[kawhia]

.

 

[goldwerger]

so its been quite some time since i sent back the aic-10 to my buddy after borrowing one for a month along with wavedream and i wanted to give it some time to reflect.

i got to hear the AIC-10 mainly with the G73R tube, the mullard shark teeth tube, the holo may KTE, the wavedream sig bal, 1266tc, susvara, tungsten DS, arya and stealth and compared with my WA33 JPS Elite. I didnt have my red october at the time as it went to a buddy who loaned me the AIC-10 but i know it very well so will try talk about comparisons against both amps.

Im just gonna start off by saying the AIC-10 is my favorite amp that ive heard along with wavedream, its basically ruined my entire setup and here is why:

1. The build quality is absolutely insane. Just the outer casing must cost them alot of money. im a huge fan of how it looks and feels. It looks much deeper in person than any pic can convey.

2. The tone. This amp along with red october has the most beautiful tone. Its euphoric and lush and extremely natural sounding. This an extremely coloured amp but so damn musical.

3. Midrange. this is a midrange centric amp. vocals are just gorgeous. this and red october take the cake for best midrange of all amps i have heard.

4. Slam. This amp slams harder than any other amp i have experienced. i would put it above my wa33 a level for slam and above my red october 2 levels for slam.

5. Texture. This amp has the best texture ive heard of any amp. i've turned into a texture addict now because of it.

6. Bass. Extremely full and dense sounding. I've never experience sub bass like on this amp. its a clear step above everything i have heard.

7. Tonal weight/density. Everything has amazing weight to it, vocals are rich and full, the weight to notes and instruments are extremely visceral. I've never heard susvara sound so dense and meaty.

8. Timbre. Extremely natural sounding. This and red october are the 2 most natural sounding amps I have experienced.

The only negative i really have about this amp is its soundstage width, it has amazing depth and is very tall and it images really big as in instruments sound huge but its soundstage width is beaten quite significantly by my wa33 elite and red october.

some comparisons.

WA33 jps elite - The WA33 sounds more open with greater seperation between everything. i would also say it has better treble extension. Bass is tighter and faster but lacks the sheer depth of bass the AIC-10 can deliver. WA33 also doesnt have the tonal weight/tonal density like the AIC-10. its a more reference sound some would consider boring compared to AIC-10 which is extremely coloured. Warm up time on wa33 is at least 1.5 hours and cost an insane amount of money to tube roll due it to being fully balanced which requires double the amount of tubes of say something like a WA23 which is single ended where as the AIC-10 is cheap to tube roll and warm up time is about 45 mins.

Red October - This amp shares many similarities to the AIC but does the complete opposite to the AIC-10 in some aspects. AIC-10 soundstage is more intimate where as red october has the biggest stage i've heard of any amp. The midrange of the AIC-10 with the G73R i would describe as vivid, euphoric and lush but it is quite aggressive in comaprison and forward. the midrange of the red october is also warm and lush and euphoric but it is significant more laid back and easier to listen to. Red october is also very dense and meaty sounding just like AIC-10 but for slam and bass extension AIC-10 is a very big level up.

1266TC - I thought i had heard what 1266tc was capable of in terms of bass performance until i heard them with AIC-10. Bass depth and extension is the best i have heard hands down. Absolutely phenomenal pairing with aic-10.

Susvara - The AIC-10 takes the cake for the best amp i have heard for susvara and by quite a significant amount. The 2 best amps i have heard previously with susvara were HM1 and my WA33. the hm1 has incredible grip of the drivers but lacks the the best timbre/naturalness which only tubes can provide imo. the wa33 sounds a bit thin with susvara and lacks the best bass grip but sounds more natural than the hm1. The thing that makes the AIC-10 stand apart for me is the the bass response is just like nothing else i have heard with susvara. I've never heard susvara slam like this before. On alot of amps the susvara can come across as not that dense sounding and thin but on the AIC its meaty and dense and sounds extremely natural. every single genre sounds its best with AIC-10 and sounds extremely nautral. Hands down my favorite pairing for susvara, absolutely nothing is lacking.

tungsten DS. ive heard this headphone on the oor/hypsos/wandla, hm1, red october, wa33 elite jps and aic10 and for me the best pairing was aic10.

arya v2 - Again the best pairing ive heard for this headphone. this headphone can actually scale like crazy and is capable of bass i didnt know exisited till i heard it with aic-10

tubes - i had the G73R and mullard shark teeth on hand and i much preferred the G73R by significant amount. It fits my preferences much more and makes the amp lean to more solid state but adds more technacalities. the mullard shark teeth is def warmer and lusher but i feel you lose some resolution and technacalities. Shark teeth is def sweeter with vocals. I also listen to a huge amount of electronic so for me the G73R is the tube i would use if i bought this amp.

