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I took delivery today of an Audible Illusions Modulus 3B preamp and a Denon AU320 step up transformer. So far, what I am hearing from the 3B is much more refined than what I heard from my 3A which I still have. This preamp is dead quiet too. The Denon SUT has plenty of gain for my ZU/Denon DL103 cartridge and it has a great tone. I am quite happy right now.Bob
I throw my windows open wide and call to you across the sky.
Edits: 06/01/12 06/01/12Follow Ups:
Very nice! Love the way it looks.
I'm not real familiar with Audible Illusions except that I've seen this brand around for a few decades now. I have also read that their preamps can be hard on vacuum tubes. I'm not sure if this is just a myth that has been perpetuated over the years.
Do they actually use a Volume Control with discrete steps for switching in fixed value resistors?
I wouldn't mind trying an Audible Illusions preamp someday but I don't think they offer it with a remote control??
I was talking to a dealer about this brand the other day. He tells people that if they buy one they should keep their current unit for a backup since a six month wait for service is not unusual.
I had an AI pre-amp 20 years ago. Was nice, I probably should have kept it.
"Lock up when you're done and don't touch the piano."
-Dr. Greg House
Obviously your dealer isn't an audible Illusions dealer. I once sent in one of my preamps for repair and it took a total of 8 days from the day I dropped it off at UPS to the day UPS delivered it back to me. The unit was way out of wrrranty but it was fixed for free. They also paid return shiping. I think that is excellent service.
I throw my windows open wide and call to you across the sky.
They have been notorious for slow service for twenty years.
"Lock up when you're done and don't touch the piano."
-Dr. Greg House
This is my third Audible Illusions preamp. I still own a Modulus 3 and 3A. I don't find them hard on tubes, they last 3 years or so in the preamps. They do require a rugged tube though. All 3 of my preamps have 6h23neb tubes. They make a line stage preamp called the Line 3 which is the same as mine but without the phono board. It has a remote control option. the volume control is discreet steps with resistor switching.
The overall quality of this preamp is much refined over my previous 2.
I throw my windows open wide and call to you across the sky.
Thanks for the info.
If I were to try one, I wouldn't need the phonostage as I prefer to use a separate phono.
I really love the idea of having discrete switched resistors in the attenuator as they tend to sound very transparent. I wonder if the remote control option is available with the discrete resistor switching or if you have to go with a more traditional volume pot.
Some higher quality volume pots don't sound bad either and I would choose one over an electronic integrated circuit attenuator.
Enjoy your new toy!
I grew to dislike the dual mono quickly. The steps are too far apart for any sort of balance adjustment. You have to look closely or count the steps for both attenuates when adjusting the volume. You sort of get use to it but it's a bit much for others using the system. My wife was thrilled when it was replaced.
There are five or six steps before the attenuators are at nine o'clock which is about normal listening level with most amplifiers. There are internal jumpers that affect this rate but they do little overall. Low level listening was usually either to soft or to loud.
The stock tubes hold up well. Rolling tubes that last is limited.
Dual-mono as in two separate manually operated volume controls? That would be a show stopper for me. That and no remote control. I bet it sounds nice, and looks pretty cool. But no remote = no sale, for me anyway.
I am glad you have arrived at something that satisfies you. I'm curious how you arrived at the cartridge and SUT combo that you did. I looked at your setup and suspect you could have aimed at a higher range cartridge and had been able to exploit it. I am in no way suggesting the Denon has any lacking features, in fact it is highly rated. I am also in the camp that says don't spend more if you don't have to. Did you look into other cartridges or have you been in the Denon camp for awhile and not seen any reason to reach higher?
I use a Clearaudio Virtuoso MM cartridge and have been thinking about going to MC with a SUT. Your post has got me thinking about what to consider and just how high to aim.
Scott
This preamp replaced a Modulus 3A which also had the John Curl low output phono board. The ZU/Denon cartridge only has about 60 hours on it and I have had it in my system since 2009. I just don't play that many records any longer as I have a very expensive Esoteric multi-format player and also a dedicated laptop and Wyred dac.
I like the way the ZU/Denon sounds with my older rock recordings and I find the sound of my analog rig good enough for the amount of time I use it. I thought about replacing the cartridge with something different but it would have cost me a lot more money. In the future, if I upgrade the turntable, then I will buy a more expensive cartridge. The Denon SUT does it's job and I am getting zero hum from the setup.
Bob
I throw my windows open wide and call to you across the sky.
Well that 3B sure is nice looking.
Thanks!
I throw my windows open wide and call to you across the sky.
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