money or product exchanged hands. Product was sent for honest impressions and then its returned unless I buy it
Hi Jay, if you get the opportunity, try the Ypsilon preamp. Either passive transformer, or active/passive. Expensive, but stunning (as are their amplifiers). Cheers from Australia
its a pretty loose term. I only meant it to say that the performance based on what I've heard in the high-end market is on par and also the parts quality
😂 stay with your 1970 pioneer or Marantz reciever. This is what small boutique hi end companies look like. Maybe you should go back to Audio Science Review where you belong
Whoa The workmanship inside this preamp is atrocious. Diodes hanging in mid air resistors one end tied to a tube socket the other end extended with a piece of wire. Terminal strips are relatively inexpensive and make the project look professional. It looks like a rats nest of wiring and a price tag of 6 grand for this mess...NO WAY. I don't care how good it sounds Quality workmanship is important when considering the purchase of a piece of audio gear
Neat unit, but.... unfortunately: See all of those square black plastic tie-wrap anchors used to secure the various capacitors, cables etc inside the chassis? Those anchors use an adhesive white foam layer to secure them, and invariably the adhesive layer will always fail and the anchors pop off of whatever surface to which they were affixed. Every damned one of those things will eventually fail. Ampsandsound also uses these unreliable adhesive mounting points in the construction of their audio gear. All of these type of adhesive anchors do this. It might take as little as a few months or as long as a couple years for them to start popping off, but believe me, they absolutely will. Also, the heat of warm devices will serve to accelerate this. It's just a matter of time. I realize it's very fast, convenient and inexpensive to affix parts and cabling this way, as screw-mounted hold-down, , proper terminal strips etc are not used, but... IMHO this is a seriously deficient construction practice, which is not congruent with the manufacture of high-quality electronic equipment, particularly in the thousands of dollars range. For me, setting everything else aside, the use of adhesive mounting points is "a show stopper". I NEVER use such adhesive mountings these days. I learned the hard way --they are intrinsically unreliable. BTW: I have designed, built and refurbished vacuum tube audio gear of all types for around 30 years. My humble two-cents --Thomas
*hey guys! Thank you for stopping by! Let me know what YOUR favourite tube or solid state pre-amplifiers are!*
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0:00 ARIC AUDIO Motherlode XL Tube Pre-Amplifier
1:07 ARIC Audio Motherlode XL Build Quality Review
6:32 ARIC Audio Motherlode XL Sound Quality Review
16:10 ANK Mentor Comparison teaser
17:36 Mcintosh C1100 VS ARIC Motherlode XL
Looking forward to Galions tube pre amp offering (later dis year)
A Hi-End tube pre amp can really bring our systems to the next level!!! Well done sir and great review. ❤
It’s so refreshing to see a review that is not just another take on the same product that everyone else has already covered. Love to hear about great sounding gear from small companies like this. Keep em coming Jay!
When looking for "perfection", your search will never be over and it will be in vain as well. Because, first and formost, there's always going to be someone who makes something that sounds better to you, and secondly, we are imperfect beings and as such, "perfection" will never be attained. Good luck.
I went from an EAR 912 to the Lampizator Poseidon. The former has less body even with NOS Mullard&Bugle Boy tubes and is subject to power regulation problems in areas with high summer temps/A/C on the line. Maybe it's not the "best" but it is superior sounding unit. Now, the Aric Audio could be excellent and costs less (as well as the McIntosh 1100) than the Lampizator Neptune at $16K pre-amp only.
Been waiting for this one man! Well done and congrats on 100k again🎉
Fun review Jay. Enjoyed you venturing into the boutique audio manufacturing area. There are some great products out there. My Lounge Audio phono pre-amp comes to mind. Thanks for bringing this one to our attention.
Beautiful looking pre. Certainly checks a lot of boxes from a BOM and build perspective. I can imagine it sounds as described.
My Aric Super 2A3/45 is being built right now!
Whoo hoo!
2a3 can be pretty sweet with the correct speaker. Has to be high impedance and at least 100db sensitive. When you get the speaker right the 2a3 is magic
@@jm_1214Not necessary. The impedance curve must only be relatively flat and you are good to go.
When it's like 2 guys working out of their basement to build your preamp, you need to worry a bit about longer term product support and so on.
I have had an EAR 864 for about 15 years. I still find it very satisfying. It's clear and detailed up and down the frequency spectrum and seems to add a bit of holography to the sound. With hot speakers, it's just a tad edgy. Similarly with cartridges. But it is wonderful in every other way. I also have another system with a Pass Labs 0.2. It is smoother and just as revealing as the EAR, but a little less lively.