Dacs. i started off with the holo may and honestly love this pairing but the wavedream signature bal just takes the AIC-10 to another level in terms of technacalities. It has way more resolution, better imaging, significantly bettter texture, significantly better transient response and slams much harder and remains my favorite dac i have heard so far.

I'm hoping to buy either the AIC-10 or 465 in the summer and sell my wa33 soon once i hear the 465 a bit more properly which im about to do in the following weeks. I still love my wa33 but yeh this amp has kinda ruined it for me now and the AIC-10 for wins in every aspect except for treble extension and soundstage width. The thing i love about this amp is it drives both 1266tc and susvara and every single other headphone i heard to close to its max potential. i would say 1266tc and sus are about a 9.5/10. The only other negative is really that this amp makes every headphone sound amazing and it imparts its sound on every headphone. you can tell your listening to AIC with every single headphone you try and this is a good thing because it makes everything sound amazing but also a bad thing if your trying to judge headphones like say from a reviewers perspective. I didnt think i would love this amp as much as i did but yeh its totally won me over and in the summer i might be ordering one. thanks to @msq123 for lending me his amp. I'm officially now a Riviera fanboy.

Great review!

 

[Leto Dal]

so its been quite some time since i sent back the aic-10 to my buddy after borrowing one for a month along with wavedream and i wanted to give it some time to reflect. I also used the rear taps for every single headphone.

i got to hear the AIC-10 mainly with the G73R tube, the mullard shark teeth tube, the holo may KTE, the wavedream sig bal, 1266tc, susvara, tungsten DS, arya and stealth and compared with my WA33 JPS Elite. I didnt have my red october at the time as it went to a buddy who loaned me the AIC-10 but i know it very well so will try talk about comparisons against both amps.

Im just gonna start off by saying the AIC-10 is my favorite amp that ive heard along with wavedream, its basically ruined my entire setup and here is why:

1. The build quality is absolutely insane. Just the outer casing must cost them alot of money. im a huge fan of how it looks and feels. It looks much deeper in person than any pic can convey.

2. The tone. This amp along with red october has the most beautiful tone. Its euphoric and lush and extremely natural sounding. This an extremely coloured amp but so damn musical.

3. Midrange. this is a midrange centric amp. vocals are just gorgeous. this and red october take the cake for best midrange of all amps i have heard.

4. Slam. This amp slams harder than any other amp i have experienced. i would put it above my wa33 a level for slam and above my red october 2 levels for slam.

5. Texture. This amp has the best texture ive heard of any amp. i've turned into a texture addict now because of it.

6. Bass. Extremely full and dense sounding. I've never experience sub bass like on this amp. its a clear step above everything i have heard. Bass is extremely textured and articulated.

7. Tonal weight/density. Everything has amazing weight to it, vocals are rich and full, the weight to notes and instruments are extremely visceral. I've never heard susvara sound so dense and meaty.

8. Timbre. Extremely natural sounding. This and red october are the 2 most natural sounding amps I have experienced.

The only negative i really have about this amp is its soundstage width, it has amazing depth and is very tall and it images really big as in instruments sound huge but its soundstage width is beaten quite significantly by my wa33 elite and red october.

some comparisons.

WA33 jps elite - a very hard hitting tube amp but aic-10 hits harder. The WA33 sounds more open with greater seperation between everything. i would also say it has better treble extension and wins in overall detail retrieval/resolution. Bass is tighter and faster but lacks the sheer depth of bass the AIC-10 can deliver. WA33 also doesnt have the tonal weight/tonal density like the AIC-10. its a more reference sound some would consider boring compared to AIC-10 which is extremely coloured. Warm up time on wa33 is at least 1.5 hours and cost an insane amount of money to tube roll due it to being fully balanced which requires double the amount of tubes of say something like a WA23 which is single ended where as the AIC-10 is cheap to tube roll and warm up time is about 45 mins.

