Audible Illusion MA3 mod/upgrade?


Hi! Has anyone upgraded/modded Audible Illusion M3A's? How did it turn out? I love mine but would like to upgrade eventually. I play mostly lp's and don't know if I want to sell and go the separate route with linestage and phono. I have a feeling the Manley Steelhead would fit the bill nicely, but is pricey.Thanks for any thoughts.Gear is VPI classic 1,Lyra Delos, ARC vt-100mk2 and Revel F52's. Joe F.
joeyfed

Showing 1 response by ssand1

I have had my M3A for quite a number of years and it has been modified several times by Bob Backert of RHB Designs in Richboro, PA.

Bob puts his own design circuits in which really open up the clarity and resolution of the unit. Go to his website to get information on exactly what he does, it's too involved for me to explain. The mod is not terribly expensive and I feel has really improved what is already a great pre amp.

The comments by Mb D are really interesting to me. My unit is now with Bob after my right channel went dead out of the blue. Bob called me to report that the right attenauter had malfunctioned and not only killed the pre but also my amp and right speaker. This has turned into a very expensive malfunction of the attenuated, I wish I had known about the upgrade before this from AI. Bob has ordered a replacement board for me from them, who knows when it will arrive. When I ordered new tubes from AI it took very long to get them and the communication was very spotty.

Anyway, I am still a firm believer that these are great preamps and worth the upgrade cost.