Aesthetix Io Sig vs Manley Steelhead-opinions pls

I checked the archives but wasn't able to find anything of relevance. I too am interested in hearing the opinions of those with extensive experience of both units.

Thanks Jafox! I'd like to get the Aesthetix 6-box combo but first I'll have to move my Atma-Sphere MP-1 mkIII.

Lewm,
The MP-1 is the best preamp that I've ever owned.

I've never had an Io in my system but I have lived with a borrowed Callisto Signature (one power supply) for a couple of months. The Callisto does three things better than any linestage that I've heard and these three things are very important to me:

1. huge soundstage: the all-important 'fore-edge' of the soundstage is actually behind me(!) on most recordings. Many linestages present great width and depth but the real magic comes with 'fore-depth'. It 'energizes the room' better than any linestage that I've heard.

2. ambient detail: it presents an incredible amount of information in the air around and well beyond the performers.

3. action: sound from images propels forward in an incredibly natural way, washes over, and engulfs the listener.

These three factors lead to a 'shared sense of space' with the performers. This for me is the holy grail.

The MP-1 is no slouch in any of these areas so to answer your question, there really isn't anything I 'dislike' about the MP-1. In fact, it does a number of things better than the Callisto: it is more dynamic; more authoritative; puts the performers closer to the listener; and is more transparent. It also outperformed the Callisto overall when used with MA-2 amps. I would never think of using a different pre-amp with Atma-Sphere amps.
I should also mention that I think Ralph is the greatest guy in this industry. He is incredibly helpful and responsive.

I just re-read my posting about the three strengths of the Callisto Signature and realized that none of the three were directly related to the actual sound of musical notes.

You've probably seen Chinese brush paintings where the subject matter is typically bamboo and the medium for the painting is simply black ink? What makes one painting great and another poor is not primarily the representation of the bamboo nor the appearance of the black ink, it is nature of the white space, the empty space, around the black ink.

...the Tao of high fidelity :^)

I think you might be pushing the analogy a little too far. :^)

The point is that the white space between the brush strokes is as important as the brush strokes themselves to the aesthetic appeal of the overall painting.
For me, the 'empty' space between the sound of the images on the soundstage is as important as the sound of the images themselves to the aesthetic appeal of the overall presentation.

Here is a case in point: I can set the VTA and VTF on my arm such that my system can present a near perfect holographic reproduction of a violin. I can also alter the VTA and VTF such that the image of the violin is not nearly as distinct but now I can 'see' the violinist, the expression on her face, and the room she is playing in. Most visitors are more impressed by the former but I prefer the latter.

Vinyl definitely does it better than digital and I agree that Aesthetix does it better than any preamp I've heard.
I sometimes wonder about the "black backgrounds" and "silence" that people get excited about, especially when they insert new digital, new cables, or new power conditioning into their systems. I have heard some very expensive products which provide silent, 'black backgrounds.' The background is certainly free of ambient detail, note decays, action (the projection of sound from images towards the listener) and spatial information.
I won't name names so as not to offend.

Tim,
Very well stated. Thank you.