This is a great review. I have to say that your reviews are getting really good.
Hi Jay. Spot on title! This preamp is truly an end-game component... If you are looking for a musical experience that seems magical in that it transports you to the venue of the recording and gives you the extreme pleasure of hearing the performance as if you were there listening to real musicians and singers, live, in person, give this or the single ended version a try! The lifelike realism is breathtaking! Truly incredible. I spent most of my adult life pursuing this hobby and the pursuit was over when I found this preamp and his Super 300B amp. Again, end game stuff. I would encourage you to get one of his Super 300B amps to try with it. Thanks Jay
Looks like I found another preamp to try over my modwright LS100. I really wish they didn’t use stickers for the labels on the back but it is on the back. Thanks for the review Jay and congrats on 100k
It is lovely to see such a well-made piece of equipment
I am so proud of my home country Poland! Khosmo is polish high end attenuator producer. I love that american company incorporated it to their product. It is something! You Jay say and discover lot of Korean high end products here and my kudos to you, great I can say some good also of my country. Please try Staccatto discrette opams, Closer Acoustic and/or Qualio Audio speakers. You will love them!
Jay showed us his Motherlode and we will never be the same.
😂
@@Jayiyagi 😉Sorry man, it was such an easy joke to come up with. Had to do it. Thanks for the review. Also, for introducing what is for many of us, a new audio brand.
Sounds like a superb piece .. thanks
Hattor Preamps are little know gems.
You can use a permanent marker to mark the inputs’ position around the selection knob. Kinda make it your own 😉
High praise, but seems warranted, seeing the hand wired high quality parts where they matter, apparently resulting in a great sounding preamp with great imaging and soundstage. It seems like a no brainer even at $6,500 if that’s what you’re looking for, and wanna buy your last preamp. Love the classic wooden based PSU and preamp section.
Thanks very much, Jay. Appreciate your thoughts on this preamp. 🔊✌️🎶😊
Edit: Also great to see actual quality transformers and not a cheap chip used for the balanced inputs, plus switchable balanced or SE outputs.I looked up the input impedance is apparently 500K and an output of 300 ohms, so it should work great with pretty much any amplifier driving it. This preamp really checks of most of, if not all the boxes for me.
Thanks again, Jay.
*****⭐️I meant to type 50K input impedance, not 500K…lol
Nice , I have a single chassis Aric Audio line amp and its great. If you want to take that pre to the stratosphere put Jupiter silver Comets in it. They are not cheap but worth it if you can swing it.
The Mcintosh is using PCB and the Arik Audio is Point-to-Point and very minimal in terms of components and wires. this potentially leads to better results if done right. point to point can only be done by hand.
Such a joy to hear and see your passion for this pre-amp :-) But now please, please, please hurry up with the Axxess L1 review/video ;-)
Enthusiasm here is pretty clear - joy. Nice stuff..
Over that shoulder though .. =P
Great review Jay . Beauty done . They look nice they look similar to Decwares devices . I don’t know if they are better than Decware but Decware seems to be less expensive I think but not sure if they are an equal comparison . Take care friends ❤️
Thanks Jay ' nothing like HAND CRAFTED !
I hope Aric will send you one of his power amps to pair with this pre amp.
Wow! I'm going to write to them to encourage them to get a room at the SW Audio Fest in Dallas next year so I can hear this myself... $6500 for a line preamp is way out of my league. I had my point to point wired tube line preamp built for $500...
So nice to see a preamp that doesn't have a gazillion PCB's inside. Aric Audio equipment is handmade to order, no mass production here.
Oh absolutely. Everything hand made. Awesome to see
They're made in Western Mass near the Berkshires out of some guys house in Palmer.
fast forward to 2065 and Jay still posting how the search is finally over.
can you imagine me in 2065? Scary thoughts
By that time perhaps Topping will have taken over the entire industry...?!
Jay, congratulations on 100K in subs...
I was looking for an end game tube preamp too and found Melody HiFi P1688 Signature is an amazing amp. Use it with Linlai 6SN7 and 101D
I know you love NAT audio amps and hope you will get to their preamps. I have the Magnetic and it is everything the Aric is from your review, but in spades! Quirky in that you have to wait to switch from single ended to balance (only when I listen to my tuner or cd player's output), and it takes a little getting used to volume. Those quibbles aside, a great preamp. Check one out.
