Preamplifiers — Ayon Audio Ayon Auris II

The Ayon Auris II comes from the Austrian company Ayon Audio as a tube line stage, working in pure Class A with triodes and offering an optional phono board. Ayon calls the unit completely modular and upgradable, and an existing first-generation Auris can be retrofitted to the version II standard.

Key specs that matter

Line inputs number four on RCA and two on balanced XLR, joined by an HT-RCA input for a surround processor and the phono input for MM, high-output MC or low-output MC cartridges. On the output side Ayon provides a pair of RCA sockets twice over, a single balanced XLR and a tape out, so a recorder can be connected alongside the power amplifier. Line gain switches between 0 dB and +6 dB. Line input impedance is 100 kOhm and output impedance is about 300 ohm, with a maximum output of around 20 V rms at 1 kHz. Ayon quotes a frequency response of 5 Hz to 125 kHz at -3 dB, noise more than 98 dB below the signal and harmonic distortion below 0.01% at 1 V. The aluminium chassis measures 50 x 43 x 11 cm and weighs 19 kg.

Engineering and use context

A parallel single-ended circuit with 6H30 tubes forms the gain stage and operates with zero negative feedback. Ayon keeps copper traces on the gold-plated industrial grade boards short, aiming for the shortest possible signal path and a high current, low impedance operating point for the tubes. The supply is tube rectified, with low-noise insulated transformers that are accurately damped, with ultra shielding against radio and electromagnetic interference, and a dual choke filter feeds the 6H30 stages. Each amplification stage is fed from a separate, isolated supply, and regulated DC filament supplies with soft start are meant to extend tube life. Level is set by a quadruple, electrically controlled analog volume control operated from an IR metal remote. Tube sockets use beryllium copper spring pins, and the balanced sockets come from Neutrik. On the phono board, MM and high-output MC gain is 45 or 51 dB with a fixed 47 kOhm load, while low-output MC gets 65 or 71 dB with loads of 100, 470 or 1,000 ohm. RIAA accuracy is within 0.2 dB from 25 Hz to 20 kHz, and the rumble filter is set to 10 Hz with a -6 dB slope.

Pairing

The low output impedance was chosen by Ayon so that the preamplifier can feed tube and solid state power amplifiers, and the balanced output together with the RCA pairs covers either type of amplifier input.

Alternatives

Within the same brand, the Ayon Conquistador EVO is a two-chassis triode line preamplifier built around AA45 Mesh tubes.