A New Contender for State of the Art: Allnic Preamp and Phono
.jpg "Allnic H-4000 Linestage Preamplifier")
Competition for American manufacturers from Asia keeps getting stiffer. Japan has been a longtime contender. Now Korea is getting in the act, not just with the Hyundai and LG, but also in the audio sphere. Who knew?
Now I do. The gregarious David Beetles, the Canadian distributor of Allnic and head of Hammertoneaudio, recently sent me the new Allnic H-4000 preamplifier and L-3000 phono stage to sample. It turned out be a fascinating experience.
These two products are the creations of one Kang Su Park, formerly of the firm Silvaweld. Now Park has returned to the audio wars with a vengeance. His new company offers a battery of products of tremendous value and performance. What sets his creations apart from most others is his return to an old technology: a reliance on hand wound inter-stage transformers, which are driven by military stock tubes. Park’s reliance on transformers means that there are no capacitors or resistors in the signal path. The result is an extremely quiet and pure sound.
The L-3000, which lists for $10,900 is the most flexible phono stage I’ve encountered. It offers four inputs, multiple gain settings up to 72db, and a variety of loading options. Both gain and loading are adjustable via a clearly marked knob towards the rear of the unit. It also has a button for inverting phase. Nice touch. The fit and finish of the units, as you’ll see from the photos, is impeccable.
The killer of the two units is the phono stage. It’s the quietest and most transparent one that I’ve encountered, including solid state. There is simply no noise, unless you have bat hearing. The L-3000 sounds very smooth and detailed. The treble is extremely airy and filigreed. The most unique feature is that each note sounds as though it has its own power supply. No instrument overshadows another. Coupling the phono stage with the Allnic preamplifier, which has five inputs, brings another level of resolution and transparency. The sound is simply immaculate. Once again, the lack of a noise floor is quite beguiling. You’ll hear the needle rustling in the groove between tracks, and no more. This is transparency to the source, that’s for sure.
Indeed, the Allnics, in their own way, make it sound as though less is more. No grit, no hash, no buzz, no nothing. The preamp doesn’t quite seem to have the dynamics of some of the big tubed preamplifiers. Is that because it’s transformed-coupled? I’m not sure. But it boasts a liquidity and precision as well as black backgrounds that I’m not sure is exceeded by any other unit. What I found most exciting about Allnic is that Mr. Park has discovered a way to update old technology and make it sound as modern and pristine as anything out there. These are very special pieces. If you can get the chance to demo one, you won’t regret it.
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Comments
Interesting pieces!
JH, what's the minimum loading on the cartridge?
What is the rest of the system? For $10,900.00 on the phono stage alone, you would think that the system must be very very high performance?
Gain goes as low as 47K.
Spending 10k for unit coming from unknown company from Korea...C'mon guys
What a load of marketing crap. How do these guys get writing jobs? I've heard these so called wonder pre-amps at CES. What a bunch of blah blah. This writer is suprisingly clueless. Gain goes as low as 47K- need I say more?
It's too cheap for me. I couldn't stand using a phono preamp that cost only $10,900. What would the neighbors think? They'd think I didn't care about vinyl any more, and that I'd fallen on hard times. I don't want to display such poverty. Plus, the Allnic looks too well built. For $10,900 I don't see how they can afford such construction. Are they only using Korean laborers that get paid as much as GP MD's in America? Anyone knows you need to use solderers who are paid what Corporate lawyers charge. You can't solder really poorly for less than $400/hr. For $10,900 I expect shoddier construction, so that the piece will fail or blow up at some point.
Although the Allnic has one thing going for it. Like a famous line in _Stereophile_ magazine about a $30,000 amplifier, it has "a surprisingly amount of empty space inside the case." I'm only paraphrasing. But the simpler the circuit, the fewer the parts, the more empty space, the less money in my bank account, that's the way I like it. So thanks but no thanks. I'll wait for a photo preamp with a more sensible price, say something in the $47K range. And maybe built in North Korea, by an even more untried company with an even less well known name. That way I will get even less of my money out of the thing when I go to sell after six months.
It just makes more sense to have less of everything.
What a bunch of close minded idiots
Is that rust on the transformer in the power supply??
The boat must have leaked on the way over!!! The cost of shipping is apparently pretty high to pay for hull repairs.
Lots of comments based on squat.
Had a chance to listen to this phonostage in April at a friends place in Northern WA.
The Allnic H 3000 phonostage that we were listening to was very good indeed, sound and build qualatity is first rate.
Turntables used were Rockport and a Steve Dobbins Garrard 301.
Pre amp was a Dart Zeel.
Conclusion for me was very high value, great sonics and they are very well build.
Give them a listen as I have, then comment.
Am I clueless? I certainly hope not. It's a typo, my friend, as you know, I should have said loading. Anyway, the units are, as I said, worth auditioning. No more, no less.
You were asked clearly what the minimum loading was and you said 47K. Clueless. Indeed quite clueless like most online blah blah reviewers. Hype and nothing more. Bandwagon jumping at its most aethletic.
That thing is shine with nothing inside. All the money is in the case work. And you bring Mikel into this like that makes it a good piece... So you were part of the Patricia Barber and Amanda Mcbroom listening marathon? Oooh I hear more reverb on the Rockport versus the Dobbins... blah blah.