That's exactly how a good preamplifier sounds .....and that's the privilege of tubes .....I experienced also that the vert best /natural /human performancres were recorded with tubes arround 1966....this when having listened over the years to more than 4000 thousand records .....
But Ibuild my preamplifiers and amplifiers myself ........took a lifetime living and working with tubes , only NOS tubes will excell over current production .........
Excellent review. I’ve been looking at this preamp to potentially replace my Conrad Johnson ET7-S2 Enhanced-Triode Preamplifier. A used ET7-S2 retails for about the same price, but it’s hard not to admire the build quality of Aric Audio.
I have this on a very short list of tube preamps. My coda no.8 impedance balanced is very limiting with tube line stages. I've been looking for balanced tube premaps with low impedance for a while. Not v easy lol. The coda..balanced only gives me 10k ohms to play with.
Yes I had heard of Aric Audio but it was a while ago and I was never familiar with their products.
Consequently, seeing this review was a real treat for me! That pre is a real thing of beauty, inside and out.
Congratulations on getting to review it, Jay!
Don Sachs Model 2 is a pretty impressive unit. And for solid state I would probably use the Daniel Hertz Maria integrated from Mark Levinson
Thats interesting! My friend had the Don Sachs (I don't know the exact model) and heard the ARIC in my room and decided to switch. I'm not sure if he still has it, if he does I'll see if I can borrow it from him to see for myself! Oh and yes I heard the Maria, albeit it at a show setting but very good stuff.
Thanks for sharing!
Hey Jay, hope you see this despite the video being older :) If one wanted to go the tube pre-amp route (for warmth and soundstage) but not splurge on something like the Aric yet, do you have any lower budget recs?
Are those the Axxess L1 standmounts? They look great. Hope to see your review and comparisons on them.
I'm before the decware comments 😜
Every second, a new sucker is born? Every day, a new secret dream am, speaker, cable is revealed.
why do you say that?
Jay,
Have you ever paired with your m900 if you still have it?
I ask because I’m running my Motherload pre with a Luxman M10X.
Nice wiring
How does this sound sonically compare to Integrated Pre/Amp like the flag ship of Electrocompanient, Aavik, Daniel Hert etc.? I know those are not tubes but they do have some characteristics of a tube sounding. The preamp on this one + a decent Class D amp like the AGD would pump it way over $15K.
Any experience with Backert Labs Rhumba? Tube premaps that have low impedance and that are balanced are hard to come by.
For me, it came down to either Aric's preamp featured here or Backert's Rhumba Extreme. A deal on a Rhumba Extreme 1.3 fell into my lap that I just could not pass up on. Couldn't be happier with the purchase, especially now that I've had plenty of time to get familiar with it over the last several months. Although, for curiosity's sake, it would have been nice to have had an opportunity to audition the Motherlode preamp at some point prior to making the final decision.
ah unfortunately I don't have any experience with it
@_WTR_ very nice. congrats on the deal you found. :) Are you using a solid state amp? I'm trying to find options for my coda no.8. Codas 10k ohm impedance has become a little problematic finding a proper tube preamp (if I want to continue using it balanced)
Looks sweet
I may finally need to fly to your house and listen to your system. (Heads up: I may kick you out and never let you back in 🤫 )
😂
Jay, do you prefer the choco sound or the Billy amp? Mark? 2. Integrated amplifiers❤❤❤
Honestly it depends on the system but since my current main speakers are the MonAcoustic Platimons, I find that the Choco is a better match
Thank you for the excellent video and the info on a less known brand.
I think you mentioned in a past video the Modwright Ls100 as one of your preamps… but I have not noticed any comparaison or mention of it sonically. Were you thinking of talking about it on its own or using it as a comparaison? It’s a great company with very good customer service, but not too many quality videos on their products for some reason.
Thanks and congrats on the 100k!
Thats a good pre amp I used to own. I did alot of tube rolling and I might revisit it but it wasn’t as good as the Aric or ANK from memory.
Thank you!
It would appear that this amplifier presents solid evidence that component quality is of paramount importance.
Any of you who think boutique components are snake oil, take note.
The preamp is not transformer-coupled at the output stage, as stated on the product page, it uses jupiter copper foil capacitors for output stage. Therea a reason some of the best preamps like VAC, Allnic, ares cerat, BAT....they use transformer-coupled output stage (as well as the input).
