Aric Kimball is an audio component designer and is a self-made audiophile. It is seldom to come across an audio designer who has eluded the radar among the audiophile community. His father somewhat inspired Aric to take a journey into the audio universe. Aric told me that his dad owned a Pioneer Rack system back in the 1970s that Aric had admired. Aric wanted to own one of his own. That compass point ignited his passion for ultimately designing his gear — a big step from the glitzy look of the Pioneer Rack system. I used to sell those in my previous life as an audio salesperson. Oh, those meters!