Audible Illusions Preamp

I’m on my 3rd Audible illusions pre - 1999 M3A (with 23k gold faceplate!), 2009 L2B and, since early July, a brand new L3B. I also own a 1990 S-120 amp - a unicorn for sure - so I guess you could call me a fanboy. The M3A sounded lovely, but it was a tube eater, so I happily stuck with the recommended 6h23-eb tubes. I had no such issues with the L2B or, so far at least, the L3B. I think primarily because of Art’s adamance about the 6h23-en (not to mention the now moot tube eating ‘issue’), people don’t always roll tubes in AI preamps, but my experience is that this simple circuit is very revealing of tube differences, and that the Russian tubes can be improved upon. My personal favorites are West German Siemens, with or without gold pins (7308 or e88cc), followed closely by Heerlen factory e88cc, but that’s just my taste, YMMV and all that. As for the switches, one poster above conflated the gain switch with the totally unrelated 4 bypass cap switches. I believe the gain switch has been eliminated in the newer preamps (it sounded more open without it engaged anyway, I.e., higher gain - that switch was a gain reduction switch - like adding an extra resistor in the signal path which, imho, flattened the dynamics a bit. I’d be interested to know how the guys above who think it’s not a dynamic sounding preamp had it set-up, because I’ve got no shortage of dynamics in my system. As for the bypass switches, unless you’re looking to roll the highs for whatever reason, they are intended to be out of the circuit after the first 100 hours or so of break in (during which it can sound a little ‘bites’. But once that goes away, flip those switches and lookout. You’ll realize you just bought $10k worth of glorious tube sound for $5k. I have my L3B mated to an OG (made in France) YBA Passion 600 amp (30k input impedance, no issue, and have finally actualized the sound I’ve been dreaming of having for the past 50 years.

I know I’ve stumbled into an old thread, but if you still have specific questions, @ihcho I’d be happy to try to answer them. You can also give Art a call at the factory - he might seem a little ornery sometimes, since he’s got to be getting up there in age and he’s essentially a one man show, but if you can get him talking, he’ll tell you everything you want to know and more.

BTW, I dealt with him directly on the trade-in of my L2B for a brand new L3B, and I did NOT experience any of the horror stories I’ve seen spread around about 18 month waits, and avoided phone calls and outright lies. In fact, in the 25 years I’ve been dealing with him, I never found him to be anything but a straight shooter (if, perhaps, a little eccentric). Once he gets to know you, he’s a teddy bear underneath the gruff exterior. I ordered my preamp April 29, he told me it would be 6-8 weeks (manufactured to order, not out of stock). He called me in the 7th week to tell me there would be a delay because their remote control supplier had sent remotes that were set to the wrong frequency, and I had it at my doorstep by week 10. Hardly unreasonable, and I never had to chase after him even once. I’m not discounting anyone else’s personal experience, just reporting that my experience was pleasant all around, and I am thrilled with my new preamp (my only quibble being that the old knobs, while less elegantly shaped, had a heavier, more satisfying feel - but the sound, currently using audio research branded west German tubes from the 1980’s (think SP-10), is exquisite.

Enjoy!

✌🏼