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Original Message

Welcome to the AEA Forum

Posted by AEAaudio on April 29, 2015 at 19:10:12:

Hello and welcome!

We are Analog Engineering Associates, Inc. (AEA), and we are very excited to join and sponsor the Audio Asylum community. We have an interesting history with hi-fi, going back to the early 70's with the design and production of cutting edge solid state amplifiers, preamps and phono preamps for private and commercial use. Under the original founder and engineer, we have just recently reincorporated the company to specialize in tube powered hi-fi gear, including the offering of full restoration,repair, and modification services for vintage amps, as well as thorough tube performance testing. We will also be producing cutting edge hi-fi equipment in the near future.

A little bit about our history in hi-fi:

Our company was founded in the early 70's when solid state was the cutting edge technology starting to replace the then old tube technology. Our founder Ken, who had built and repaired tube powered gear since he was a kid, was in graduate school at the time studying physics when he started to help local "garage bands" out by building them inexpensive solid state powered gear. Who knew that those garage bands would later turn out to be rock stars like Tom Petty, Jimmy Buffet, and the Allman Brothers. As one thing turned to another AEA was born.

Under AEA, Ken went on to design the circuitry used in the mixing consoles of the famous Criteria Studios in Miami, where many of the great hits of the 70's were recorded. Through his work at Criteria, Ken met Eric Clapton, who challenged him to build a solid state preamp that sounded as good as the best tube powered preamp of the time. Ken accepted the challenge, and the AEA 520 Preamp was created. AEA also went on to manufacture the first 1000 watts per channel power amplifier, the AEA 620, which was used by legendary bands like The Carlos Santana Band and the Grateful Dead.

AEA only sold its lineup for a few years, with production numbers of only several hundred units each, as Ken left the audio industry to get into computers – the real hot technology at the time. Read more about our history through the "Legacy" tab on our main forum page.

Our connection to and passion for tube audio:

AEA's cutting edge technology and design had attracted the attention of the then retired giants of the tube era, Avery Fisher and Saul Marantz, who both served on the Advisory Board of AEA. It was due to the experience and guidance of these giants that AEA was able to break into the audio industry at the time.

Ken also grew up experimenting with tubes and tube circuitry design, and even operated a repair shop that specialized in tube powered TV and stereo repair when he was in college. His nostalgia for and experience with tube engineering has led him to firmly believe that tubes are where AEA should expend its expertise.

In a sort of cosmic full circle, we are now fully devoted to the tube technology that we initially helped displace in the 70's. And in the spirit of leading the industry in cutting edge technology, we plan to use our background in computer engineering to create some truly new and groundbreaking hi-fi products in the near future. Those cutting edge products are currently in the works.

Highlights of our current services:

We offer restoration, repair and modification services for vintage tube amplifiers.

We utilize new methods, such as ultrasonic cleaning and computerized spectrum analysis to go beyond the "simple recap," and truly bring back to life the visual and sonic grandeur of old tube gear that was once thought to be obsolete.

For a nominal fee, you can send in your amp, have the chassis ultrasonically cleaned, removing tarnish and rust from connectors and internal wiring, have it biased for best harmonic content on our computerized spectrum analyzer, and receive an Amplifier full Performance Report of your amp with graphs of each channel's frequency response, maximum power output, total harmonic distortion, spectrum analysis of distortion products, cross talk, signal to noise ratio, and phono stage RIAA equalization and noise specifications. Using the results and recommendations in the Performance Report, you can choose via our A La Carte Performance Upgrade List exactly what areas of your amp you would like us to modify to suit your budget and listening needs. We also perform repairs, quoted on a case-by-case basis.

Learn more through the "Services" tab on our main forum page.

We also offer Tube Performance Reports using our curve tracer.

Now you can get a detailed laboratory quality analysis of your tubes' performance under the actual operating conditions of your amplifier. The Industry's only full-parameter tube testing service done in conditions that simulate your amplifier. This unique "fit to your amp" testing program is the first to offer amplifier specific test simulation for the ultimate in real-world accuracy. Simply supply the make and model of the amplifier your tube is to be used in, and we will exactly match the testing voltages to your amp's design settings. (Otherwise we test at the manufacturer's published specifications)

Tube curves are the only real way to know the performance of any given tube. No two tubes are exactly alike, due to manufacturing and age. As such, the factory bias voltage settings, which were a "one size fits all" setting to being with, no longer place your tubes in the sweet linear spot on their curves.

You send in your vintage tubes, and we will create curves of each tube and tell you exactly how well they actually match, what to set the bias voltages to for each tube in your specific amplifier to obtain the maximum performance out of your tubes. If your amp does not allow for individual bias adjustment, send it in and we can modify your amplifier to allow for individual biasing.

Learn more through the "Services" tab on our main forum page.

We also sell restored vintage tube amplifiers, and always have a large stock on hand of core amplifiers that we can restore/modify for you. Please see our website for more information on our legacy and our current services and products!

Finally, we do service all our legacy AEA solid state gear! If you have one of our legacy products, feel free to send it to us for servicing.

Our current services are just a start to where we are heading. We will soon be announcing development of new AEA products that utilize cutting edge computer technology.

We greatly value the opportunity to be a member of the AA community, and any and all feedback we receive. Thank you AA for having us, and long live the tube!