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Need help w/ Audible Illusions M3A

First off I'll say that I'm new to owning tube gear and appreciate any advice Audiogoner's can give. I own an Audible Illusions M3A and it has developed some "hiss" in the right channel. It's loud enough to hear when the system is idling from 12 feet away, and therefore fairly annoying. It doesn't sound as though the performance is comprimised any other way though. Time for new tubes? If so, any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

Scott

associated equipment:

Audio Research D-200
Theta Data basic
California Audio Labs Sigma II
Vandersteen 2CE
Synergistic/XLO cables
Tice Solo
trailrunner1

Showing 3 responses by marakanetz

marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Sell your M3a(since you don't need phono section) and opt for AES3 that costs twice less new than M3a used.

Less tubes required to replace(only 2) and NOS will last forever in there.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Trailrunner,
M3a phono section will not suffice for the descent analogue setup.
Much wiser investment will be for AE3 and separate phonostage such as EAR834P. Alltogether you gain performance on both linstage and phonostage sides.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Bigtee,
I'm basing on my experience as well that the IMO combo of two AES3 and EAR834P will perform far more superior than one M3A.
Moreover EAR can be fed directly to the amplifier since it has volume control which gives an extra flexibility for the same amount of money.
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