Hi Tweety,
I've never heard the Aria amps, but I had Mike Elliott rebuild an old Counterpoint SA-100 about a year ago. I chose the Premium Gold rebuild, which involved a complete rebuild of the insides...it's an all-new design, all new top notch parts...the only thing that remains from the old SA-100 is the actual aluminum housing and the feet. Mike has said that the Aria amps are a very similar design, but they have a brand new body and add a few more features (Plitron choke, etc) and sound a bit better. Based on that, I'd highly recommend that anyone looking for an amp in their price range check them out (www.ariaaudio.com). I absolutely love my rebuilt NP100. It's an extrememly neutral amp and it really does take on the characteristics of whatever tubes you chose. I've been using 40's Sylvania 6SN7GT, VT-231, etc. and it sounds amazing...extrememly transparent, three dimensional, an amazing amount of detail yet very musical at the same time. It really is the best amp that I've ever heard in my home...by far (compared to Pass Aleph P, Bel Canto SETi40, 47 Labs Gaincard, Revox B250s, Luxman M2000, and a NAD 960(?)). It has plenty of deep, controlled bass, so yes...in that way it does show some SS traits, but I'd say it sounds more "tube" than SS overall. This may not be quite accurate because my OTL experience is very limited, but it reminds me of an OTL amp in the way that it portrays the full range very naturally and three dimensionally...you know the tubes are there, but it never sounds "tubey" (I thought the Bel Canto SETi40 sounded unrealistic in that way). I've never heard the Lamm hybrid amps, but the descriptions I read remind me of my experience with my amp. Mike's hybrid design is in a somewhat unique category and I do believe that it offers the best of both worlds. I think he offers a 30 day trial on the Aria products (something that's not possible on the Counterpoint rebuilds), so you don't have much to lose. Every claim he makes on the www.altavistaaudio.com site is true. He's uses amazing parts in a great design and it shows in the amp's ability to portray all of the resolution and musical details in a very natural way...so natural that you can focus on the most minute detail if you want to, but it's a real challenge to stop your foot from tapping long enough to fixate. I can't say I had the same experience with the Pass Aleph 3. It's a great amp and it's every bit as detailed, but I never really felt like I was listening to music in the year that I owned mine...I was never fully drawn in, and constantly focusing way too much attention on details that distracted from the overall musical picture. I hope that helps. I think I remember reading something on Mike's site (or somewhere else) that the first production run of Aria Amps was completely gobbled up by a Japanese buyer. Because of that, I don't think many US buyers or Audiogon users have had a chance to hear them yet. I'd love to know what people think if anyone out there owns one. I hope that helps...
My system:
Counterpoint NP100 amp (similar to Aria amp)
Counterpoint SA5000 pre (completely modded by Mike Elliott)
Merlin VSM-M speakers (w/ Battery Bam)
Cardas Golden Cross speaker & interconnects
EVS Millenium DAC 2 w/Studer A727 as transport
I've never heard the Aria amps, but I had Mike Elliott rebuild an old Counterpoint SA-100 about a year ago. I chose the Premium Gold rebuild, which involved a complete rebuild of the insides...it's an all-new design, all new top notch parts...the only thing that remains from the old SA-100 is the actual aluminum housing and the feet. Mike has said that the Aria amps are a very similar design, but they have a brand new body and add a few more features (Plitron choke, etc) and sound a bit better. Based on that, I'd highly recommend that anyone looking for an amp in their price range check them out (www.ariaaudio.com). I absolutely love my rebuilt NP100. It's an extrememly neutral amp and it really does take on the characteristics of whatever tubes you chose. I've been using 40's Sylvania 6SN7GT, VT-231, etc. and it sounds amazing...extrememly transparent, three dimensional, an amazing amount of detail yet very musical at the same time. It really is the best amp that I've ever heard in my home...by far (compared to Pass Aleph P, Bel Canto SETi40, 47 Labs Gaincard, Revox B250s, Luxman M2000, and a NAD 960(?)). It has plenty of deep, controlled bass, so yes...in that way it does show some SS traits, but I'd say it sounds more "tube" than SS overall. This may not be quite accurate because my OTL experience is very limited, but it reminds me of an OTL amp in the way that it portrays the full range very naturally and three dimensionally...you know the tubes are there, but it never sounds "tubey" (I thought the Bel Canto SETi40 sounded unrealistic in that way). I've never heard the Lamm hybrid amps, but the descriptions I read remind me of my experience with my amp. Mike's hybrid design is in a somewhat unique category and I do believe that it offers the best of both worlds. I think he offers a 30 day trial on the Aria products (something that's not possible on the Counterpoint rebuilds), so you don't have much to lose. Every claim he makes on the www.altavistaaudio.com site is true. He's uses amazing parts in a great design and it shows in the amp's ability to portray all of the resolution and musical details in a very natural way...so natural that you can focus on the most minute detail if you want to, but it's a real challenge to stop your foot from tapping long enough to fixate. I can't say I had the same experience with the Pass Aleph 3. It's a great amp and it's every bit as detailed, but I never really felt like I was listening to music in the year that I owned mine...I was never fully drawn in, and constantly focusing way too much attention on details that distracted from the overall musical picture. I hope that helps. I think I remember reading something on Mike's site (or somewhere else) that the first production run of Aria Amps was completely gobbled up by a Japanese buyer. Because of that, I don't think many US buyers or Audiogon users have had a chance to hear them yet. I'd love to know what people think if anyone out there owns one. I hope that helps...
My system:
Counterpoint NP100 amp (similar to Aria amp)
Counterpoint SA5000 pre (completely modded by Mike Elliott)
Merlin VSM-M speakers (w/ Battery Bam)
Cardas Golden Cross speaker & interconnects
EVS Millenium DAC 2 w/Studer A727 as transport