Red October - This amp shares many similarities to the AIC but does the complete opposite to the AIC-10 in some aspects. This is a softer and smoother presentation. AIC-10 soundstage is more intimate where as red october has the biggest stage i've heard of any amp. The midrange of the AIC-10 with the G73R i would describe as vivid, euphoric and lush but it is quite aggressive in comaprison and forward. Shark teeth midrange isnt as aggressive as g73r. the midrange of the red october is also warm and lush and euphoric but it is significant more laid back and easier to listen to. Red october is also very dense and meaty sounding just like AIC-10 but for slam and bass extension AIC-10 is a level up.

1266TC - I thought i had heard what 1266tc was capable of in terms of bass performance until i heard them with AIC-10. Bass depth and extension is the best i have heard hands down. Absolutely phenomenal pairing with aic-10.

Susvara - The AIC-10 takes the cake for the best amp i have heard for susvara and by quite a significant amount. The 2 best amps i have heard previously with susvara were HM1 and my WA33. the hm1 has incredible grip of the drivers but lacks the the best timbre/naturalness which only tubes can provide imo. the wa33 sounds a bit thin with susvara and lacks the best bass grip but sounds more natural than the hm1. The thing that makes the AIC-10 stand apart for me is the the bass response is just like nothing else i have heard with susvara. I've never heard susvara slam like this before. On alot of amps the susvara can come across as not that dense sounding and thin but on the AIC its meaty and dense and sounds extremely natural. every single genre sounds its best with AIC-10 and sounds extremely nautral. Hands down my favorite pairing for susvara, absolutely nothing is lacking.

tungsten DS. ive heard this headphone on the oor/hypsos/wandla, hm1, red october, wa33 elite jps and aic10 and for me the best pairing was aic10.

arya v2 - Again the best pairing ive heard for this headphone. this headphone can actually scale like crazy and is capable of bass i didnt know exisited till i heard it with aic-10

tubes - i had the G73R and mullard shark teeth on hand and i much preferred the G73R by significant amount. It fits my preferences much more and makes the amp lean to more solid state but adds more technacalities. the mullard shark teeth is def warmer and lusher but i feel you lose some resolution and technacalities. Shark teeth is def sweeter with vocals. I also listen to a huge amount of electronic so for me the G73R is the tube i would use if i bought this amp.

Dacs. i started off with the holo may and honestly love this pairing but the wavedream signature bal just takes the AIC-10 to another level in terms of technacalities. It has way more resolution, better imaging, significantly bettter texture, significantly better transient response and slams much harder and remains my favorite dac i have heard so far.

I'm hoping to buy either the AIC-10 or 465 in the summer and sell my wa33 soon once i hear the 465 a bit more properly which im about to do in the following weeks. I still love my wa33 but yeh this amp has kinda ruined it for me now and the AIC-10 for wins in every aspect except for treble extension and soundstage width. The thing i love about this amp is it drives both 1266tc and susvara and every single other headphone i heard to close to its max potential. i would say 1266tc and sus are about a 9.5/10. The only other negative is really that this amp makes every headphone sound amazing and it imparts its sound on every headphone. you can tell your listening to AIC with every single headphone you try and this is a good thing because it makes everything sound amazing but also a bad thing if your trying to judge headphones like say from a reviewers perspective. I didnt think i would love this amp as much as i did but yeh its totally won me over and in the summer i might be ordering one. thanks to @msq123 for lending me his amp. I'm officially now a Riviera fanboy.

Thanks for the write up. This or Red October could be my next step after Envy one day.

 

[goldwerger]

For anyone interested in some weekend fun, join the fun and participate in the Watercooler Headphone Edition's first poll: https://forms.gle/LUbE8rM6zxgq9XZL8

Poll results will be published in that thread in a few days (https://shorturl.at/e8cAk)

 

[Pingisbord]

Anyone having experience using AIC-10 to drive their horn speakers (La Scala)? Would be a perfect solution for me using this amp for both purposes.
Not much info out there on this topic

 

[number1sixerfan]

so its been quite some time since i sent back the aic-10 to my buddy after borrowing one for a month along with wavedream and i wanted to give it some time to reflect. I also used the rear taps for every single headphone.

i got to hear the AIC-10 mainly with the G73R tube, the mullard shark teeth tube, the holo may KTE, the wavedream sig bal, 1266tc, susvara, tungsten DS, arya and stealth and compared with my WA33 JPS Elite. I didnt have my red october at the time as it went to a buddy who loaned me the AIC-10 but i know it very well so will try talk about comparisons against both amps.

