Aesthetix IO Eclipse

Sidekick_i,

I use the line input for a CD player. No problems at all. I will occasionally swap to a tuner on this input by switching the interconnect (I do so at the source, not at the Io). It would certainly be possible to have a source switching box precede the input to allow multiple device selection, but I don't have the need. The Io with alternate input is a purist's device, to be sure.

The only thing one might miss is that this set-up is not conducive to making recordings of one's LPs. There is no line level "Record Out" connection like one would find in a full function preamp (e.g., the Callisto). The only output is the variable output through the volume control to the amplifier. For me, this has been the only limitation and I'm pleased to accept that.

Since I listen principally to vinyl, and since adding a Callisto was not a financially practical option for me either, the Io with volume controls and high level input has been a perfect choice for me. It has given me one of the best phono stages available to optimize listening to my preferred source (vinyl), but doesn't restrict me from listening to a digital or other source when I choose.

The second power supply can be added later. There is a modification that has to be made both inside the head unit and inside the original power supply, but it is not major surgery. Glenn (Aesthetix's pre-eminent technician and master of customer support) has been known to step a good technician through making the change, or send the Io to the factory and they will make the changes, check out the unit and ship it back with the second power supply.
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By the way, when I was debating about the second power supply, the following it what Jim White told me *he* hears with the addition:

Adding the second supply improves the sound in the following ways:

.. Added space
.. Improved macro dynamics
.. Improved micro dynamics
.. Blacker backround
.. Greater ease to the sound, less strained

While this comment related to the Io Signature, I would expect it to hold true for the Io Eclipse as well.
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If one chooses the "Io with high level input" option, what is the signal path after the high level input jack on the Io? Is there an actual linestage section built in, or is it just passive? If the latter, then one must consider amplifier input sensitivity (does the CDP or other high level source output enough V to drive the amps, or does it require the added gain of a line stage?) and length of interconnects (if the Io is passive with high level inputs, then one should think about capacitance of the cables and input impedance of the amplifiers as factors that could affect frequency response).

Do you guys know what is the role of the 2nd PS chassis, if one chooses to acquire it? I mean to ask what part of the Io audio circuit is supplied by the second PS?

Lewm,

The Io with volume controls has an active stage following the volume controls. It is not passive.

The second PS chassis makes the Io fully dual mono. One PS chassis feeds the left channel and the second feeds the right channel, with no shared PS functionality anywhere. For what you can expect to hear with this fully dual mono option, see the comments from Jim White that I quoted above.
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All positive answers, in terms of the potential of the Io. I am rather surprised that the 2nd PS makes such a big difference; I would have thought that separate constant current sources and voltage regulators for each channel would be sufficient to max out the performance. Thx.