Aric Audio
I have a pair of Audio Note AN-K/SPe speakers which have been pushed by a Pass XA 30.8 for the past two years. Although I've enjoyed this combination I wanted to try valve amplification. The problem was finding something appropriate to pair at a price point I could afford. The goal was to obtain something while still hanging on to the Pass until I knew for sure which direction I wanted to go in. Enter Aric Kimball. He and I engaged in several conversations regarding my needs and spec options for an amp. As a result Aric produced a custom single ended EL-84 stereo power amplifier of a pentode design. Each channel has a single power tube and driver tube (12AT-7's). Rectification is provided by a single 54UGB tube. I couldn't be happier and feel this is an improved pairing for my speakers.Through this process Aric's communication was timely and precise. His level of customer service is outstanding and I'm very pleased with this outcome. I would not hesitate doing business with this man. Just wanted to pass this along.
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- 28 posts total
I want to thank everyone for their kind words and for trusting me to build their audio equipment for them. It’s really great to be able to do this as a full time gig and pursue my passion. I also wanted to chime in on a couple of the products mentioned above. 1, The Super 2A3 SET has several features in the build that allow it to sound much larger than it’s 3.5 watt per channel rating, and it is an excellent match for any speakers 92 db and up with a relatively benign impedance curve. The driver stage has 5x’s the headroom needed to drive the grid of the 2A3, so that the driver never runs out of steam. When the amplifier clips, it is the power tube- not the driver stage.
I also use a power supply transformer rated at 3x’s the current of what the amplifier will draw. The toroid power transformer has a very low DCR and therefore excellent self-regulation, which helps the bass in the amplifier- it remains tight and impactful up to clipping, and even then it’s a very gradual clipping, not a hard/fast hitting of the wall. This amp also features some updates which are not shown on my website yet. It now uses Transcendar output transformers, which are hand-wound by Gery Gaetani in Hollister California. He’s been a transformer maker for many years and I was lucky enough to get into the fold before he shut down his website. The amp also uses an updated driver stage of a 6SL7 direct-coupled to a 6SN7 "follower" to drive the 2A3s and there is only one high quality coupling capacitor per channel. Another update is the amplifier now uses (2) 5U4GB rectifiers to allow better performance near or at clipping, as well as simply to give the amplifier more current headroom. The price on the website reflects these changes, although the picture of the new amp has not been added yet (I still have to build another to use as a "photo model" to then post pics).
2. My Transcend MM phono stage will be updated soon to be able to accept even low output MC carts via a set of Sowter 1:20 (switchable to 1:10) step up transformers. I will have selectable capacitance and input impedance as well as a different output tube to allow the stage to have more gain. This will allow a much wider range or carts, and the ability to drive an amplifier with the phono stage directly (no line-stage needed).
These products will be added soon to the website, how soon I can’t say but as soon as I have a chance to build them.
Best regards, Aric |
@fthompson251 Much appreciated! |
- 28 posts total