Im just gonna start off by saying the AIC-10 is my favorite amp that ive heard along with wavedream, its basically ruined my entire setup and here is why:

1. The build quality is absolutely insane. Just the outer casing must cost them alot of money. im a huge fan of how it looks and feels. It looks much deeper in person than any pic can convey.

2. The tone. This amp along with red october has the most beautiful tone. Its euphoric and lush and extremely natural sounding. This an extremely coloured amp but so damn musical.

3. Midrange. this is a midrange centric amp. vocals are just gorgeous. this and red october take the cake for best midrange of all amps i have heard.

4. Slam. This amp slams harder than any other amp i have experienced. i would put it above my wa33 a level for slam and above my red october 2 levels for slam.

5. Texture. This amp has the best texture ive heard of any amp. i've turned into a texture addict now because of it.

6. Bass. Extremely full and dense sounding. I've never experience sub bass like on this amp. its a clear step above everything i have heard. Bass is extremely textured and articulated.

7. Tonal weight/density. Everything has amazing weight to it, vocals are rich and full, the weight to notes and instruments are extremely visceral. I've never heard susvara sound so dense and meaty.

8. Timbre. Extremely natural sounding. This and red october are the 2 most natural sounding amps I have experienced.

The only negative i really have about this amp is its soundstage width, it has amazing depth and is very tall and it images really big as in instruments sound huge but its soundstage width is beaten quite significantly by my wa33 elite and red october.

some comparisons.

WA33 jps elite - a very hard hitting tube amp but aic-10 hits harder. The WA33 sounds more open with greater seperation between everything. i would also say it has better treble extension and wins in overall detail retrieval/resolution. Bass is tighter and faster but lacks the sheer depth of bass the AIC-10 can deliver. WA33 also doesnt have the tonal weight/tonal density like the AIC-10. its a more reference sound some would consider boring compared to AIC-10 which is extremely coloured. Warm up time on wa33 is at least 1.5 hours and cost an insane amount of money to tube roll due it to being fully balanced which requires double the amount of tubes of say something like a WA23 which is single ended where as the AIC-10 is cheap to tube roll and warm up time is about 45 mins.

Red October - This amp shares many similarities to the AIC but does the complete opposite to the AIC-10 in some aspects. This is a softer and smoother presentation. AIC-10 soundstage is more intimate where as red october has the biggest stage i've heard of any amp. The midrange of the AIC-10 with the G73R i would describe as vivid, euphoric and lush but it is quite aggressive in comaprison and forward. Shark teeth midrange isnt as aggressive as g73r. the midrange of the red october is also warm and lush and euphoric but it is significant more laid back and easier to listen to. Red october is also very dense and meaty sounding just like AIC-10 but for slam and bass extension AIC-10 is a level up.

1266TC - I thought i had heard what 1266tc was capable of in terms of bass performance until i heard them with AIC-10. Bass depth and extension is the best i have heard hands down. Absolutely phenomenal pairing with aic-10.

Susvara - The AIC-10 takes the cake for the best amp i have heard for susvara and by quite a significant amount. The 2 best amps i have heard previously with susvara were HM1 and my WA33. the hm1 has incredible grip of the drivers but lacks the the best timbre/naturalness which only tubes can provide imo. the wa33 sounds a bit thin with susvara and lacks the best bass grip but sounds more natural than the hm1. The thing that makes the AIC-10 stand apart for me is the the bass response is just like nothing else i have heard with susvara. I've never heard susvara slam like this before. On alot of amps the susvara can come across as not that dense sounding and thin but on the AIC its meaty and dense and sounds extremely natural. every single genre sounds its best with AIC-10 and sounds extremely nautral. Hands down my favorite pairing for susvara, absolutely nothing is lacking.

tungsten DS. ive heard this headphone on the oor/hypsos/wandla, hm1, red october, wa33 elite jps and aic10 and for me the best pairing was aic10.

arya v2 - Again the best pairing ive heard for this headphone. this headphone can actually scale like crazy and is capable of bass i didnt know exisited till i heard it with aic-10

tubes - i had the G73R and mullard shark teeth on hand and i much preferred the G73R by significant amount. It fits my preferences much more and makes the amp lean to more solid state but adds more technacalities. the mullard shark teeth is def warmer and lusher but i feel you lose some resolution and technacalities. Shark teeth is def sweeter with vocals. I also listen to a huge amount of electronic so for me the G73R is the tube i would use if i bought this amp.

