Sparkos Labs
American Company SparkoS Labs was founded on the idea that superior products are created through meticulous engineering, and that successful businesses are built through long term customer satisfaction. SparkoS Labs is the culmination of Andrew Sparks’ lifetime passion for audio, electronic design and engineering. Building from the humble beginnings in the 1990's in the loft of the family shed all the way up to the present day.
All SparkoS Labs products exist for one purpose: to create sound systems that render audio exactly as the musician & sound engineer intended. SparkoS Labs are deliberate, methodical, and precise in everything they do; for them the devil is in the detail.
SparkoS Labs began with the details by specialising in high end audio component design. By creating high quality discrete op amps, voltage regulators and power supplies SparkoS Labs built a following among DIY audiophiles and modders. Ultimately the success of the component design led to the creation of a hi-fi audio brand and the Aries Headphone amplifier & preamplifier.
Regardless of which of the two models you choose (Head-amp or Pre-amp), the core design is identical and entirely focussed on sound quality. Many hi-fi products have intricate casework, exotic materials and complicated software making up much of their price, not so here. The SparkoS Labs Aries headphone amplifier has all of its design built around the sound: discrete SparkoS Labs op-amps are employed all through the amp, mu-metal shielded toroidal transformer bookended by proprietary discrete voltage regulators, and an advanced custom stepped-attenuator volume solution that uses reed relays for ultimate transparency are all parts of the sum that equal the best headphone amp Its micro-controller even goes into sleep mode when not in use to avoid unwanted noise.
A pair of rotary knobs combine with a customisable touchscreen front-panel display to allow complete control. Customisation extends to switching the two knobs functions over (for lefties) and complete control of the colour palette for the touch screen. A nice touch for the “Bluemeter” users among us or to match to other LED or screens in the system.
