Many phono stages imprint a certain something on the sound. We thought that the Aurorasound stayed clear of such interpretative behavior. It was neither clinically stark nor comfortingly warm. Another classical rediscovery from our own library was the Martin Jones and Richard McMahon recording of Rachmaninoff's Pieces for 2 pianos Volume 2.  We also enjoyed the monaural 1963—that toggle just had to be tested—recording of Edouard Commette playing Bach Preludes, Toccatas and Fugues on the Saint Jean organ in Lyon.


Onto more modern works, why not Kraftwerk with The Man Machine - yes, the one with the earworm "Wir Sind Die Roboter"? There were no problems with any of the many electronic sound devices. More subtle was Harry Sacksioni on Gitaar where his Martin and Guild guitars had the right size and shape to not suffer unnatural reconstruction in the room. The raw voice of Joe Cocker on the 1982 issue Sheffield Steel matched wonderfully with the legendary rhythm section of Sly and Robbie. This album has a special feeling about it; so easy and relaxed. And with the Vida at work, this tell-tale atmosphere flowed generously into the room. Lots of atmosphere but of a different kind was to be found with Antony and the Johnsons' The Crying Light. This minimalist album with quite basic melodies and understated arrangements leaves plenty of room for the lyrics. And room they need as these words are not the most lightfooted. Antony's unique voice blossomed in our room and sounded so natural that the midrange capabilities of the phono stage had to be really good.

Laurie Anderson with Mister Heartbreak was another recording with many electronic instruments. Playing this 1983 LP set the spotlight on the LF response. This bass was taut and grippy. We could add the two Zu Submission subs without issue and the bottom octave rolled into the space here and there with real thunder. What a great album this still is!


In conclusion, your two tube fanciers here were very impressed by what Karaki-san has designed and built up with just transistors. Fortunately there's a tendency for current LP releases to differ from the CD and streaming releases of the same recording. The latter two are prone to dynamic compression whilst the analog version rejoices in the full dynamic headroom. With a phono stage like the Vida, all of vinyl's hidden treasures are revealed fully and out in the open yet the phono stage itself stays courteously in the background like the perfect butler with white gloves.


Incidentally, the Vida phono stage is available in various versions like monoblocks, without the selectable 6 low-input impedance options and with balanced inputs.


Aurorasound website
European distributor's website