Aesthetix Callisto and Io Eclipse

The new Io and Eclipse were prototypes. The real ones will be made soon. I think Jim said they wont be available until March. He uses better parts in these and the cosmetics are different. By the way the less expensive Io Signature cannot be updated to these.

Thank you.
The price quoted on the Stereophile page is $22,000 for the Callisto Eclipse with dual power supply and remote. Adding the Io Eclipse would put the price into Kondo Audio Note Japan territory (KSL-M77). I'm curious as to which sounds better.

We will have final pricing on the Eclipse versions of Io and Callisto soon. All versions of the Io and Callisto, regardless of vintage, are fully upgradeable to Eclipse!

Thank you,

Jim White
Aesthetix

Can anyone who has heard the new units describe the sonic differences between the current Callisto and Io Signature MkII versions and the new Eclipse versions? Also, other than the use of the new capacitors, what has changed to improve these units? As an Io Signature MkII with two power supply chassis owner, I want to learn about potential improvements and associated cost.

We will have final pricing on the Eclipse versions of Io and Callisto soon. All versions of the Io and Callisto, regardless of vintage, are fully upgradeable to Eclipse!

Thank you,

Jim White
Aesthetix

I knew this was the case, but refrained from responding to Jwm's claim of "no upgrade path," as I did not want to be the one who drove everyone over to Aesthetix before Jim could even get parts and metal in hand.

Now that Jim's let the cat out of the bag, I'm off the hook :^).

Casaross, regarding:

Can anyone who has heard the new units describe the sonic differences between the current Callisto and Io Signature MkII versions and the new Eclipse versions? Also, other than the use of the new capacitors, what has changed to improve these units? As an Io Signature MkII with two power supply chassis owner, I want to learn about potential improvements and associated cost

I can't quote cost, but can say without reservation that the upgrade parts in the Aesthetix Eclipse models are a significant improvement.

Parts required for upgrade path depend on the vintage of your Aesthetix. There could be need for new transformers, resistors, caps and even the chassis base (pre-remote version and remote version), in addition to the new Eclipse metal.

Performance advantages are improved bandwidth, especially noticeable in the high frequencies while lowering distortion and increasing dynamics and resolution. Resolution is dramatically improved without the penalty of "glare' or "in your face" artifacts that frequently accompany high end audio upgrades.

In other words, these improvements maintain the natural and believable listening experience that existed for these top line Aesthetix models before the upgrade. (Prettier girl but without additional attitude, unbelievable isn't it :^)

The new caps are made by the same designer who provided the previous caps, these are the next evolution in the line and Jim White (as always) is quick to take advantage to make Aesthetix's performance the best it can be.

As with all other upgrades in the Aesthetix line, there have always been a path for customers to follow so they can have the best without giving up what they've already paid for.

It's only one of many reasons Aesthetix has been my reference front end for more than 10 years.