[Dork Knight]

Hello,

I was just looking through eBay and found an Aria Sonice which ends in a couple of hours;

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...e=STRK:MEWA:IT

I’ve had a search and found Ferbose’s thread here;

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=128899

I was just wondering if it was worth it, I was going to try my AKG K 701’s with it but I’m not 100% sure on the amp. The postage is horrific, so I don’t want to bid too much on the amp.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this amp, if so I would like to hear them?

Many Thanks

 

[JJ15k]

it looks like a sophia electric clone, could be interesting

 

[Dork Knight]

I think I may bid on it towards the end, the only thing thats playing on my mind is postage:

3-7 business day delivery + required insurance = £87/$152/€126

I just hope no one jumps in and starts bidding.

 

[stewtheking]

Advertising it on Head-fi is not the best way to drive prices down... in fact I would guess the opposite, but you may be lucky!

 

[mojorisin676]

Dork Knight, I just purchased an Aria Sonice...I'm hoping it will be much better than my LDII. It says that it is class a, so I'm guessing it will be, and not to mention that it uses 6 tubes instead of 4. It looks like a LDIII clone of some sort, not exactly since it has more tubes but it does have wood on the front. Here is the one I purchased:

I love the cracked-marble look

 

[mojorisin676]

I am hoping this amp will sound good with my Grado 225's though...That's the headphones I will primarily use with it for now, until I can get my hands on some RS2's and CD 3000's..

 

[Dork Knight]

Well, I lost out on the auction - Will just have to wait for another to come along (even though I really don't have the money at the moment

).

I hope these do turn out OK, hope you enjoy the amp mojorisin676.

 

[mojorisin676]

I finally received my Aria Sonice in the mail today, and I was surprised at how nicely packaged it was. No apparent damage, pretty suprising since it was sent the cheapest shipping all the way from China. Well anyways I had heard that this amp would not probably work with my Grado SR-225s since it was just simply too powerful, so I wasn't really expecting much. However, when I flipped the on switch, the amp flowed with smooth bass, liquid mids, and accurate highs that were so sweet. I was amazed at the difference between my LDII, it was definitely more refined, and overall, better. After I listened to the amp for about an hour, I had to run an errand so I left my amp on without my headphone plugged into the amp. When I returned, I decided to try my Sovtek EL84/6BQ5 quad tubes instead of the chinese ones that came stock with it. I flipped the on switch and turned on the CD player, but no sound. I turned it all the way up but no response. I switched the tubes around for a while, but nothing worked, there was no sound coming out of the amp. Then when I was replacing the amp back with its stock tubes, I noticed that they were 6AQ5 tubes, not 6BQ5 tubes like my Sovteks. THe chinese ones no longer worked either. Could I have damaged the amp by putting wrong tubes in the sockets? Why was the amp working before, and now it has no response at all? The tubes that came with it, were 4 6AQ5 tubes, and 2 smaller tubes. The 4 quad 6AQ5 tubes each had their own label, starting from V1, going up to V4...V1,V2,V3,V4. They each had their own spot as marked on the amp, i made sure that I put the right tubes in the properly marked slots, and I also did as well with the 2 smaller tubes in front marked V5 and V6. Everything was how it should be and I still have no sound. I may just try and pry this thing open tomorrow, maybe to see if I blew a cap on the inside or something. Does anyone have any idea what may have happened to the amp, and why it does not properly work any more?

 

[sydneyaudio]

Hi there, I have this amp and enjoy the sound very much. There are 2 versions of this amp - the 6AQ5/6P1 snd 6BQ5/EL84 - the 2 are not interchangeable. You cannot use EL84 tubes with your version without making internal hardware modifications. Unfortunately you have probably damaged your amp. Seeing you are still able to power it up, hopefully it is salvagable. You may have to try a local repairer, or return it to the retailer, or DIY.

I feel for you buddy, you waited a long time for your amp and damged it on the first day.

I hope you can fix it.

 

[mojorisin676]

sydneyaudio, Do you have an idea what part of the amp I might have damaged by putting the EL84 tubes in the amp? I'm going to open up the amp and try to see if i can see any damage by just looking at it.

 

[mojorisin676]

Nothing looks strange on the interior of the amp. Does anyone on head-fi repair amps and will be able to replace parts, etc.? I really don't want to have to wait another 7 or more weeks to ship it to China, and end up paying another 150 dollars to ship it back and forth.

 

[RnB180]

The amp caught my eye because of how cheap it is. I do not believe its an ldII clone, that amp has been around before the little dot amplifiers.

What has kept me back however from buying it is how ugly the amp is. Im sorry if anyone gets offended, but that is by far one of the ungliest looking amplifiers I have ever seen made.

 

[sydneyaudio]

Most likely you have burnt some resistors, this is the only difference between the two versions - but I have limited knowledge about this, sorry I cant help you more. Someone who repairs tube amps should be able to identify the problem quickly. You may have also damaged the EL84 tubes. Why did you try the EL84 tubes - were you under the impression they were compatible, or were you unaware there were two versions of this amp?
I just had a quick look on ebay and there are 4 retailers in HK selling these amps - but only one is selling the EL84 version.

RNb180 - I agree this is an ugly amp! Bit it does the job and IMO sounds better than LD3. These amps are made in the Yarland factory which makes some quality high end tube amps. The EL84 versions make tube rolling an easy option. They can be bought new for <US$250 shipped. Of course the big risk with chinese amps is when things go wrong, as above!

 

[sydneyaudio]

Double Post!

 

[Ferbose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mojorisin676 Well anyways I had heard that this amp would not probably work with my Grado SR-225s since it was just simply too powerful, so I wasn't really expecting much. However, when I flipped the on switch, the amp flowed with smooth bass, liquid mids, and accurate highs that were so sweet. I was amazed at the difference between my LDII, it was definitely more refined, and overall, better.

I am amazed that you did not hear a lot of hiss with SR-225.
But sorry to hear that your amp is damaged.