Aurorasound VIDA phono preamp

The Aurorasound VIDA (for Vinyl Disc Amplifier) is already up there with the legendary phono preamplifiers! And contrary to what its appearance might suggest, there is nothing vintage about it! Like many benchmark analogue products, it comes from Japan.

It features two separate housings. The first one is a brushed aluminium block that accommodates the power supply. It stabilises and controls the left and right channels separately, both in voltage and current. A toroidal transformer and Shottky diodes are used. It is connected to the electronic section via a high quality locking multiple connector cable.

The RIAA section is housed in an aluminium box protected from electromagnetic interference and covered with a glossy varnished wooden box. It adds a vintage touch to the design. I personally like this choice! It makes it a distinctive product that stands out from the usually too standard competition. The front panel is very comprehensive for a 'simple' phono preamplifier: to the right, an orange push button mutes the output of the audio circuits. There are also five switching keys that respectively control: moving magnet or moving coil selection, high and low MC impedance, subwoofer filter, mono/stereo and activation of a demagnetising circuit.

The rear panel features three beautiful Rhodium RCA pairs: an MM input, an MC input and an output. The VI6 version is adorned with an additional 6-way MC variable impedance selector. It offers the choice between 12, 47, 120, 240, 470 and 1000 ohms. The standard version accepts MCs between 0.6 and 100 ohms. The internal circuits are of great quality and feature components of the same grade. We have Wima capacitors, Op Low noise amps, precision resistors and selected and paired transistors…

The most original feature is the use of two Lundhall transformers per channel. They process the RIAA curve with precision via the use of an LCR network. Also, no capacitor is used on the audio signal. Distortion and signal-to-noise ratio readings are outstanding. They match with - and sometimes exceed - the characteristics of devices worth 3 or 4 times the price of the Aurorasound Vida! 

AWARDS:

Stereo Times - Most Wanted - 2014 & 2016
Stereo Sound - Best buy - 2012, 2013 & 2014/2015
Audio Accessory - Audio Excellence - 2013 & 2015
Audio Technology MJ - Technology of the Year - 2012 & 2014
Analog - Grand Prix - 2013
Hi-Fi News - Highly Commended - 2013
Hi-Fi News - Editors' Choice
Audio Annual
HiFi Critic - Recommended
Qobuzissime
Haute-Fidélité - Benchmark