It is transform coupled for the xlr output and input
Not related to this, I have a Spectral 180 amplifier, with your name on the shipping box, first was it yours, and if so was it recapped ? Thanks
Hello Jay.. Do you know if the aric products can be bought in europe? As you know we use 230 voltage in Europe..
I'm sure it can be modified to be sent to Europe but you would have to ask ARIC directly.
How does this pre-amp compares with the dodge 8 clarity?
Currently I have a Audible Illusions L3A equipped with reflector holy grail tubes --> This is a superb match and I will never sell this pre-amp but I wanted to try some other options too.
I see that you have the Belanger & Bisson, Conversations album on show again. It truly is a stunning album and one of the best recordings I've ever heard.
The album was produced in conjunction with Lily Luo of XLO. XLO are a high end cable manufacturer. I became aware of conversations via XLO. My good friend has his system wired entirely with their cables. We have tried quite a wide variety of cables and in his system they were by far the best. Unfortunately they didn't gel with my system, synergy is crucial.
Have you tried any XLO cables? I'd like to hear your opinion.
I've known lily over 10 years now. wow... and of course I have tried XLO cables and even bought some of them in the past. I still have them somewhere. I find that in a warm/dark system, it can really bring out details but that's just me
The nice thing about point to point is easily upgraded and to service,it will basically last 50 years assuming it doesn't use PVC jacketed wiring,but hi end good wiring
❤ very nice 👍
Jay, how it compares with the PS Audio BHK preamplifier?
It just doesn’t! Initially it did and then it broke in…
@@Jayiyagi
😆👍😎
Thanks for the great review. Did you roll any tubes? What Arendal Subs are those?
Yes but I liked the tubes that Aric sent with it the best. Those are the arendal 1s subs
Interesting preamp. Do you know anything about the 6 position output level control ? It also lists the Khozmo remote volume controller w digital display. Does that mean that there’s a remote control available? Really curious how this compares to my Audio Research preamp. It looks like it has better parts and is half the price. The only thing is it lacks a lot of the functionality
It comes with a remote thats standard remote that come with khozmo volume controllers
Is it suffice to say, that we will have a shootout between PS Audio Aspen FR-5 versus Axxess L1 coming soon?
;)
Please 🙏
Jay, in terms of of sounds how does it compares to the LTA MicroZOTL preamp?
That was a long time ago but I remember the LTA being a little on the thinner side in comparison
amazing but too expensive for me sadly :(
More Preamps under 1000 EUR/USD please ☺
Congrats on 100k subs. In comparison to Doge 8 Clarity, what are your thoughts?
Doge 8 Clarity is leaner and less warmth but great airy high frequency. Lots of spaciousness. Still over-all musicality and performance I think Aric wins here... clearly there's the difference in parts quality as well as the cost
@@Jayiyagi Thanks Jay.
I am curious how this compares to the Doge 8 tube preamp?
Doge 8 Clarity is leaner and less warmth but great airy high frequency. Lots of spaciousness. Still over-all musicality and performance I think Aric wins here... clearly there's the difference in parts quality as well as the cost
It would be nice if Aric used custom Jensen or Cinemag High or Half-Nickel output transformers at this price point.
I mean... it's a boutique brand. They need to cover business expenses and also make profit. I'm sure he would be more than happy to entertain custom parts if your willing to pay more
Very nice piece. I'm personally more of a fan of solid state/digital or analog front end with tube power amplification. Especially if you've got high sensitivity speakers the noise floor of most tube pres is just too high for my liking. I Don't like hearing any hiss at all from my listening position when nothings playing. Also as for Mac, I have a soft spot for them given the history and all but Accuphase and Audio Research is better.
I know what you mean but I had the Aric with sensitive speakers too and it was dead quiet
It says the Khozmo is remote controlled, but no mention of an actual remote. Does it have one?
yes its comes with standard Khozmo remote that comes with Khozmo remote controllers
@@Jayiyagi Thanks.
I'm going to keep my McIntosh 12000.
90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the border so things get blurred. Welcome to the adjacent USA. We even use the same 115v mains voltage.
But if you are not earning the American dollars you are a second class citizens
@@MasterofPlay7haha. Be mindful. Canada has a lot good to offer! For instance Thomas Galion stuff. I like Canada!!! Greetings from PA!
@@MasterofPlay7 American dollars have no class.
Preamps are it. Call in a CAT SL1.
I heard somewhere that the best preamp is no preamp just music….
