Operational Manual
3489-24 Kitagata. Iida-shi, Nagano 395-0151. Japan
iv
Thank You
For choosing the Almarro A318B Integrated
Amplifier.
You will be amazed by the performance of this
unit, hand-made in Japan with passion and
love, to high performance audio.
With Almarro, you will discover an exceptional
sound and the uncompromising quality of the
product.
Our Philosophy
We measure success by the way our equipment
sounds. We do not make any compromises
when it comes to the quality of sound.
We do not use boutique audio parts. We prefer
industrial parts from big companies readily
available and reliable. This results in products
of high quality rather than exotic parts and
overpriced material.
We do not build our amplifiers for specific
tubes- we use the right tubes for the design.
While Almarro equipment may look simple it
performs well beyond the look and price
range. This is something more and more
people are finding out about and attest to.
Each Almarro product is fully tested to ensure
that it is the best it can be.
A Little Bit of History
Tubes ruled the audio world during the Golden Age
of Hi-Fi (1937-1950). It was the time of Acrosound,
Dynaco, H.H. Scott, Fisher, McIntosh, and Thorens
to name just a few.
The Bell Labs invented transistors in 1947.
The consumer market started replacing tubes with
transistors at 1950's. By 1970 the replacement had
been almost completed (with the exception of some
guitar amps) and the Golden Age of Hi-Fi came to the
end. Building audio equipment with advanced circuit
board technology was cheaper and quicker. During the
80's, just a few boutique tube amplifiers were being
made. They were very expensive and were
manufactured in very low quantities. Solid state
however was unable to deliver better sound in spite of
many claims and better specifications than tubes.
What happened back then seemed like a miracle.
At the time when solid-state audio had become
predominantly used around the world in Japan the
tube audio not only managed to survive but also had
become part of audio culture. While the consumer
market was quickly adopting a new solid stage
technology a few very talented and ambitious Japanese
designers had started the resurrection of the tube
amplifiers. During this time Japanese engineers re-
discovered that SE (Single Ended) amplifiers can
sound beautiful and musical.
Once again the most technologically advanced nation
impressed the world by revolutionizing high-end
audio, “going back to the future” by reinventing
technology and returning to it’s original roots!
