I purchased the Audio Expressions Symphonies pre amp for $380 on Ebay from YS Audio. It lists on their web site for $995. I owned a Conrad Johnson PV 4 before that I really liked but this preamp blew it away. If the Conrad Johnson was a $795 preamp in 1983 which is like what $1600 now, this Audio Expressions preamp should be $2500. The build quality is excellent. Silver wiring and point to point soldering. No circuit boards here. This amp probably would cost at least $2500 if made in the US to get this quality. The sound is remarkable. Detailed, good soundstage and openess. I definately think I got a steal.
Audio Experience tube preamp
First of all let me state that I'm not an expert on tube equipment. In fact I've never had any before. I was one of the ones that was happy as can be that transistors had come to the front. I grew up with tubes and learned to hate them. TV sets were always screwing up and in constant need of repair. To make a long story short, I ran into an ad by YS Audio in Hong Kong for a deal on a line level preamp that was listed as a promotion for $300 instead of the regular $700. I know that to some of you that this is too low to even consider, but it seemed like a good way to find out what this tube stuff is all about.
I got the unit today and hooked it up to my Creek {5350}integrated amp, by yanking out the "u" bars on the back. I was in no way prepard for what I heard. I know that the superlatives get thrown around a lot on this site, but it was and is outstanding. It seemed like the music just opened up. Especially the dynamic range on all types of music. I have no idea if the numbers support this or not. I frankly could not care less what the numbers and stats say, because I hear a huge difference. It's kind of ironic because that's what people say about all kinds of things like DAC's and cables, and I have been completely underwhemed by these. Straining for hours to see if a certain cable improved "presence" or "soundstage" or "definition" This was a real improvement, and the thing's not even broken in yet. The manual says 100 hours to "bed in" {the writing is a hoot} Anyone else ever dealt with this outfit?
I got the unit today and hooked it up to my Creek {5350}integrated amp, by yanking out the "u" bars on the back. I was in no way prepard for what I heard. I know that the superlatives get thrown around a lot on this site, but it was and is outstanding. It seemed like the music just opened up. Especially the dynamic range on all types of music. I have no idea if the numbers support this or not. I frankly could not care less what the numbers and stats say, because I hear a huge difference. It's kind of ironic because that's what people say about all kinds of things like DAC's and cables, and I have been completely underwhemed by these. Straining for hours to see if a certain cable improved "presence" or "soundstage" or "definition" This was a real improvement, and the thing's not even broken in yet. The manual says 100 hours to "bed in" {the writing is a hoot} Anyone else ever dealt with this outfit?
- ...
- 11 posts total
- 11 posts total