Dacs. i started off with the holo may and honestly love this pairing but the wavedream signature bal just takes the AIC-10 to another level in terms of technacalities. It has way more resolution, better imaging, significantly bettter texture, significantly better transient response and slams much harder and remains my favorite dac i have heard so far.

I'm hoping to buy either the AIC-10 or 465 in the summer and sell my wa33 soon once i hear the 465 a bit more properly which im about to do in the following weeks. I still love my wa33 but yeh this amp has kinda ruined it for me now and the AIC-10 for wins in every aspect except for treble extension and soundstage width. The thing i love about this amp is it drives both 1266tc and susvara and every single other headphone i heard to close to its max potential. i would say 1266tc and sus are about a 9.5/10. The only other negative is really that this amp makes every headphone sound amazing and it imparts its sound on every headphone. you can tell your listening to AIC with every single headphone you try and this is a good thing because it makes everything sound amazing but also a bad thing if your trying to judge headphones like say from a reviewers perspective. I didnt think i would love this amp as much as i did but yeh its totally won me over and in the summer i might be ordering one. thanks to @msq123 for lending me his amp. I'm officially now a Riviera fanboy.

Well this certainly doesn't help with my itch for one lol. Great write up and read. And demoing it for 2-3 weeks at home I agree with everything. The midrange, tone and timbre were the big sticking points for me. I've also been interested in the Red October for a long time, so cool to get some comparisons there as well.

I was close to pressing the button on the AIC until the recent price spike. Will likely have to wait until I take care of a few adult responsibilities first. Also, I heard the Mass Kobo w/the Susvara at Axpona and it was pretty amazing, although I can't really compare the combo to anything with just a short listen. Looking forward to more comparisons if you're able to in the future.

 

[DJJEZ]

Well this certainly doesn't help with my itch for one lol. Great write up and read. And demoing it for 2-3 weeks at home I agree with everything. The midrange, tone and timbre were the big sticking points for me. I've also been interested in the Red October for a long time, so cool to get some comparisons there as well.

I was close to pressing the button on the AIC until the recent price spike. Will likely have to wait until I take care of a few adult responsibilities first. Also, I heard the Mass Kobo w/the Susvara at Axpona and it was pretty amazing, although I can't really compare the combo to anything with just a short listen. Looking forward to more comparisons if you're able to in the future.

yes it really is an amazing amp. I should be spending a few hours with a 465 soon, i've heard one already paired with a wavedream sig bal and susvara. I heard it before i had heard AIC-10 properly as well so now i have a really good reference point for AIC-10. I really liked 465, I just need more time with it to truly know how i feel about it.

 

[goldwerger]

Well this certainly doesn't help with my itch for one lol. Great write up and read. And demoing it for 2-3 weeks at home I agree with everything. The midrange, tone and timbre were the big sticking points for me. I've also been interested in the Red October for a long time, so cool to get some comparisons there as well.

I was close to pressing the button on the AIC until the recent price spike. Will likely have to wait until I take care of a few adult responsibilities first. Also, I heard the Mass Kobo w/the Susvara at Axpona and it was pretty amazing, although I can't really compare the combo to anything with just a short listen. Looking forward to more comparisons if you're able to in the future.

I spent an hour or so demoing both amps side by side at SoCal. It was show conditions, but end of day and relatively quiet corner of the floor. I did that with both the Susvara and Tungsten DS. So limited and not idea testing condition, but for what it’s worth, I much preferred the AIC (it was in fact when I probably decided this is something I need in my future).

The 465 is fantastic, excellent driver control, nothing but great. But as a SS amp, I can’t honestly tell you if in a blind test I’d be able to distinguish it from a great CFA3 (or even prefer it over one).

The AIC has all the great advantages of a world class SS amp in its excellent output stage, coupled with the advantages of its tube gain stage creating that wonderful texture and character. It’s truly the best of both worlds and a value added. And the reason I pull the trigger on it.

 

[DJJEZ]

I spent an hour or so demoing both amps side by side at SoCal. It was show conditions, but end of day and relatively quiet corner of the floor. I did that with both the Susvara and Tungsten DS. So limited and not idea testing condition, but for what it’s worth, I much preferred the AIC (it was in fact when I probably decided this is something I need in my future).

