Yes, I'm selling my Pathos Aurium headphone amplifier.
It's a piece of equipment that I really like, but I'm not using it anymore, so there is no point on keeping it.
Some months ago I bought an RME DAC and connected the Aurium between the DAC and the active speakers. This setup however soon showed to be not very practical, because I couldn't use the auto load of EQ preset of the RME, because both the amp and the active speaker were on the same output. Besides, I satrted to get nuts comparing both headphone amplifiers. In no time I realized I wasn't prepared to have two devices that perform the same function, because I couldn't stop asking myself which was better (subjectively of course, I know which one has better fidelity), doing listening comparisons all the time... and I just want to enjoy music. Therefore, one of the two must go, and because of its versatility, I'm keeping the RME.
Ok, the Aurium, IMHO, is a good device: good deal of inputs and outputs, plenty of power, very good noise floor, (sorry, I don't have the spec, but with my AKG 701 at full volume without signal, which is 7 V and 3.6 W at 16 Ohm, I barely hear a very slight hiss, and my hearing is very good) and I guess some marginally audible distortion. The variable input gain and balance are also very nice add-ons. The fact that bypass function including the input selection works even in standby mode is very practical too, as it allows to use the device as an input selector, and therefore it can be placed in the middle of a system. Construction is very solid, it weights almost 3 kg, volume control feel is superb... I only have nice words for it.
How does it sound? Well, upper highs are a tad blurry I would say, sacrificing a bit of clarity in the very top end to remove some harshness. I always had the impression music when at a slower pace with this amp, which perhaps is another effect of the distortion, which is spec at < 0.1 % for the full spectrum. Is this just BS? Probably, but I prefer to be honest. One thing I did notice is that noise present on old recordings sounds sharper with the RME, due to better fidelity I guess, so with the Aurium it gets somehow masked or blurred, so it appears to be less. This is not a bad effect.
In summary, I would say it's a good device for those willing to spend some money on non perfectly transparent gear that adds a bit of salt and pepper.
It's a bit less than 4 years old and condition is perfect, I do think it's quite hard to tell this apart from a bran new one. After speaking with the manufacturer, which by the way are really nice people, I've have estimated the tubes have a remaining lifetime of about 3500 hours of the 5000 total hours they told me they last. The tubes are a pair of EH 6922, but since the topology is hybrid, they don't do all the job.
I have the original box and manual.
Here are some pictures:
Price tag is 750 €. I bought it for 1300 € and now it's a bit more expensive, around 1500 € I believe. I can send it to EU at buyer's expense.
It's a piece of equipment that I really like, but I'm not using it anymore, so there is no point on keeping it.
Some months ago I bought an RME DAC and connected the Aurium between the DAC and the active speakers. This setup however soon showed to be not very practical, because I couldn't use the auto load of EQ preset of the RME, because both the amp and the active speaker were on the same output. Besides, I satrted to get nuts comparing both headphone amplifiers. In no time I realized I wasn't prepared to have two devices that perform the same function, because I couldn't stop asking myself which was better (subjectively of course, I know which one has better fidelity), doing listening comparisons all the time... and I just want to enjoy music. Therefore, one of the two must go, and because of its versatility, I'm keeping the RME.
Ok, the Aurium, IMHO, is a good device: good deal of inputs and outputs, plenty of power, very good noise floor, (sorry, I don't have the spec, but with my AKG 701 at full volume without signal, which is 7 V and 3.6 W at 16 Ohm, I barely hear a very slight hiss, and my hearing is very good) and I guess some marginally audible distortion. The variable input gain and balance are also very nice add-ons. The fact that bypass function including the input selection works even in standby mode is very practical too, as it allows to use the device as an input selector, and therefore it can be placed in the middle of a system. Construction is very solid, it weights almost 3 kg, volume control feel is superb... I only have nice words for it.
How does it sound? Well, upper highs are a tad blurry I would say, sacrificing a bit of clarity in the very top end to remove some harshness. I always had the impression music when at a slower pace with this amp, which perhaps is another effect of the distortion, which is spec at < 0.1 % for the full spectrum. Is this just BS? Probably, but I prefer to be honest. One thing I did notice is that noise present on old recordings sounds sharper with the RME, due to better fidelity I guess, so with the Aurium it gets somehow masked or blurred, so it appears to be less. This is not a bad effect.
In summary, I would say it's a good device for those willing to spend some money on non perfectly transparent gear that adds a bit of salt and pepper.
It's a bit less than 4 years old and condition is perfect, I do think it's quite hard to tell this apart from a bran new one. After speaking with the manufacturer, which by the way are really nice people, I've have estimated the tubes have a remaining lifetime of about 3500 hours of the 5000 total hours they told me they last. The tubes are a pair of EH 6922, but since the topology is hybrid, they don't do all the job.
I have the original box and manual.
Here are some pictures:
Price tag is 750 €. I bought it for 1300 € and now it's a bit more expensive, around 1500 € I believe. I can send it to EU at buyer's expense.
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