I have to be the dissenter here. I had one of the Expressive Technologies in my system for about a month, auditioning it against two high end (traditional) phono stages. I was using two turntables, a Versa Dynamics and a Basis Mk4 with Graham arm. The cartridges were the Benz Ruby 2 and the Koetsu Rosewood Platinum Signature.
The first of the two traditional phono stages was the EASE Magnum Phono which was the final version of the Counterpoint 9 by Michael Elliott, before the demise of Counterpoint and the birth of Aria Audio.
The other phono stage was the Aesthetix Io in it's stock original form with non Signature electronics, caps and wire, and with a single power supply. This was before experimenting with NOS tubes. (This was the dead stock original version).
The EASE Magnum was clearly preferred by everyone who auditioned my system, including myself. The EASE used a FET in the first stage which should have helped tip the scale in favor of the Expressive, but the EASE scored lower distortion and more importantly, much less "tizzy" tonal balance and perhaps slightly less dynamics.
The Aesthetix Io beat both of these producing the most detail, the largest and deepest soundstage and with a sense of ease and liquidity while (slightly) exceeding the dynamics of the Expressive. Dynamics and gain are by far the strongest suit of the Expressive, at the expense of natural tonal balance and color.
I would describe the Expressive as sounding "audiophile" and contrasty, but in a nasty way. The transformer could be effected greatly by it's proximity to other electronics, including all motors.
Even in the most ideal position, it got beat up badly by the Io. That's why I returned the Expressive and bought my first Io.
The Io was later upgraded to dual supplies and NOS tubes and I though it not possible to be any better. That is, until the Io Signature version was released. This ultimate version with premium parts, dual supplies and NOS tubes is clearly in a class all it's own.
Aesthetix is available in 240 Volt, making it a practical choice for Germany. I believe Musical Surroundings is working on setting up a distributor and warranty station in Germany, perhaps through Clear Audio.
Good luck in your quest for excellence.
