Aesthetix Io vs Lamm LP2

I would call the LP2 neutral as well, and dead quiet to boot, quieter than the IO's I've heard (and they're no slouches in that department either). I have not heard the IO in my system, but would put the Lamm on the same sonic playing field based on my experience in my system and my hearing both units in other systems. You really should find a dealer willing to lend you a Lamm to try out in your system, but I'd say they're both superb units, I chose the Lamm in good part for practical considerations involving available space for my front end components and the number of tubes in the IO.

Actually, Rich, which one do you have in your system? I've only heard the original two-box version of the IO, not the one with the two power supplies, which I'd imagine is better (but still too many tubes to take care of!).

Rich: One thing you didn't mention in your post is the cartridge you're using. The Lamm has 57 db of gain, which is sufficient for my low output (.2mv) Koetsu RSP, but I really have to turn up the volume on the Jadis JP200 I use as a line stage to get decent volume on some records (contrast that to the Jadis' phono stage, which has between 70 and 80 db of gain, since the unit as a whole has 100 db of gain). Don't know how much gain the IO gives you, both by itself and with your preamp. My bottom line on the Lamm vs. IO question is that every now and then you hear a product that you know gets the music right and is something special--my Jadis preamp is one of those, so was the IO when I first heard it 5-6 years ago and so is the Lamm equipment. Judging from your reaction (offline in an e-mail to me) to having to deal with all the IO's tubes and its size, the Lamm is a good alternative--it may be a lateral step or slightly up from the original IO, but there's very little, if anything, really, better out there, just different.