The 465 is fantastic, excellent driver control, nothing but great. But as a SS amp, I can’t honestly tell you if in a blind test I’d be able to distinguish it from a great CFA3 (or even prefer it over one).

The AIC has all the great advantages of a world class SS amp in its excellent output stage, coupled with the advantages of its tube gain stage creating that wonderful texture and character. It’s truly the best of both worlds and a value added. And the reason I pull the trigger on it.

This is what is making me lean to the aic cause you get absolutely insane solid state performance but then the colouration and tubiness to go with it plus the ability to tube roll.

 

[LISIANTHUS]

so its been quite some time since i sent back the aic-10 to my buddy after borrowing one for a month along with wavedream and i wanted to give it some time to reflect. I also used the rear taps for every single headphone.

i got to hear the AIC-10 mainly with the G73R tube, the mullard shark teeth tube, the holo may KTE, the wavedream sig bal, 1266tc, susvara, tungsten DS, arya and stealth and compared with my WA33 JPS Elite. I didnt have my red october at the time as it went to a buddy who loaned me the AIC-10 but i know it very well so will try talk about comparisons against both amps.

Im just gonna start off by saying the AIC-10 is my favorite amp that ive heard along with wavedream, its basically ruined my entire setup and here is why:

1. The build quality is absolutely insane. Just the outer casing must cost them alot of money. im a huge fan of how it looks and feels. It looks much deeper in person than any pic can convey.

2. The tone. This amp along with red october has the most beautiful tone. Its euphoric and lush and extremely natural sounding. This an extremely coloured amp but so damn musical.

3. Midrange. this is a midrange centric amp. vocals are just gorgeous. this and red october take the cake for best midrange of all amps i have heard.

4. Slam. This amp slams harder than any other amp i have experienced. i would put it above my wa33 a level for slam and above my red october 2 levels for slam.

5. Texture. This amp has the best texture ive heard of any amp. i've turned into a texture addict now because of it.

6. Bass. Extremely full and dense sounding. I've never experience sub bass like on this amp. its a clear step above everything i have heard. Bass is extremely textured and articulated.

7. Tonal weight/density. Everything has amazing weight to it, vocals are rich and full, the weight to notes and instruments are extremely visceral. I've never heard susvara sound so dense and meaty.

8. Timbre. Extremely natural sounding. This and red october are the 2 most natural sounding amps I have experienced.

The only negative i really have about this amp is its soundstage width, it has amazing depth and is very tall and it images really big as in instruments sound huge but its soundstage width is beaten quite significantly by my wa33 elite and red october.

some comparisons.

WA33 jps elite - a very hard hitting tube amp but aic-10 hits harder. This amp.is bery solid state sounding with very little coloration. WA33 sounds more open with greater seperation between everything. i would also say it has better treble extension and wins in overall detail retrieval/resolution. Bass is tighter and faster but lacks the sheer depth of bass the AIC-10 can deliver. WA33 also doesnt have the tonal weight/tonal density like the AIC-10. its a more reference sound some would consider boring compared to AIC-10 which is extremely coloured. Warm up time on wa33 is at least 1.5 hours and cost an insane amount of money to tube roll due it to being fully balanced which requires double the amount of tubes of say something like a WA23 which is single ended where as the AIC-10 is cheap to tube roll and warm up time is about 45 mins.

Red October - This amp shares many similarities to the AIC but does the complete opposite to the AIC-10 in some aspects. A very colored amp just like the AIC-10, This is a softer and smoother presentation. AIC-10 soundstage is more intimate where as red october has the biggest stage i've heard of any amp. The midrange of the AIC-10 with the G73R I would describe as vivid, euphoric and lush but it is quite aggressive in comparison and forward. Shark teeth midrange isnt as aggressive as g73r and offers more warmth. The midrange of the red october is also warm and lush and euphoric but it is significantly more laid back and easier to listen to. Red october is also very dense and meaty sounding just like AIC-10 but for slam and bass extension AIC-10 is a level up.

1266TC - I thought i had heard what 1266tc was capable of in terms of bass performance until i heard them with AIC-10. Bass depth and extension is the best i have heard hands down. Absolutely phenomenal pairing with aic-10.

