i have not had the aria sig (as yet) but i have had the regular aria, as well as an lfd le mk4 sig, and at the same time in house for comparison - drove a variety of speakers... proacs harbeths buchardts vandy sig 3a's among others over that period
observations:
- both had a similar sonic signature, which is a somewhat lively, slightly uptilted high freq response, very clear and concise midrange (not lean not warm), and solid rhythmic bass... both image reasonably well (for solid state) and both are free of grain, though they both bring some degree of ’sharpness’ to leading edges of transients
- the lfd was a little brighter than the aria, both substantially brighter than a hegel or a pass or my longtime reference audiosector patek, they are simply voiced differently, to 'spotlight' the sound a bit more - the aria had maybe had a touch more low end drive than the lfd but both were very good
- the lfd definitely has a minimalist, small-op, homegrown feel to it... the play here is minimalism and thus implied purity to the sound because of it, whereas the aria definitely has a more proper, grown-up, full featured feel to it... with onboard phono stage, decent remote control, etc etc
- both of these amps do very well with more laid back/warmer speakers like harbeths, wharfedales, older vandys and spendors - they bring a little additional 'life' and punch to the music
i don’t know whether the higher, more expensive belles sig or the ncse permutations of the lfd bring more refinement... have not had the chance to hear for myself as yet
observations:
- both had a similar sonic signature, which is a somewhat lively, slightly uptilted high freq response, very clear and concise midrange (not lean not warm), and solid rhythmic bass... both image reasonably well (for solid state) and both are free of grain, though they both bring some degree of ’sharpness’ to leading edges of transients
- the lfd was a little brighter than the aria, both substantially brighter than a hegel or a pass or my longtime reference audiosector patek, they are simply voiced differently, to 'spotlight' the sound a bit more - the aria had maybe had a touch more low end drive than the lfd but both were very good
- the lfd definitely has a minimalist, small-op, homegrown feel to it... the play here is minimalism and thus implied purity to the sound because of it, whereas the aria definitely has a more proper, grown-up, full featured feel to it... with onboard phono stage, decent remote control, etc etc
- both of these amps do very well with more laid back/warmer speakers like harbeths, wharfedales, older vandys and spendors - they bring a little additional 'life' and punch to the music
i don’t know whether the higher, more expensive belles sig or the ncse permutations of the lfd bring more refinement... have not had the chance to hear for myself as yet