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Aric Audio Systems.....Tube Pre's, Amps + Good Prices


joessportster

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18 hours ago, joessportster said:

Hell I have yet to find a 300B amp I like. 

Hey!  The 300B is definitely one of my favorites, along with, of course, the dear old 2a3! ;)

Really, I built a (partly) direct-coupled 300B with 6sn7 input/driver (that was the d-c'd portion) that I LOVE.  It DOES NOT have the usual association attributed to 300Bs, such as overly euphonic, rolled off at frequency extremes, etc., etc.

 

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13 minutes ago, erik2A3 said:

Hey!  The 300B is definitely one of my favorites, along with, of course, the dear old 2a3! ;)

Really, I built a (partly) direct-coupled 300B with 6sn7 input/driver (that was the d-c'd portion) that I LOVE.  It DOES NOT have the usual association attributed to 300Bs, such as overly euphonic, rolled off at frequency extremes, etc., etc.

 

That has always been my issue rolled off, syrupy etc...  While I like Tube warmth I was always left wanting. Not an issue for me now anymore anyway I would never pay the prices they want for the 300B and many of the other tubes as well....................Fixed income and all that :) 

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I was preamp shopping a few months ago and exchanged some emails with the owner of Aric Audio. He was very friendly and helpful. Ultimately I went with something else, but his offerings look mighty nice. There is a long thread in the Agon discussion forum about his gear.

 

Enjoy!

 

Shakey

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On 3/31/2019 at 12:14 PM, joessportster said:

Com on man now your killing me................I will be on a quest for that now till found :) 

It's a Russian 6P15P-EV. The sound is not as mushy and rolled off as the Gold Lion EL-84 tubes, in my opinion.

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40 minutes ago, Shakeydeal said:

I was preamp shopping a few months ago and exchanged some emails with the owner of Aric Audio. He was very friendly and helpful. Ultimately I went with something else, but his offerings look mighty nice. There is a long thread in the Agon discussion forum about his gear.

 

Enjoy!

 

Shakey

Thanks for the input..................If money were no object and I had not just bought Joe S. Cary SLP98 off here I would certainly give Arics pre and phono a go round Overalll nothing but good things said about his offerings 

 

40 minutes ago, kevinmi said:

It's a Russian 6P15P-EV. The sound is not as mushy and rolled off as the Gold Lion EL-84 tubes, in my opinion.

 Thanks Kevin I will see if I can find a quad.....

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53 minutes ago, kevinmi said:

It's a Russian 6P15P-EV. The sound is not as mushy and rolled off as the Gold Lion EL-84 tubes, in my opinion.

Quick search says the 6P15P-EV is NOT a direct drop in, Steve does a mod on his amps for use he also has a paper floating around with the mods info

http://www.decware.com/newsite/paper145.htm

 

 

I found the 6P14P-EV is a direct drop in and has 10K Hrs life expectancy (Of course the  14P runs quite a bit more $$$)

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1 hour ago, joessportster said:

Quick search says the 6P15P-EV is NOT a direct drop in, Steve does a mod on his amps for use he also has a paper floating around with the mods info

http://www.decware.com/newsite/paper145.htm

 

 

I found the 6P14P-EV is a direct drop in and has 10K Hrs life expectancy (Of course the  14P runs quite a bit more $$$)

I was going to suggest to check with the manufacturer to make sure it would work. It's been at least 8 years since I built my Decware amps, and I didn't remember all the specifics. I know that I can run EL-84's as well as the 6P15P without any trouble.

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1 hour ago, joessportster said:

Thanks for the input..................If money were no object and I had not just bought Joe S. Cary SLP98 off here I would certainly give Arics pre and phono a go round Overalll nothing but good things said about his offerings 

You could give me the SLP, which would free up space for an Aric Audio preamp. I'm always trying to help.

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3 hours ago, kevinmi said:

You could give me the SLP, which would free up space for an Aric Audio preamp. I'm always trying to help.

