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Art Audio
Tube Electronics
The tube designs from Art Audio posses a unique blend of
strengths - excelling in aesthetic, sonic and engineering
terms, while striking a balance between each.
Music is what our passion is all about, and the Art Audio
gear does indeed make music, at least to these ears. Though
fast and transparent, the Art Audio gear never becomes hard
or brittle. These amplifiers have a remarkable ability to
resolve low level detail and subtle nuance in phrasing.
The bass is some of the best you'll find from single-ended
amplification. Soundstage is panoramic.
Prerequisite to a satisfying ownership experience is Manufacturer
support, and that is exactly what you can expect from this
Company. Joe Fratus at Art Audio works closely with us to insure
our customers satisfaction with his products. Truly
a great guy to do business with.
Amplifiers
 Symphony II - The Company's premier 300B-based
design. This unit
offers roughly twice the current capacity of most other
300B designs on the market. 10 watts of pure class A power
per channel. Inside the zero feedback, class A design
you'll find top-drawer components from manufacturers such as
Kimber, Axon, Wima and Roderstein. Art Audio's ceramic
tube sockets feature silver plated contacts. Circuit boards
are mil-spec with extra heavy 2oz. traces.
Recent
upgrades allow the Symphony II to accept any
300B extant (the unit is shipped with Sophia brand 300B
tubes). The new Mk II version $6050 in satin black, $6600
with chrome chassis and gold accents (pictured).
Have a look at Six Moons review of the Symphony
Concerto Mk II
- This amplifier is a push-pull
pure Class A triode design producing 40 watts per channel from four KT-88,
or 48 watts using optional KT-90 output tubes. According to the
manufacturer, the Concerto Mk II offers a level of dynamics
equal to or better than AB amplifiers of 100 watts per channel,
or more.
Output transformers are a novel split core type and
custom-designed by Art Audio to give a wider bandwidth than
most generally available transformers.
The high quality ceramic tube sockets feature silver plated
contacts. Satin-black finish with silver accents (optionally
finished with polished non magnetic stainless steel chassis,
gold plated transformer caps and nameplate). $4950
in black (shown), $5500 in stainless steel chassis with
chrome accents.
 Diavolo
- A real favorite in the Art Audio line,
the Diavolo is an enchanting amplifier offering
wonderful tonal purity and excelling at reproduction of
micro dynamics, transparency and soundstage retrieval. Many say the
magic is in the details, and if this sounds like you, the
Diavolo is just your cup of tea.
The
Diavolo produces 13 watts of pure class A power.
Due to the zero feedback and high peak current design
philosophy, this amplifier sounds far more powerful
than the numbers would suggest and will drive a wider range
of speakers than many other single ended designs.
A truly exceptional amplifier (just read the reviews) that will bring you
many, many hours of sonic bliss. $7700.
Read the Diavolo Review on Soundstage!
Carissa -
The 16 wpc
Carissa amplifier is a single-ended, transformer
coupled, pure class A, zero feedback design with the ability
to drive an amazing wide range of speakers.
Typically, amplifiers using a single 845 output valve per
channel achieve a 24-26wpc power rating. By applying less
voltage, but drawing more current, the amplifier achieves
impressive reserve capacity with exceptionally low
distortion specs. A further benefit is dramatically improved
dynamics and the lower plate voltage prolongs tube life.
The
Carissa employs custom, hand-wound, split-core output
transformers for extremely wide bandwidth and top quality
parts including 1% metal-oxide resistors for low noise and
low ESR/ESL-type capacitors to expand high- frequency
performance. Compared to most other 845-based single-ended
amplifiers, Carissa's high top frequencies are more
extended while retaining the tonal saturation through the
midrange and bass regions this tube is known for. In short,
the Carissa exploits the magic of the 845 tube to the
fullest but offers far better control of the lower register
and extends the top frequencies beyond what you've
previously heard from tube products in this price range.
$5500 in black, $6050 in al all polished stainless steel
(pictured). Carissa signature version available for
$7150 in black and $7700 in polished stainless.
Read more about the Carissa - review at Six Moons
Read more about the Carissa - review at Enjoy the Music
Read more about the Carissa - Superior
Audio Jota -
One of the most popular amplifiers in the line, the Jota
offers a sound that is both elegant and refined, but powerful
and dynamic. In fact, t he
Jota is capable of driving a far wider range of
speakers than you might think.
Another design based on the
KR 32B output triode, the Jota
capable of produced 24 potent watts per channel of pure
class A power. Vibration damped isolation platforms and
auto-biasing circuitry combine to make this amp a true classic.
$8800. A delicious option exchanges VV32B for the 52BXLS
tubes, increasing the power to 30 watts per channel.
Jota BX, $9680.
Very nice!
Check
out the Jota review on Soundstage!
Preamplifiers
VPL MkII
- A tube line stage preamplifier with cathode followers.
5 inputs, two outputs, 2 tape monitor loops. Build
quality is absolutely first rate, including components such
as a "Blue Beauty" potentiometer by ALPS, low
ESR/ESL caps by B.H.C., metallized polypropylene KIMBER
and M-CAPS capacitors, 1% metal film resistors, carbon composite
resistors used in circuit and 1% metal oxide resistors in
the power supply. $2800 with black faceplate and gold
plated knobs, $3000 in chrome.
VP1-MkII - A must for vinyl lovers. The VP1 mk II has the same
internals as the stunning VPL, but with the addition of
an extraordinary 3-tube moving-magnet phono stage. $3300
in black and $3500 in chrome.
Vinyl One - One of our favorite phono preamps,
the Art Audio Vinyl One offers a wonderfully musical
presentation almost guaranteed to mesmerize. Though the tube
influence is clearly evident in the sound, it
not blatantly
colored in any way. The dimensionality and harmonic integrity
of tubes are here, but the Vinyl One never slips into
an artificial creamy softness.
Both a moving magnet and a
moving coil version are available. Either can be fitted with a
volume control if you'd like to drive the amp directly. The
MM version is $2900 in black and $3100 in chrome. Add $200 for
MC capability. A volume control is available for an additional
$200.
Vinyl Reference - Art
Audio's flagship phono stage offers outstanding sonic
performance coupled with great flexibility. The Vinyl
Reference offers both balanced (XLR) and single ended
(RCA) connections. Adjustable loading of both resistance and
capacitance is available via simple rotary switch. A
phase switch is also included.
Type: Stereo moving magnet (MM) and moving coil (MC) hybrid
phono stage
Inputs: One each MM and MC
Gain: MM input 43dB / MC input 63dB. Other gain structures
available by special order
Impedance Loading: MM 47Kohms or 47kOhms in parallel with
220pF MC 100ohms, 300ohms, 1Kohms or 47kOhms
Output Impedance: 200ohms
Frequency Response: 20Hz to 20kHz (less than 0.5dB deviation
from RIAA curve)
Tube complement: four Svetlana Electron Devices 6N1P triodes
Dimensions: 18.125 x 13.5 x 4 (W x D x H in inches)
Weight: 21 lbs.
Price: $5000
Review
on SuperiorAudio.com |
