Preamp for MA1 amp

wondering if anyone here knows how the MA-1 MkII, fully tweaked, with phono stage, compares to the MA1 MkII line stage only with an aesthetix io phono stage. i own an io and am considering the MA-1 and wonder if i should sell the io (which i truely love) and get the internal MA1 phono instead.

as the io is 24 tubes and 2 boxes the real estate savings would be considerable. but which would sound better?

thanks,

sorry, i meant the MP-1 preamp, not the MA1, which is the amp.

Mike, you might want to look at the thread on Audio Asylum (see URL below) where Philip O'Hanlon tells of lending his Io to a friend who has an Atma-Sphere MP-1 preamplifier (next model up from the MP-3) and MA-1 amplifier. The friend so much preferred the phono stage of the Io that he has decided to sell the MP-1 and get an Io with volume controls and second switched input (eliminating any separate linestage). I spoke with Philip recently and he says plans are still in motion, but they are waiting for the soon-to-be released "Signature" version of the Io.

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/general/messages/114498.html

Jkubina - I wish I could, but I don't know. I wrote to Ralph Karsten when I saw an MP-1 for sale being described as "fully optioned" with a retail price of $10,000 since this didn't match what I had seen previously about the MP-1. Ralph's reply was simply that the price for a fully optioned MP-1 would be nearly $12,000 and that the seller's asking price would be "a steal." He did not elaborate in his reply and I never pursued it.