Thats why I love this place someone always willing to help. If it becomes a must I will certainly contact you :) 

 

1 hour ago, veloceleste said:

There's also a Sovtek EL84M that is supposed to be very good and not too expensive. Very rugged and a different sound from the regular Sovtek EL84. 

Thanks for that I will give it a lookup..............New Tung-Sol in the amp now and LOVING the sound on everything so far seems some of the re-issue are pretty good

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15 hours ago, joessportster said:

Thats why I love this place someone always willing to help. If it becomes a must I will certainly contact you :) 

 

Thanks for that I will give it a lookup..............New Tung-Sol in the amp now and LOVING the sound on everything so far seems some of the re-issue are pretty good

If you want to wade into the reissue pond, I've got a quad of Gold Lion EL-84's you can try out.

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1 hour ago, kevinmi said:

If you want to wade into the reissue pond, I've got a quad of Gold Lion EL-84's you can try out.

Amp has Re-Issue Tung Sol from the builder and they sound great I am willing Providing I can afford them :)   seriously shoot me a pm with the particulars Price shipping etc... and I will see what I can do

 

Joe

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8 hours ago, Tony J said:

I recently purchased his Unlimited preamps and was able to add a volume pot of my choice. Great guy fast response via emails w all my questions etc. Very happy with my pre so far. 

Enjoy..

 

thats good to hear if I swap pre-amps Arics are high on my wish list

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The Aric Audio gear has gotten a lot of good press on the Tekton Double Impact forums.  I bought a quad of the Russian 6p15p for my Decware amps off the Bay for less than $20.  I didn't think I'd actually ever see them, but low and behold, about a month later they showed up.  Sound really good and supposedly last forever.

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Hi All! I just wanted to take a moment to thank Joe for the kind words and for mentioning me and my products in this thread (and for anyone else who's considered or purchased my gear). I wanted to point out that I choose to have basically two lines of products I build. The first (where I got my start), is what I call the "workingman's" line which I build to try and get the best bang for the buck and choose where to put the budget to get the most ROI. Also many customers that buy these are first-timers into the tube world and I LOVE the excitement and being the choice they made for their first build. I don't lose any money on these, and they're not really "Loss Leaders" in the sense that I'm trying to rope anybody in. I legitimately enjoy hand-making these and don't want to turn away any budget range (if possible). The second line I sell, is fully decked out and uses top tier parts and is for the customer that has extremely high expectations- regardless of price. I've done many custom builds for guys that have heard of/seen my gear out there, and wanted to know how good it could get we went "All out". Maybe someday I'll only have one line, but in the meantime I simply like to keep the soldering iron HOT and enjoy getting feedback and hearing from happy music lovers! 

 

BTW, Joe- do you ride? I saw Sportster at the end of your name. 

 

Best regards, Aric

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On 4/6/2019 at 9:36 AM, Aric Audio said:

Hi All! I just wanted to take a moment to thank Joe for the kind words and for mentioning me and my products in this thread (and for anyone else who's considered or purchased my gear). I wanted to point out that I choose to have basically two lines of products I build. The first (where I got my start), is what I call the "workingman's" line which I build to try and get the best bang for the buck and choose where to put the budget to get the most ROI. Also many customers that buy these are first-timers into the tube world and I LOVE the excitement and being the choice they made for their first build. I don't lose any money on these, and they're not really "Loss Leaders" in the sense that I'm trying to rope anybody in. I legitimately enjoy hand-making these and don't want to turn away any budget range (if possible). The second line I sell, is fully decked out and uses top tier parts and is for the customer that has extremely high expectations- regardless of price. I've done many custom builds for guys that have heard of/seen my gear out there, and wanted to know how good it could get we went "All out". Maybe someday I'll only have one line, but in the meantime I simply like to keep the soldering iron HOT and enjoy getting feedback and hearing from happy music lovers! 

