Review by Noam Bronstein Aric Kimball builds tube audio gear at his home in rural New England. Although Aric Audio is not a household name among audiophiles (yet), Aric told me he has built/sold more than 400 preamps. Word of mouth gets around! And after spending about six weeks with these two pieces, I can see why his efforts are being rewarded. This is not the kind of gear that will interest the typical “thick-faceplate audiophile”. It doesn’t have name recognition to buoy the insecure, nor the physical presence to impress their associates. This is cottage industry hi-fi, a niche within a niche. Those who have appreciated the work of Decware, Bottlehead, and Hagerman…read on. Aric sent us two pieces, a line preamplifier and a moving-magnet phono stage. Originally, I had a reviewer in Toronto slated to review these. Personal circumstances prevented him, and eventually it fell back to me. Although that delayed the process considerably, I’m glad in a way for how it worked out – because I got the opportunity personally to use the Aric gear in my system, and form my own opinions on them. My verdict? These aren’t fancy products, but they’re well made and offer good value. And [...]
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