I can’t stand when reviewers claim that something sounds ‘50 percent better’ after a break-in period. It’s all psychological! I’d believe it if they said there was a slight improvement after a proper burn-in, but this exaggerated idea is why I don’t base my purchases solely on reviews
I have actually heard of Aric Audio before...good to see their gears on here...but Jay, I have a something that's been bothering for a minute...WHAT HAS HAPPEND TO SOME OF YOUR AUDIO BUDDIES YOU USED TO HAVE ON THE CHANNEL? I hope you didnt ditch or fall out with them, you gotta bring them back. Havent seen them since you got robbed at that audio show.
Hi! Well we are all still very good friends. Actually met up with Thujan just a few days ago to catch up. We were all very young and enjoying reviewing/bouncing things off each other on this channel but as you may know… not everyone wants to do reviews as their carreer and they wished to explore while they are Young. I am proud to say my friends are killing it out there
I’m sure it’s wonderful. I can’t imagine any of your viewers ever buying that piece however. That’s a hell of a lot of money for a preamp.
You would be surprised.
And if you have good quality separates already then selling you’re gear to upgrade makes it more attainable
The preamp is the most important piece to get right and $6500 isn't that much for a good one. I have a couple of preamps that cost more than this one.
Yep. @@Pok-001
Whats the point of having balanced inputs if you have to convert them back to single ended for the amplification, and back to balanced at the output ? That’s just a very fancy and expansive courtesy XLR plug that doesn’t provide any real advantages since the actual amplification circuit isn’t balanced 🤷♂️
Well can you imagine a fully balanced version of this? It would essentially cost double since its 2X all the components in a potentially bigger chassis! At least they are using quality transformers
I understand what you are saying, but there are some benefits. Its good if you have other components that are only balanced. Also, it allows you to run long IC's if the unit isn't close to the amps. But you're right in that it really won't sound any better using the balanced connections. Also, I don't think the price would double to make the component fully balanced. You only have to double up on the components in the signal path.
I don't have an issue with that part of the circuit.
Fully Balanced preamplifier circuit , if perfectly done (only really possible with IC circuit because discrete circuit will never match an IC wafer) , cancels 2nd harmonic which you probably do not want to achieve here for the sound objective. However it is still beneficial to have balanced connections outside of the equipment to cancel noise pickup by long interconnect cables. If you use positive and negative discrete circuit (balance) then since they do not cancels enough then there is no gain and it only uses more parts….
I dig it & i can really appreciate a good tube preamp. I think the attention to detail & parts in the power supply really paid off with this preamp.
Thanks for the review & sharing your thoughts.
Does anyone know which Edcor balanced transformers are used on the output?
I don't know the exact type but if you message Aric, I'm sure he will be more than happy to let you know
Every single part of an Pre- Amp would destroy the beautiful pure and clean signal which came out directly from my HiEnd DAC into my Monoblock Amps! The best preamp in the world is a world without preamps. That easy but so so true 👍👍👍
GM ☕️🍩
A label maker or have the manufacturer put input number on the display ..I’m mean $7k 😵💫
God the wiring is just horrendous
They need someone in the shop who can route the wires in a better manner. It looks completely amateurish inside. I shudder to imagine the quality of the solder joints.
Yes if I was the owner I would do that myself if needed,
@@stevieg2755 Me too. Seeing it raises immediate red flags. I would think twice or maybe three times before buying a vintage DynaKit that looked like that on the inside.
it may look a bit messy and I felt the same way when I first opened it but if you see carefully, its routed and wired in a way to achieve the shortest signal path. It's a trade off of what you will never see unless you open it VS shortest signal path for sound quality. Personally, I'd take the latter option any day
@@Jayiyagi there are a lot of messy wires in there which are not in the signal path.
No thanks; too expensive
Do you have a separate EQ….Im from the old school so maybe folks don’t eq these days? Thanks for the review-
If you are a fan of EQ, you can get a unit that has an EQ like the Eversolo DMPA6 or A8 and run it fixed output to the ARIC audio. But no, the pre-amp itself does not have an EQ functionality
At close to $7000 w/ tax.😮 it better be nice! I’m sure they sent you this for free since you’re doing a video on it.Good for you.
Yes products are sent to me for review but I do not get to keep them for free. This unit was sold to a customer already and will be shipped soon. I might get one in maple but you are right... the price point is pretty hefty
@@Jayiyagi they should let you keep it! You’re advertising is powerful
@@fadetoblack.- nah, I don't think demanding such a thing is ethical. I'm just a dude sharing his opinion on products I love. They do have less expensive ones that I might check out later but I'll dearly miss these.
