Copper Magazine · Issue 232 · A free PS Audio publication
Issue 232 From The Listening Chair

Allnic Audio’s L-9000 Preamplifier: Design and Engineering Innovation

Allnic Audio’s L-9000 Preamplifier: Design and Engineering Innovation

Copper has an exchange program with various publications including The Listening Chair, a reviewing and news organization for all things audiophile, home theater, and music. Here’s their look at the unique Allnic Audio L-9000 vacuum-tube preamplifier.

K.S. Park, the founder and designer of South Korea’s Allnic Audio, gravitates towards unusual designs that could be considered by others to be too difficult or expensive to bring to market. The L-9000 vacuum tube preamplifier is one example. Its OTL/OCL (output transformer-less/output capacitor-less) design uses no transformers in its single-ended signal path (the balanced paths have transformers). Its tube complement employs pairs of 6U8A, 12AU7 and 6080 tubes in the first, second and third gain stages, respectively, and the 6080s are directly coupled only via the single-ended signal path.

By the way, the blue box holds the L-9000’s unique 61-step volume attenuator, which is said to have fixed impedance and no channel unbalance at any volume level.

 The L-9000 preamplifier's engineering innovation is complemented by its distinctive design.

 

Its meters add a distinctive and functional touch.

 

The L-9000 is a true dual mono design.

 

The volume control features an oil-clutch, motorized, 61-step remote controlled attenuator.

 

 

All images courtesy of The Listening Chair.

Check out the latest from TLC on the web (www.thelisteningchair.net) and its YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@thelisteningchair_).

Also note TLC’s growing social media ecosystem, including its Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/217745678009888), where members from around the world show off their gear; and LinkedIn group (https://www.linkedin.com/in/howard-kneller/), Instagram (www.instagram.com/howardkneller/), Threads (www.threads.net/@howardkneller) and X (www.x.com/HowardKneller) pages.

More from Issue 232

What came first: Art or Music? A Conversation With Artist Jose Acosta
What came first: Art or Music? A Conversation With Artist Jose Acosta
Joe Caplan
Blow By Blow: The Jeff Beck Story: An Insightful Book About a Guitar Icon
Blow By Blow: The Jeff Beck Story: An Insightful Book About a Guitar Icon
Ray Chelstowski
Creed Over Camaraderie?
Creed Over Camaraderie?
B. Jan Montana
Chronicles of a Sound Pilgrim at the 2026 Montreal Audiofest
Chronicles of a Sound Pilgrim at the 2026 Montreal Audiofest
Hugues Morin
The Vinyl Beat: Summer Grooves
The Vinyl Beat: Summer Grooves
Rudy Radelic
Hibbing Hillbilly Dylan's Acoustic Rock
Hibbing Hillbilly Dylan's Acoustic Rock
Wayne Robins
View All Articles in Issue 232

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Allnic Audio’s L-9000 Preamplifier: Design and Engineering Innovation

Allnic Audio’s L-9000 Preamplifier: Design and Engineering Innovation

Copper has an exchange program with various publications including The Listening Chair, a reviewing and news organization for all things audiophile, home theater, and music. Here’s their look at the unique Allnic Audio L-9000 vacuum-tube preamplifier.

K.S. Park, the founder and designer of South Korea’s Allnic Audio, gravitates towards unusual designs that could be considered by others to be too difficult or expensive to bring to market. The L-9000 vacuum tube preamplifier is one example. Its OTL/OCL (output transformer-less/output capacitor-less) design uses no transformers in its single-ended signal path (the balanced paths have transformers). Its tube complement employs pairs of 6U8A, 12AU7 and 6080 tubes in the first, second and third gain stages, respectively, and the 6080s are directly coupled only via the single-ended signal path.

By the way, the blue box holds the L-9000’s unique 61-step volume attenuator, which is said to have fixed impedance and no channel unbalance at any volume level.

 The L-9000 preamplifier's engineering innovation is complemented by its distinctive design.

 

Its meters add a distinctive and functional touch.

 

The L-9000 is a true dual mono design.

 

The volume control features an oil-clutch, motorized, 61-step remote controlled attenuator.

 

 

All images courtesy of The Listening Chair.

Check out the latest from TLC on the web (www.thelisteningchair.net) and its YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@thelisteningchair_).

Also note TLC’s growing social media ecosystem, including its Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/217745678009888), where members from around the world show off their gear; and LinkedIn group (https://www.linkedin.com/in/howard-kneller/), Instagram (www.instagram.com/howardkneller/), Threads (www.threads.net/@howardkneller) and X (www.x.com/HowardKneller) pages.

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