Aesthetix Calypso Line stage question.....


The review in TAS on this unit was a rave! I have the Rhea and love it quite a bit. My line stage is the ARC LS25 mkl. There are , supposedly two features that the Calypso does not have that the ARC has: MONO and BALANCE (although the review says the Calypso has balance)? My first question:
1) Anyone one compare both of these units face to face...err....I mean ear to ear?
2) How much do you miss without a mono switch? I have some mono records I use the switch on the LS25. What do you do with the Calypso??
3) Did Aesthetix introduce a balance control on the newer unit?

Thanks all!!
rwd

Showing 1 response by bigtee

The balance control is located on the remote only(not on the unit.) The display will show two sets of levels when it is utilized.
I have owned my unit since July and absolutely love it. It is quiet and presents incredible soundstaging, depth and harmonic richness(instruments sound real.)Voices are about as good as I have heard.
I listened to the ARC Reference II and I personally thought the Calypso held its own. The ARC seemed to impart a touch of forwardness in the mids that seemed to spotlight voices a touch too much (even though the ARC sounded pretty dang good!) I thought it outperformed the BAT51se and certainly(by a wide margin) the ARC 16. I never compared it to the ARC 25 but would assume the comparison with the Reference II was enough.
I previously used a Audible Illusions L-2 with a mono switch but I have never missed it.
The rest of my system consists of Vandersteen 3a Sigs. w/ a pair of 2wq subs, an Ayre V5x using a modified Sony xa777es for reference.