@@Jayiyagi you putting in work to make videos! Time is money! But you do the best for what you see fit many blessings! Btw if you sell 2 of these off your videos they would be ecstatic!
@@Jayiyagiwell to be fair he does have a point, you are advertising their products and even if you are indeed just sharing your passion it deserves to be paid i believe. You’ve just made a 21 minutes video of you explaining all the details about the product, this alone can be worth way more than 7k given your audience.
But i get what you are saying and it shows your character, i think it’s nice that you see it like this but every once in a while i think companies should be kind and let you keep the product if you truly love it, because it means they make something so good that even a reviewer who sees tons of gear every year decided to use their creation.
Looks like a Bottlehead Crack w/ Speedball!
Comparing preamps in different systems, Different rooms, Months apart. Please stop.
Disclosures? Did you buy this unit to review it? Was it a loaner? A "gift?" What affiliations are there between you and this company?
Unless it is clearly stated otherwise, all videos are not sponsored, no money or product exchanged hands. Product was sent for honest impressions and then its returned unless I buy it
@@Jayiyagi So it was a long term loan. Are you going to buy it?
@@scottwheeler2679 maybe... trying to decide between the ANK mentor and the ARIC like I said in the video
Hi Jay, if you get the opportunity, try the Ypsilon preamp. Either passive transformer, or active/passive. Expensive, but stunning (as are their amplifiers). Cheers from Australia
Yes, but not practical
Stopped following because a rich kid with a attitude i dont take serious
I am fortunate to be doing well but not rich by any means. Can I ask what you mean by my attitude?
So, if that preamp is “truly high end”? Then please define ‘high end’ or at least differentiate between the two.
its a pretty loose term. I only meant it to say that the performance based on what I've heard in the high-end market is on par and also the parts quality
What I like about crooks like this- they talk about 100 to 200 hours break in- well after warranties are over. They are paid to lie!
It's a tube pre-amplifiers.... at the very least, tubes break in... I can assure you I was not paid let alone to lie
Jay! Noise recommends you to get a life and buy Musical Fidelity. At least for Suwat.
😂
brooo you need to go touch grass you're looking worse for the wear
Oh do I? Haha. Thank you for your concern.
Quality toriodal transformer .no not really.edcore is rubbish.
And why do you say that?
This guy is a crook - hand crafted- looks like a cigar box
😂 stay with your 1970 pioneer or Marantz reciever. This is what small boutique hi end companies look like. Maybe you should go back to Audio Science Review where you belong
Ahh no remote
yes remote. I'll make sure to film it next time but its the same on all khozmo remote controllers
@@Jayiyagi just came across as if it didn’t have one. We would love to hear about its weight, build, button feel and if its steps are small enough 👍
Whoa The workmanship inside this preamp is atrocious. Diodes hanging in mid air resistors one end tied to a tube socket the other end extended with a piece of wire. Terminal strips are relatively inexpensive and make the project look professional. It looks like a rats nest of wiring and a price tag of 6 grand for this mess...NO WAY. I don't care how good it sounds Quality workmanship is important when considering the purchase of a piece of audio gear
Are you high?
No 😂
Arrogant as always
In what way do you find me arrogant?
You seem to be very sensitive sally if you think he came across as arrogant!
Neat unit, but.... unfortunately: See all of those square black plastic tie-wrap anchors used to secure the various capacitors, cables etc inside the chassis? Those anchors use an adhesive white foam layer to secure them, and invariably the adhesive layer will always fail and the anchors pop off of whatever surface to which they were affixed.
Every damned one of those things will eventually fail.
Ampsandsound also uses these unreliable adhesive mounting points in the construction of their audio gear.
All of these type of adhesive anchors do this. It might take as little as a few months or as long as a couple years for them to start popping off, but believe me, they absolutely will. Also, the heat of warm devices will serve to accelerate this. It's just a matter of time.
I realize it's very fast, convenient and inexpensive to affix parts and cabling this way, as screw-mounted hold-down, , proper terminal strips etc are not used, but... IMHO this is a seriously deficient construction practice, which is not congruent with the manufacture of high-quality electronic equipment, particularly in the thousands of dollars range.
For me, setting everything else aside, the use of adhesive mounting points is "a show stopper".
I NEVER use such adhesive mountings these days. I learned the hard way --they are intrinsically unreliable.
BTW: I have designed, built and refurbished vacuum tube audio gear of all types for around 30 years.
My humble two-cents
--Thomas