Atma-sphere MP-1 vs Mark Levinson 32

I will dispense with input gain controls and even a remote for the pure sonic virtues. I will look into The Aesthetix and pursue further the MP-1. Again, I appreciate this help.
Rushton, what single-ended i/cs are you running between the Io and the MA2? Unless I misunderstand him,if you read what Ralph writes and I thought I heard him say it, the true balanced attributes of the AS system are a big strength(?)and not to use it is under-using his design. Am I wrong?
In any event, I will be interested to hear how you find the sound when you try running balanced i/cs. So if you were I and you could spend close to 10K (what I hope to get for the ML)on a preamp (hopefully, used), given my requirements - balanced design and all the sonic virtues that the ML (minimally) lacks - transparency, speed, soundstaging, vibrancy and coherence as well as great strength in the upper midrange - which would you buy:)? (I dont know the cost of any of the preamps mentioned except the MP-1, BAT and Lamm)

Springbok, my choice, based on my listening priorities*, would be the Aesthetix Callisto Signature. If you do a search here in Audiogon you will find a number of posts from Albertporter praising this unit. Jonathan Valin (TAS) uses the Callisto in his reference system and has very high praise for it (Golden Ear Award). I have the Aesthetix Io Signature phonostage, with volume controls and second power supply option, running straight into my amplifiers and I continue to be amazed with it's sonic capabilities. The Callisto line stage is of the same quality: superb in all the areas you list.

The standard Aesthetix Callisto MkII lists for $9,000; the Signature version for $11,000 (a worthwhile upgrade). The second power supply option would add another $3,000 but it can be added at any time down the road. For description and pricing, see Aesthetix's web site:
http://www.musicalsurroundings.com/aesthetix.html

...* You can read my listening priorities, to determine if they are close to yours, at the end of my review of the Walker Proscenium Gold Signature Turntable. The Aesthetix gets to all of my list.
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Rushton,
Thanks for your reply. I printed your review, took it to bed, as it was 2 am, and half an hour later was sitting bolt-upright, staring at the blackness of night, my heart pounding and my mind filled with rue - how could I have thrown away 22 years of LPs and just listened to a shiny disc when Audio nirvana is clearly in the vinyl and can be brought out by what sounds to be a Houdini of craftmanship!
So not only did you answer my question, directly, about your preamp choice, but made me wonder about my insanity in my choice of source...........that's how compelling, reasoned and passionately articulate your review was. You wrote, IMHO, the best review I have ever read on Audiogon and furthermore gave pause to my misconception (clearly) that reality can be achieved closely by digital sources. I wait with baited breath until some A'goner takes the Walker turntable and in the same room, with the same electronics, compares it to a digital source. (But you need to be there....:) I doubt it will happen.
You are also extremely fortunate to have a partner who shares your passion so. Good luck to you and enjoy what you have indubitably earned - you sound closer to sonic happiness than anybody I have read about and that, after all, is what we are in this hobby/mania for..............

Springbok, thank you for your kind words about my comments on the Walker Proscenium turntable. Lloyd Walker has shared with us a stunning achievement.

As to the LP vs. CD (and SACD for that matter) comparison, this has been done by people whose ears I trust and who have made an investment in both high quality LP playback and high quality CD playback, among them our own Audiogon contributors Mike Levigne and Albert Porter. Here are just two comments they've posted recently on their experience. If you search the archives you'll find others.

Mike Lavigne - just yesterday in a thread about SACD versus vinyl:
http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/general/messages/331584.html

Albert Porter, who has the Walker Proscenium turntable and Aesthetix Io and Callisto - see his comment to my Walker turntable post:
"Your review should help people understand why I've raved about my Walker Proscenium so many times and why digital is so difficult for me."
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ranlg&1083208495

I continue to find vinyl playback more satisfying than the best CD systems I've heard (SACD gets closer). But, high quality vinly playback demands a commitment to get everything working well together and properly tuned, and the highest quality playback is not inexpensive (and neither is the highest quality digital playback). My tradeoff is that I don't buy some of the newer performances of works I would enjoy having because they are only available on CD and I choose to reserve that money for more LPs. :-)

Good luck in your search for a new line stage. I hope you will share with us what you decide on.

With kind regards,

Hi Rushton, Thanks for the kind words.

I thought I might point out FWIW that in the last four years or so since you heard an MP-1 a lot has changed (we got a Golden Ear Award too...), as you might expect. The Aesthetix gear continues to be fine equipment, but I recommend anyone considering such gear to do a proper comparison before making a purchase.

The regulator in the older preamps was a large variable in the sound of the unit. Despite my appreciation of tubes, we are now running a solid state regulator that has performance that is two orders of magnitude better then the older tube regulator, which could fail while the preamp would appear to be running normally. The result is that many of the older MP-1s out there (including the one you heard) may not have or may not be performing according to spec. The new regulator has eliminated that issue, and also sounds a lot better regardless. There are a host of other changes as well, in the phono section, line stage and the power supply.

Like you I find LPs to consistantly outperform SACDs and DVDAs. I am still hoping that the newer digital formats will finally bring home the bacon, but it seems that won't be happening anytime soon. Additionally the lack of new titles is hard to swallow. I have a white label promo press of Take Five (not that I listen to it much anyway), why would I want an SACD of the same recording, now 40 years old? I would be a little more convinced if the Thin Red Line soundtrack was on SACD, but far more likely to buy it if it was on LP instead. Just nothing for it!