 

BTW, Joe- do you ride? I saw Sportster at the end of your name. 

 

Best regards, Aric

Thanks for chiming in Aric.  Disability does not allow me to ride anymore, I miss  it all the time. Next to music it was an escape, Hop on, ride and forget the world, all attention paid to the road, the view, and the traffic.  Sorely wish I could ride again..............  Sportster was my first bike and I spent countless hours and dollars customizing it. 

 

On 4/5/2019 at 10:52 PM, Jeffrey D. Medwin said:

Hey Joe, 

 

I decided I owe you an apology, for my post - early in this thread,, and I thought it best to do it publicly.

 

There were better ways to get across what I had in mind to say, and I regret the clumsy path I took !!

 

Have fun listening !!

 

Jeff

Very good of you Jeff..................I appreciate it  Happy Listening :) 

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Currently Running a vintage set of RCA smooth grey plates with angled pan getters, with a pair of cleartop 12axx7 drivers and a simplex 5u4gb...........A bit darker than the Stock tubes next I will have to try a different driver in the amp see if I can bring back more of that sparkle on top. Fun

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Hey Joe, I'm sorry to hear you're not able to ride any more. I couldn't have missed the Sportster in your moniker from a mile away 😉 I picked up a 100th Anniversary FXSTI (Softail Standard) a few years back on a trade for a couple of tube amps. I had never ridden and was planning on selling the bike (the rider was also disabled due to a shoulder injury and his riding partner of many years had passed). Once I got it and learned to ride I realized it wasn't going anywhere- it's a freedom that's hard to describe once you get hooked, and now with the warm weather here I'm out on her every chance I get. Between tubes, hiking and the Harley I don't know which one I like best (okay it's probably not the hiking!). Best wishes, Aric

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Thanks for the sentiment Aric. I do miss the freedom of the ride but I occupy my time now with Audio and our 2 boys 10 & 12.

 

With a couple weeks of the amp in my system, and a chance to get in extended listening impressions: 

 

I have been rolling some tubes, I am not versed in the vernacular to put into words how tubes compare. Safe to say though The current setup is very pleasing to MY ear.

 

Those new Production Tung-Sol 6bq5, Paired with a very nice pair of 60's Telefunken ladder plate 12ax7's, and a vintage Raytheon twin (opposing) side getter 5u4GB rectifier. The amp is ticking off all my boxes. A very nice sparkle up high without the dreaded cymbol sizzle or ear piercing screech.  Liquid, and inviting Mids. Emotional At times causing ones hair on the back of the neck to stand up and run a chill down the spine.  Realism can be surprising as well quite often I find myself rewinding a file to see if that was in the music or ? while I am sure it would do well in the bass arena, I will refrain from comment as I Bi-amp and I have a crown SS amp pulling duty below 150Hz. (No need to guild the lilly :) ).........................Over all just a fun & pleasing amp to listen to nightly. 

 

Sound stage is MASSIVE side to side and DEEP This is the forte of my preferred speaker (Open Baffle DiPole).  I have had amps that affected that forte negatively, The Aric does none of that.  The Aric adds a layer to the music that was not heard before, It has a way of bringing some of the nuances forward, Example Bruce Springsteen's breath can be clearly heard on Ghost of Tom Joad, & Nebraska Albums a pair I considered favorites of mine for many years, I thought I knew them quite well.

 

I was shocked when I installed a matched set of RCA vintage smooth Gray plates with the angled pan getter they seemed to really dull down the sound I had a marked loss to the sparkle, I so dearly love. Confusing to me because in other 6bq5 amps I have had those were my go to tube. Could it mean I will save $$$$ on tubes (I sure hope so)

 

It really is a treat to set back and listen, the toes get to tapping spontaneously. I even break out my air drums,  and occasional guitar  for a solo. Wife rolls her eyes and boys just shake there heads  as they walk away :P..............

 

 

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