Susvara - The AIC-10 takes the cake for the best amp i have heard for susvara and by quite a significant amount. The 2 best amps i have heard previously with susvara were HM1 and my WA33. the hm1 has incredible grip of the drivers but lacks the the best timbre/naturalness which only tubes can provide imo. the wa33 sounds a bit thin with susvara and lacks the best bass grip but sounds more natural than the hm1. The thing that makes the AIC-10 stand apart for me is the the bass response is just like nothing else i have heard with susvara. I've never heard susvara slam like this before. On alot of amps the susvara can come across as not that dense sounding and thin but on the AIC its meaty and dense and sounds extremely natural. every single genre sounds its best with AIC-10 and sounds extremely nautral. Hands down my favorite pairing for susvara, absolutely nothing is lacking.

tungsten DS. ive heard this headphone on the oor/hypsos/wandla, hm1, red october, wa33 elite jps and aic10 and for me the best pairing was aic10.

arya v2 - Again the best pairing ive heard for this headphone. this headphone can actually scale like crazy and is capable of bass i didnt know exisited till i heard it with aic-10

tubes - i had the G73R and mullard shark teeth on hand and i much preferred the G73R by significant amount. It fits my preferences much more and makes the amp lean to more solid state but adds more technacalities. the mullard shark teeth is def warmer and lusher but i feel you lose some resolution and technacalities. Shark teeth is def sweeter with vocals. I also listen to a huge amount of electronic so for me the G73R is the tube i would use if i bought this amp.

Dacs. i started off with the holo may and honestly love this pairing but the wavedream signature bal just takes the AIC-10 to another level in terms of technacalities. It has way more resolution, better imaging, significantly bettter texture, significantly better transient response and slams much harder and remains my favorite dac i have heard so far.

I'm hoping to buy either the AIC-10 or 465 in the summer and sell my wa33 soon once i hear the 465 a bit more properly which im about to do in the following weeks. I still love my wa33 but yeh this amp has kinda ruined it for me now and the AIC-10 for wins in every aspect except for treble extension and soundstage width. The thing i love about this amp is it drives both 1266tc and susvara and every single other headphone i heard to close to its max potential. i would say 1266tc and sus are about a 9.5/10. The only other negative is really that this amp makes every headphone sound amazing and it imparts its sound on every headphone. you can tell your listening to AIC with every single headphone you try and this is a good thing because it makes everything sound amazing but also a bad thing if your trying to judge headphones like say from a reviewers perspective. I didnt think i would love this amp as much as i did but yeh its totally won me over and in the summer i might be ordering one. thanks to @msq123 for lending me his amp. I'm officially now a Riviera fanboy.

Thanks for the sharing! How about Viva 845, have you ever heard it…?

 

[domi]

Searched the previous posts but couldn’t find it. Is it possible to use 12ax7/12at7 with the AIC or 12au7 only?

 

[goldwerger]

Searched the previous posts but couldn’t find it. Is it possible to use 12ax7/12at7 with the AIC or 12au7 only?

No it isnt
12au7 only

 

[DJJEZ]

Thanks for the sharing! How about Viva 845, have you ever heard it…?

Never heard but I'm dying to. It's on my wants list.

I've seen a few people say they prefer susvara on the 845 over aic.

I think i will end up with an aic-10/465 or 845

 

[tdx]

Never heard but I'm dying to. It's on my wants list.

I've seen a few people say they prefer susvara on the 845 over aic.

I think i will end up with an aic-10/465 or 845

FWIW I had the Egoistsa 845 and then got the AIC10 (with a brief CFA3 pitstop in between). It would be hard for me to pick one over the other sound wise, they are both the best I've heard and trade blows but in such a minute way that I would put them at the same level. But, amps are not just about sound. Yes, the Viva looks like a million bucks (though the Riviera doesn't look too shabby either). But it is huge, quirky to operate, runs as hot as a furnace, and you have to roll or at least one day replace a bunch of tubes. On the other hand the AIC10 is smaller, runs very cool, operates like a dream and you only roll/change one relatively cheap tube. So, since they both sounded about perfect to my ears, I went with the one that makes my life easier...

 

[eskamobob1]

Thanks for the sharing! How about Viva 845, have you ever heard it…?

I can comment on that one. It's easily the most different of the three. It leans much dryer with huge stage and a very energetic presentation But not necessarily any more slam or bass