Aesthetix Rhea signature phono stage

The other change in the signature is the size of output caps - went from 2.0 uF to 4.0uF. I concur with Lewm on the effect of caps on sound - it's substantial. The sig uses DynamiCap which isn't too hard to improve on.

Thanks for the responses, anyone compared a Rhea with a Manley Chinook or an Allnic phono?

lewm
powered down means turned off completely. I actually unplugged it from the wall as well.
this recommendation is straight from the Canadian distributor.

sbrown, Yes, I noticed that they seem to have replaced all the 2uF output capacitors with 4uF values.  I got this from poring over the photos on their website.  Thus I cannot see whether truly ALL the 2uF caps are replaced with 4uF values.  Perhaps you know. 
thekong, The in-circuit coupling capacitors are all 0.22uF values and the output coupling capacitors (which value is used in the Janus both between its phono section and its linestage and at the output of the linestage) are all 2uF in the "plain" Janus, and as noted appear to be 4uF in the Signature versions of both the Janus and the Rhea.

I used TFTF Vcaps to replace all the 0.22uF values, which is a huge upgrade over the REL metallized polypropylenes in the plain version of the Janus.  Then I used some polystyrene film and foil capacitors, made by the now defunct PASCAP company (Pacific Audio Supply), that I happened to have in my stash, to replace all the 2uF REL polyprops in the Janus.  Those PASCAPs are positively wunderbar.  I originally purchased 36 of them (mixed, 200V and 250V ratings) to build the needed capacitance for a speaker crossover which I later tore out of said speaker.  I quite accidentally found out how good they are in electronics by installing a few in an old Quicksilver preamplifier.  It's very difficult now to find polystyrene film and foil capacitors in values above 1uF.  I don't quite know why Aesthetix chose to increase the output capacitor values to 4uF in the Signature types; the bass is really excellent in quality and thunderous in the refurbished Janus. But hey, more capacitance can't hurt.

Why the (doubled) 4uF Dynamicaps? Perhaps one could ask Jim White, as I am sure he had his reasons. I know for a fact, they listened to many components before choosing these. When I upgraded my Calypso and Rhea from standard issue to Signature, the sonic rewards were really quite apparent. Actually, the bass did get better in depth and weight but, more importantly (to me), tone or timbres became more fleshed out and I would swear the sound stage also widened and deapened with improved transparency. But I would stress that the upgrade was an extremely balanced approach and more thoughtful than merely cap up-sizing. I understand the reluctance to spending this kind of fortune (4k Signature), yet I also understand value and genius in outstanding engineering. And I believe these components have proven over time to be a very good sonic value. No buyer’s remorse here.

*Could not agree more with previous comments about powering down for 20 minutes minimum before a tube swap. Both Glenn and Jim have been  adamant about this procedure! Do it or pay the price.