Hey Tom,
Love your efforts to upgrade audio listening. Keep it up! FYI (and you may already be aware of this) the original Aphex units were handmade tube pieces that used the nature of “Tubey Magic” to accentuate the even-order harmonics so pleasing to the human ear when they occur in music and voice.
The later solid state units just didn’t sound the same and are basically crap. Only a handful of original tube models survived and are rented out to studios or artists when they feel the need. Here’s a great link to an interview with Val Garay.
Cheers!
Paul K.
