My Rhea's new partner arrives today

Dan,

I have not compared the Tele smooth to the ribbed. Each time I have gotten more Tele's, I have tried them in the Io's input stage hoping they are super quiet like the Ei's, but so far such a quad (or even a pair) of Tele's has not crossed my path. So I have simply replaced the stock tubes with the newly arrived Tele's and enjoyed the improvement with no attention to which type of Tele it is. I guess I will have to do this next time I have an itch to tinker with the tubes. If you are interested, I could loan a pair of each to you.

And one more thing: I have tried the Amperex 6922 in the Callisto and the Io and this tube just does nothing for me. It was lifeless and in fact a bit fatiguing. I always prefered the RAM and Sovtek tubes to this in the ARC LS5 that I ran with for years as well. YMMV. But oh how sweet the Mullard 6922s are in the Callisto and in the CAT amps.

John

Today I'm posting some early Calypso tube rolling results. I tried a pair of Ei 12ax7's but the ones I have just didn't really sound that quiet although they are better than the stock tubes which are a pair of Teslovaks. Next I swapped in Tesla ECC803S. Much, much quieter than both the Ei's and Teslovaks. I have to stick my ear up to the speakers to hear any noise Very good dynamics and decent imaging. A nice improvement but not much different than the Ei, just quieter. Then came a pair of Tung-Sol 12ax7. Just as quiet as the Tesla but the details, dynamics and image resolution are a real big improvement over all of the tubes I've tried so far. The soundstage is deeper with the Tung-Sol. I could be happy with this tube. This combination of the Rhea and Calypso is quieter than with the BAT VK50SE with just changing two tubes. This tube may be a real good candidate for the V1, V2 positions in the Rhea. Still waiting the arrival of the Tele's and Amperex I bought the other day.

As for the 6922, I am trying a Tesla PCC88 but it is too soon to give a decision on them.

>>Dan, I have not compared the Tele smooth to the ribbed<<

I hope the ladies aren't reading this.
:-))

Thanks Stanhifi! Humor is always welcome and even more so since tonight I'm full of Buffalo chicken wings and Jack 'n coke!

I hope folks are still getting something useful from my fumbling about here. After scanning through different thread here and on AA it seems I'm probably way behind most of you guys that own Rheas and/or Calypsos. I suppose if things get too boring we could always start arguing over what is "the best" tube or cartridge to match with Aesthetix gear. I think it goes without saying that I'm right and you guys are all wrong!

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Dan ed,
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Try Jack (Black) and Club Soda (in a tall glass) in lieu of Coke and let me know if you hear an improvement it does taste better).
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Rgds,
Larry
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