Really like your view. Some real matter's are discuss in here. Thanks for sharing with us. The information which you have provided in here in utterly important.
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Nick From Amaderblog
This is my third time visiting this review and while I would not normally waste my time with undue contraversy, I feel it's important to offer my opinion and experience with the Allnic product line. First off my Arc Ref 3 has been sold; replaced with the L4000 linestage and I have no regrets in doing this, despite some financial loss. I own the H3000 phonostasge and in listening to a half dozen or so high end analog sources in the $5000.00 to $35000.00 range - I am confident that I have found the "audio nirvanna" I have long been looking for. Interestingly enough, the best audiophile turntable turned out to be the "lesser" Technics Sp 10 Mk 2 - at approximately $5000.00. This was not a fully modded table - but it is now going through that process. Total system cost was about $50000.00 CDN, and it was superior to two hyper-expensive analogue systems I have had the pleasure of listening to. Interestingly enough, a large part of this winning combination was the Allnic Verito Z phono cartridge, and a mid to high end arm. And yes, I do own this cartridge as well.
Regarding Allnic, I have several firm beliefs:
A.) This is second best system I have ever heard - but by far the best in consideration of the price.
B.) I also had reservations about Allnic being new and relatively unknown - but I have never heard it in an optimized room or used with a truly world class speaker system. The true audipphile potential - (and/or synergy) - of Allnic has not been found to date. I do I predict that Albert Porter and Steve Dobbins will move quite far in this direction over the next year or so..
C.) It's great to share a valid and thought-provoking opinion for the benefit of us all. Unfortunately, if you don't know what you are talking about - and seek only to stir up contraversy - it is always better to keep your opinions to yourself. Kang Su Park is a humble and gifted designer and David Beetles is an accomplished audiophile and businessman. A kind and honest person who is a great pleasure to know.
Sincerely;
Bob Cameron
(An avid Allnic fan)
Am I clueless? I certainly hope not. It's a typo, my friend, as you know, I should have said loading. Anyway, the units are, as I said, worth auditioning. No more, no less.
<a href=http://www.erreauk.com>erreauk</a>
I have been watching this thread and have avoided posting, but I would like to weigh in regarding some of the comments
1. Those of you who are bashing the writer, he made a typo in responding to the loading question. He freely admits that. 'Nuf said
2. Bitter wine comes from sour grapes. Negative comments about something you have not heard for yourself are useless.
Until you have had a chance to listen to the L4000/H3000 in a real life setting (not a zoo like CES), I think it best to not make blanket statements
3. Mr. Park is a very gifted designer, and while YOU may not know about this "unknown company from Korea", it is a dedicated group of engineers and designers who have created a group of audio components with fit, finish, build quality, and the ability to convey music in a way unlike any other I have ever listened to. Allnic has been well known in Asia and Europe for quite some time, and is just making in-roads in North America. The NA distributor, David Beetles, of Hammertone Audio is a true gentleman and audiophile, with a great set of ears. He would not put his reputation on the line if he didn't think the Allnic products were something very special indeed.
4. I have been living with both the H3000 and the L4000 for about a month now, and have had a number of people whose ears I trust in my listening room (all analog listeners) and they have all said it is the finest phono stage they have ever heard. What is it lacking? A noise floor. It doesn't have one. It is the quietest tube based system I have ever listened to, ultra resolving, regardless of volume, enormous dynamic swings, layered soundstage front to back. The ability to follow instrument lines even during the most complex orchestral passages is, IMHO, without peer. Disclaimer: there are several SOTA phono stages I have not heard that may be as good.
5. Is it the price that has you nay sayers all worked up? Yes it is expensive. State of the art is expensive and this product is state of the art. The Allnic L4000 and H3000 are, for me, the perfect match for my vinyl playback system (Walker Proscenium Gold Signature TT/Bluelectric Magic Diamond cart, Kharma loudspeakers). The admission price is steep my friends, but the rewards make the ROI perfectly logical. For the record, The L4000/H3000 are the flagship products in the line-up. Allnic makes two other phono stages that fit almost every audiophile budget. I myself also have the entry-level H1200 phono stage (I got that before the H3000). It impressed me in a way NO OTHER PRODUCT AT THAT PRICE POINT has. The H1200 has many of the family of attributes as the other phono stages, most notable again, being the low noise floor.
6. Several other audiophiles whose ears and opinions I trust (two mentioned above) plus a few others, have committed to the Allnic products for their systems. I feel very fortunate to be ahead of the curve on a family of products that are going to be as well known in NA as they are in Europe and Asia, and as Mr. Heilbrunn pointed out, they are contenders for state of the art.
7. See No. 1 above. Ask questions about the sound of the units under review. If you want to critique writing style and typos, post at a literary forum.
I second Joe G.'s comments, all of them. I, too, own the L-4000/H-3000 combination. While the rest of my system is more modest than Mr.G's (Technics SP10 MKII, Allnic Verito cartridge in a one-off magnetic bearing arm, Moscode 401HR, Ambience Ref 1600 speakers & twin HSU subs) and parts of which may be subject to change at some point in the future, I'm not shopping for a phono-pre or line pre again for a long time, maybe never.
I could go on - I have a few things to say about jingoism and parochialism, but I don't want to raise the vocabulary bar for the peanut gallery.