Audible Illusions Mod. III

A little over 3 years ago I ordered the AI L1, in the interim the dealer lent me a demo Mod IIIA to use. About 3 months later my L1 still hadn't come in but the dealer exchanged the Mod IIIA out for a demo L1. In the end I cancelled my order after waiting close to 5 months. My impression was that the Modulus IIIA was better sounding then the L1. I can't explain why, but I thought the Mod IIIA was warmer, more transparent, and had a larger and deeper soundstage.

I agree with Tom. A family friend is a classical music buff and has been through both preamps in his system. He ended up with the L1 because it did not traffic jam (at all) on major complex works. I to be perfectly honest was not really able to distinguish the "jam" of the Mod 3a, but was also not familiar with the music that we were listening to or the system. The Mod 3a was warmer, but not at all like a vintage tube amp. It added a little more 3D than the best solid state that I am familiar with and got the instruments right in my book. However the preamp in his system requires that the tubes be changed in less than a years time, which is too often IMO. It is still sonicaly one of my favorite preamps.

Hello, Great Northern Sound does mods on this unit. Steve is a great guy to deal with. s