Aria Integrated

"It’s this crystalline quality that makes the Aria a great amp for electronic music. 

On Sza’s excellent “Love Galore,” the monstrous bass is clean and deep and never overwhelms the other textures in the track, no matter how loud you turn it up. 

On more delicate material, however, like the Eno ambient albums or ECM offerings I often listen to at night, the amp excels at capturing quiet nuances. 

One of my more memorable listening experiences of late was walking through the bedroom and catching the Express Rising track “Daniel Fern.” I took a seat and listened to this dreamy, experimental Chicago ambient track, appreciating how haunting it was to hear delicate guitars and deeeep bass handled so effortlessly. It’s a cold, haunting track, but it suddenly felt hugely human and moving.

I’m thrilled with this amp and imagine I’ll be happy for a long time. 

The Aria is a stellar piece of gear and a great value for the money. I also think it’s underappreciated and under-reviewed. 

There is basically one professional review out there of the amp. Based on that review, Art’s enthusiasm, and the words of some dude on Pinkfish Media,

 I took a chance. Glad I did. Right now, I’m listening to a vintage pressing of Marvin Gaye’s “Trouble Man” soundtrack and loving how clean and futuristic this proto-instrumental hip-hop from 1972 sounds. 

I feel like I've finally unlocked the potential of my little Harbeths"