My Rhea's new partner arrives today

Thanks Dan...your input is going to be very valuable to me as was Perfectionsit's so i awaite your comments. I have an ARC LS25 and I am thinking of the upgrade to the Calypso.

I have to say that I'm blown away by the one-box solution of the Aesthetix Janus. How do you like the classe/aesthetix combo Dan_ed? I'm looking at the BAT VK-250, but haven't figured it all out yet, you tried any other SS amps?

Hi Dan,

I can relate so much to your experiences with the BAT vs. Calypso....and the Callisto. I had a BAT 31SE (a phenomenol product) and it too threw a much bigger stage and did a more accurate portrayal of space than the Calypso in my system. But the Calypso allows so much more low level information, subtle queues in the performance, and greater dynamics in the upper frequencies. It is a very tough call to choose and ultimately it comes down to balancing with the rest of your system.

With my preferences being more in the areas of warmth/bloom/3D, the BAT was prefered. But once you hear the subtractive nature of the BAT vs. the Calypso, this lingers in the back of your mind. This all ended up being a moot point as I went with the Callisto which has all of the strengths of both and goes to another level in portrayal of space, dynamics and low-end extension and control.

The Calypso I have heard many times as a reference here is the one owned by A'gon member Jadem6 (JD). He has really maxed out the performance in his unit with tube rolling. I suspect this has much to do with the incredible resolution and openess that I have experienced with this model. I strongly suggest you contact him if you are interested in tube rolling advice. I have done a lot of experimentation of 6922, 12ax7 and EL34 tube rolling in the Callisto and the Io with various Telefunken, Siemens, Mullard, Ei vs. the stock Sovtek and could give you some details here. But I suspect JD's direct experience with your model would be more valuable.

Concerning phono stages, I had an identical experpience with the BAT P10 and the Io. Both were standard models, but for the $1k difference on the used market, the Io was in a completely different league (with stock Sovtek tubes) in the sense of dimensionality, decays, etc. This model loaded up with Telefunkens is pure magic. And in the case here with the Callisto/Io, as for you as with the Calypso/Rhea pair, it is no surprise these are incredibly musical products.

John

I was introduced to the Sovtek/Calypso tube pop at startup this afternoon. I won't go into what I mean by that. For those not familiar with the tube issues Aesthetix went through I'll refer you to the archives and Jadem6's excellant review of the Calypso. I usually turn my power amps on last so this is not something I'm all that concerned about. I have not heard any pops during play. Hey, that's pretty easy to solve with tube rolling but could be something that one has to account for $$ wise. Allison Krause is mesmorizing me right now.

Mimberman, the only other SS amps I've had were Rotels. I'm pretty happy with the 301's, very cost effective too as you can get these for around $2500 these days. They are very transparent and power my Aerial 10t's effortlessly. They allow me to hear any change I make to my system. They are playing quite well with Calypso as they certainly do with the BAT. I've always had an itch to try tubed amps but not with these speakers. They just need way too much power to make them sing. I bet the Calypso would match well with a slightly warmer sounding SS. Just another way to tune a system. I was tempted by a Janus. If it sounds anything like the Calypso/Rhea combo it is one hell of bargain.

Hi John, I went back and re-read Jadem6's review of the Calypso. I am very greatful to early adopter such as him because I can benefit from their experiences. This is especially true with the unfortunate tube issues Aesthetix went through early on with these pre-amps. I have to say that I was somewhat intimidated by Jadem6's need to go to such a high priced tube to find the sweet spot. But to keep things in perspective I think he might also be needing to tame some of the digital edge from his Sony. That's just a guess on my part as I ofcourse haven't heard it. I did try my BAT D5SE with the Aesthetix and it still sounds very smooth so that's a plus. Since I listen mostly to my TT I think that I may also have an advantage with all those extra Rhea tubes in the signal path. I can't image what your Callisto/Io must sound like.

Dan,

I can assure you that JD's system does not at all have the digital edge that is prevalent in many other digital-based systems. I believe his Sony unit has gone through a few 3rd-party upgrades so this is not your average Sony unit anyway. The first time I took the Callisto Sig (it had the stock Sovtek tubes at that time) to his home, the sound was not at all forward nor fatiguing.

As for needing to spend a fortune on tubes here, there are many great Mullard and Telefunken pairs out there for less than $100. In fact I have bought quads of these tubes that comes down to $30-40 for each tube and these far exceed the stock Sovtek tubes in terms of resolution, tonal coherency and dynamics. But so far the most quiet 12ax7 I have tried is the Ei and these are only $15-20 a pair! I have 30 or so Tele 12ax7 tubes and none of them are as drop-dead quiet as the Ei's. The Ei's give up a little of the magic to the others in the Callisto & Io but so far, I find them to be the best tube for the Io's input stage. But this is only an issue on the first stage of the Io. I have not played with many Mullards in the Io yet.

JD and another local audiophile were at my home a couple weeks ago and we dropped in a prized pair of BugleBoy 12ax7's in the Callisto. I think we all agreed that the Mullards I had just swapped in replacing the Tele's "locked in" the music like the BugleBoy's had not. With the Mullard, the tonality was more coherent and the sound was more dynamic as well. The Tele's were definitely lacking resolution and presence in the upper frequencies....but I love these things in the Io. You just gotta try each one for yourself in your system.

I just loaned a few pairs to an A'gon member and he ultimately liked the Ei the most in his CAT preamp. If you'd like, I could loan you a pair of the Tele (smooth or ribbed) as well as a pair of Mullard. He ultimately kept the pair of Ei's so I do not have any extra here.

John