Aesthetix Calypso vs ARC LS25 MK2

Hello all,

My apologies for not updating sooner, but the reason I have not updated to this point is because the unit had an unacceptable amount of tube noise with the stock Tesla 12ax7's
when I received it, one channel being louder than the other and audible from the sweetspot (13ft from speaks). You can imagine my dissapointment as I was under the impression that these tube issues were no longer a problem with this unit. I did listen to quite a bit of music over last weekend and was pretty impressed, but a fair assessment at this time would be unfair. I am still waiting on warranty replacement tubes which I should receive today. I also have in my possession GE Longplates, Brimar CV4004 and Tungsram 12ax7's on loan from my dealer to play with. I have briefly tried all three of these tube sets and they are all much quieter than the stock Tesla's, probably by 50-75%(whew!). But I feel it would be premature to comment on the pre or any of the tube sets at this time as I just haven't been able to spend any quality time with it. The one thing I will say is that it is an extremely beautiful piece of equipment and the build quality is second to none.
I will have my way with it this weekend and update on Sunday or Monday.

Rja, is WBL White Bear Lake? John, Artg and myself are in the western suburbs. We all met recently and have found a strong three way friendship. Speaking for myself, we would love to add another member to our group of friends. In fact we are about to begin a power cord shoot out on our three systems, maybe you would like to join. I have found having local Audiogon friends has brought this wonderful hobby to a whole new level of enjoyment. What a great world! Why don't you email me privately and I'll give you my phone number...
JD

PS, The bears is just a friend. He happens to love music so he and his friends (I collect bears) all love the music room. Besides it gives my someone to talk to. :>)

It's been about two weeks since the Calypso has been in my system, and IMO, it's a very close race between these two pre's. I'm sure some of you will think I'm nuts, but in my system and room, and to these ears, it's close. The Calypso does do many things better than the LS25, but not everything. Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to do a tube shootout. I did receive the Tesla warranty replacement tubes, one of which was noisy. But I was able to make a quiet pair between the original Tesla's and the warranty replacements. I ran all this past weekend with the Brimars installed. I'm not the greatest at throwing around esoteric audiophile terms, but I'll try to describe what I'm hearing. The Calypso definetly accels in the area of vocals, especially female vocals, which have never sounded so lush and realistic in my system. And I would say the Calypso wins in the area of soundstaging and imaging. Also, I'm able to hear small details in the music much better, micro and macro? I havent decided if it's smoother or any easier on the ears just yet. The one area I feel the LS25 is beating it in is bass, believe it or not. It's not so much a lack of bass, but it's different, and I can't quite put my finger on it. But in all fairness, my LS25 has who knows how many hours on it, compared to maybe 150 hours for the Calypso. Perhaps this is playing a part? Also, I havent spent any serious time with the other tube sets. I also have not tried any iso devices under this pre, although I run my LS25 on it's stock footers. The only iso device I have are Daruma III's under my cdp (I'm waiting on a Nueance platform for cdp). A buddy is going to let me try his Aurios Pro's under the pre. I'm using a 3' Harmonic Tech Pro AC-11 pc, and I'm wondering if the Calypso may benefit from a different pc. And I have not attempted to reposition my speaks at this time (although, this has proved futile in the past). I guess what I'm saying is that I'm on the fence with this as they are both great pre's, IMO. In fact, it's so close that this is gonna take me weeks to nail down and I'm not ready to part with the LS25 at this point.
I may even have to pull the stupid TV off the top shelf of my rack and do a pre shootout.
I wanna like the Calypso more than the LS25, it's a thing of beauty, love the numeric volume readout, display dimmer/off, standby mode, and it's easy to service, i.e., change tubes.

I'd really like to hear commentary and/or suggestions from other Calypso owners...

I've finally ended up with the Calypso after a 2 year preamp search. I find it to be the most neutral and revealing preamp to date, with very good air, detail, and presence. Price was not an object in my search as I have owned a Hovland HP100, BAT 50SE, Levinson 32, Conrad 17LS, and Sierra K2 within the past two years. All of the Aesthetix dealers I spoke to prior to purchase indicated that the Calypso was 98% of the Callisto in performance. I don't know this to be true, but, each could have taken considerably more money from me had they said differently - and they knew this. All of these preamps including the Calypso were compared to the ARC LS25 at a friend’s house who previously owned one. We both found the Calypso to be considerably better than the LS25 in all areas. As far as rankings, my friend prefers the Sierra, I prefer the Calypso. We both agree that the rest rank as follows: 1) Calypso/Sierra 2) Hovland 3) Conrad 4) ARC 5) BAT 6)Levinson. Bottom line is that the Calypso is in the upper realm of current preamps and there are many reviews that back this up. I use the Aurios Pro's under the preamp and a Supra Lorad PC. Put a set of Tungsram's in (all sockets), and you will find the music.

Tgun5, thanks for your input, very interesting, and I'd like to ask you some questions...

1) Was the LS25 MK1 or MK2? The thread title says MK2, but I own a Mk1.

2) Did you find there was a lengthy break-in period & approximately how long?

3) I have Tungsram 12ax7's here that I will be test driving this weekend.
I was under the impression that only the 12ax7's were the important tubes.
Are the 6922's also critical in your opinion?