DSJR
05-07-2016, 12:06
I need to lighten my audio-travelling load and some gear now needs to be passed on to an appreciative audience.
First up, my AVI preamp. This one is one of the later models with a proper discrete class A driver stage designed to properly drive long interconnects to remote amps, active (ATC) or otherwise and with a superb phono stage built in. Used into remote amps especially, this preamp is totally transparent to the source and gives you what's there, with no alteration. I'd say that into short 1m interconnects it runs a good passive preamp very close indeed and in fact, David Berriman found the same when he tested it for HFN some years back. Sonics can be fine tuned by careful choice of interconnects if desired, but be assured it's not due to any 'character' in the preamp itself.
Spec wise and as you'd expect, the measurements are 'textbook' for distortion and noise, input impedance is fine for modern sources (20k from memory) and the output impedance only a few ohms. The designer is a master at 'clean' power supplies, and I think I can say this unit, as well as the matching amps he designed, are immune from pretty well most mains nasties - filters and ferrites make not a jot of difference (he cut his teeth designing the Kelvin Labs amps and measurements showed how good and 'clean' his supplies were for these.
The phono stage takes around 45 minutes to fully come on song (all of these did, as I sold a good few at the time and owned other samples in previous years) and when it does, all of a sudden, it's open, wide and deep in soundstage and VERY kind with vinyl surface noise, ticks and so on. I've used it with my Decca Microscanner as well as my low output MC's (Ortofon MC30 Super, Stilton OC9 and Supex 900E) and it's perfectly behaved with very low noise. I'd put it broadly in the same class as the NVA Phono 2/PSU I have here.
I've offered it on the AVI forum at £275 plus carriage, which should be around £15 via Interparcel. I have the original box and packing...
Pics below -
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q8/DSJR_photos/DSCF0212_zpsphxhokgv.jpg (http://s132.photobucket.com/user/DSJR_photos/media/DSCF0212_zpsphxhokgv.jpg.html)
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q8/DSJR_photos/DSCF0201_zpsl8li9w7j.jpg (http://s132.photobucket.com/user/DSJR_photos/media/DSCF0201_zpsl8li9w7j.jpg.html)
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q8/DSJR_photos/DSCF0202_zpstcuas0fl.jpg (http://s132.photobucket.com/user/DSJR_photos/media/DSCF0202_zpstcuas0fl.jpg.html)
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q8/DSJR_photos/DSCF0209_zpsgoste0ux.jpg (http://s132.photobucket.com/user/DSJR_photos/media/DSCF0209_zpsgoste0ux.jpg.html)
First up, my AVI preamp. This one is one of the later models with a proper discrete class A driver stage designed to properly drive long interconnects to remote amps, active (ATC) or otherwise and with a superb phono stage built in. Used into remote amps especially, this preamp is totally transparent to the source and gives you what's there, with no alteration. I'd say that into short 1m interconnects it runs a good passive preamp very close indeed and in fact, David Berriman found the same when he tested it for HFN some years back. Sonics can be fine tuned by careful choice of interconnects if desired, but be assured it's not due to any 'character' in the preamp itself.
Spec wise and as you'd expect, the measurements are 'textbook' for distortion and noise, input impedance is fine for modern sources (20k from memory) and the output impedance only a few ohms. The designer is a master at 'clean' power supplies, and I think I can say this unit, as well as the matching amps he designed, are immune from pretty well most mains nasties - filters and ferrites make not a jot of difference (he cut his teeth designing the Kelvin Labs amps and measurements showed how good and 'clean' his supplies were for these.
The phono stage takes around 45 minutes to fully come on song (all of these did, as I sold a good few at the time and owned other samples in previous years) and when it does, all of a sudden, it's open, wide and deep in soundstage and VERY kind with vinyl surface noise, ticks and so on. I've used it with my Decca Microscanner as well as my low output MC's (Ortofon MC30 Super, Stilton OC9 and Supex 900E) and it's perfectly behaved with very low noise. I'd put it broadly in the same class as the NVA Phono 2/PSU I have here.
I've offered it on the AVI forum at £275 plus carriage, which should be around £15 via Interparcel. I have the original box and packing...
Pics below -
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q8/DSJR_photos/DSCF0212_zpsphxhokgv.jpg (http://s132.photobucket.com/user/DSJR_photos/media/DSCF0212_zpsphxhokgv.jpg.html)
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q8/DSJR_photos/DSCF0201_zpsl8li9w7j.jpg (http://s132.photobucket.com/user/DSJR_photos/media/DSCF0201_zpsl8li9w7j.jpg.html)
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q8/DSJR_photos/DSCF0202_zpstcuas0fl.jpg (http://s132.photobucket.com/user/DSJR_photos/media/DSCF0202_zpstcuas0fl.jpg.html)
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q8/DSJR_photos/DSCF0209_zpsgoste0ux.jpg (http://s132.photobucket.com/user/DSJR_photos/media/DSCF0209_zpsgoste0ux.jpg.html)