Aric Audio Systems Unlimited Preamp

I'm yet another very happy customer of Aric Audio.I've had the Transcend Push Pull amplifier in my system for a couple of months now.Dead quiet background,wide and deep soundstage,outstanding timbre across all frequencies,the placement and three dimensionality of the musicians is almost spooky on good recordings.There is detail galore but presented in a natural nonfatiguing way.

This is in comparison to the Quicksilver Mid Monos I've lived with happily for the past five years,a NuforceSTA200(auditioned and returned),and of course memories of other tubed and SS amps I've owned in the past.The Transcend is like supercharged Quickies-more and better of what I've always liked about them.The Nuforce is a fine amp but to my ears it lacks emotion.It's smooth and powerful but soulless.I clearly require that tube magic to reproduce my tunes:)
The reason I was considering SS or any new amp is because I thought one of the Quickies wasn't working(just a bad cable,whew!) and thought a back up amp and a placeholder was a good idea until it was repaired.So now the Quickies are set aside for emergencies,which actually might solve another dilemma - which of my two kids inherit the stereo.So can get a couple of of new(or used) things and have something nice to pass on to each of them.What an excellent excuse to purchase stereo equipment,lol! "It's for the kids honey,really!"
My system is:Vincent CDP(tubed),Rogue 66(tubed) preamp,Tekton Impact Monitors,SVS subwoofer.
Music I love:Rock from the 60s and 70s,acoustic and electric blues,folk,a little country,a little classical.
Every genre of music I've listened to with the Transcend in the system has simply become more alive and natural sounding to me.One example of a well recorded song is from an Analogue Productions sampler disc "Don't Let Your Right Hand Know" Sonny Boy Williams.I've heard this hundreds of times in various systems but now he's right there between the speakers.I can hear him breathing and the rustle of his clothing before he begins his performance,his lips moving on his harmonica,his position relative to the mic,his physical movements.It was startling,thrilling,and really not what I expected at all.On some recordings I can hear several musicians moving around on the stage.Attack and decay of notes is very good,bass has texture and impact.Even not so well recorded music benefits with better separation of instruments and vocals.I'll stop blathering on and just say I was expecting \hoping for a good amp.What I got is a great amp IMHO.
A couple of other cool things about the Transcend are you can listen in triode or ultra linear with the flick of a switch,adjust the feedback,the volume, and it's self biasing.The flexibility is a real plus.
So thank you Aric:)

@jtcf  you're very welcome my friend and I'm glad that you're enjoying the Transcend Push-Pull amplifier as much as you are! Things will only settle in more with additional break-in which should add additional focus on soundstage and transparency as well. Much appreciated on the review! Best wishes, Aric

Corrected my previous post....

"It's for the kids,really!"

+1  Thanks for sharing your experience with and enjoyment of Aric Audio's Transcend Push Pull Amp. Great story and journey!

I’ve been running my new unlimited for about a month now and am extremely happy with my purchase! I bought my preamp in burgundy and added a phono stage. Aric shipped it and it arrived at my house in two weeks! My decware zp3 took 4 months. As everyone has stated he was a pleasure to work with and his workmanship is top notch! Arics preamp is an excellent addition to my almost all American made system, vpi traveler, decware zp3, schiit bitfrost uber, inspire tube and emotiva ss amps, and new to me zu soul loud speakers.
The unlimited replaced an old aricaudio pre that I picked up used and an old decware passive that I had been using for about a year. Imo the unlimited sounds better in almost every way over the other two. As mentioned by others the sound stage is huge and instruments are easily placed within that soundstage.
The dual outputs are a huge plus! It makes it easy to switch between tube and solid state amplifiers. This was one of the features that drew me towards Arics designs to begin with.
The unlimiteds phono stage is no slouch either. Again, it makes it easy to enjoy one of my other turntables without having to mess around with unhooking my other gear.
On top of all this the unit is beautiful and sits nice next to my zp3. I’m extremely happy with my purchase and would recommend it any day of the week! American made audio at a price that a working man with a family can obtain. I’ve got about a hundred hours on this and am looking forward to hearing it mature over the next few months. Thank you Aric! I absolutely love my new preamp!