Aesthetix IO vs. Manley Steelhead vs. The Groove

I shouldn't even comment yet. I just got an Io Signature and literally installed it 10 minutes ago. But the music has just jumped out of the speakers and filled the room - warm, rich, huge, intense, colorful. (It's an early '70s recording of Congolese soukous or rhumba, Vicky & OK Jazz.) I had previously been listening to the same record on the phono stage of my Rogue 99 Magnum (Tungsram 12AX7s and Amperex Holland 12AU7s), and the difference is enormous.

I will say that the bass is tubbier and tubier, but I think that this my Dynaco ST-70 (next in line for upgrading) exaggerating the fuller sound of the Io.

I auditioned the Groove a few weekends ago for a few days in my own system, and did not like it - in my system and room - it was hard-etched, bright and hard. This was a demo unit making the rounds and was said to be broken in. However I have read that Tom Evans's products require over 500 hours of burn-in. That said, I believe that the other customers demoing it were going ahead and buying it. So it is probably just a taste thing.

Anyway, the Io Sig is all with stock Sovteks, medium gain setting (68 dB) and Bent Audio/S&B TX-103 step-up transformers - I left the trannies in because I wanted to compare apples with apples. Turntable is Acoustic Solid One, tonearm is Graham 2.2 and cartridge is the Shelter 901.

I will post fuller impressions when I have had a few weeks with the unit, but am initially extremely pleased.

Patrick

Well -- odd experience, I left for work (just a half day today), and left the Io turned on. Got back 4 or 5 hours later, put on a record, and no sound. No hum, no music audible even with the volume cranked. Same through my headphone amp. All the tubes in the Io and power supply were glowing fine.

So I switched back to the Rogue phono stage and got music. Next step: fuses. Checked the two on the back of the Aesthetix power supply, and the B+ fuse is melted about halfway down with a burn mark. It's one of those slo-blo fuses that look like a spring wrapped around a wire, and the spring has separated (though the wire inside hasn't).

I'm going to get a new fuse tomorrow, but I wonder what made it blow (if blown it is). Power surge? Maybe when I turned off the amp or took off the needle before I left?

Also, it seems odd that all the tubes in both units would have stayed glowing given that the B+ fuse was blown...

Frank, I am certain that the Dyna is the source of the tubby bass - looking forward to hearing what it sounds like when I try a different amp. Maybe I'll switch my Aleph 3 back in for fun (though its bass is not stellar either). I have my eye on some C-J Premier 12s.

Patrick

AJ and Frank - I guess I should clarify. I'm a big believer in system synergy. I have no doubt that the tubby or tubey bass is coming from the Dynaco - I could hear that when I switched the amp in a few months ago. That bass compensated for a certain leanness in the Rogue phono stage that made listening to music easy.

Now that I have a fuller - read more accurate - sound from the Io, the tubby bass of the Dynaco is unacceptably audible - and for this reason I plan to replace my amp.

Will report on the fuse issue later today after I buy a replacement. I did indeed have the Io plugged into my Audio Magic Stealth, so maybe this was the problem!

Patrick

Ouch - inserted replacement fuse, restarted the Io, and one of the EL-34s started glowing bright red and emitting a burning odor. Sounds like I've got a bad tube :-(

Will report back after I replace the EL-34s.

Wow, it gets worse. Popped in a pair of Chinese EL-34s, and now the OTHER tube won't get warm at all. But tube in place of the bad one glows properly. Tried switching a third tube into the other tube's place and still no luck - something in the circuit. Very weird.

I bought the unit secondhand from a reputable dealer - going back to him now. :-(

Unit is back with Jim - he said "I want to make sure customers are treated like kings" - I'll post again when I get it back.

Unit is back with me - plugged it in today and it sounds fantastic. Listening with headphones right now.

One issue - I'm picking up a radio station, especially audible between tracks on the phones. Any ideas how to deal with this? I'm running at max gain - a variety of tonearms and LO MCs straight into the Io, 121 ohm resistance, 80 db gain.

The arrangement at the back makes it very difficult to separate the power supply umbilicals and the signal cables. Could this be the problem?

I have to say, this is a hairshirt product on many levels, from its size and weight to its looks and ergonomics, to the number of tubes required, etc. but it sounds AMAZING. Blows my old Rogue 99 Magnum phono stage out of the water, and same with the Tom Evans Groove.

Actually.... duh... the radio station is being picked up by the headphone cable, which is acting as an antenna, and is draped over the Io boxes (currently lying on the floor between me and the headphone amp).

Some rearrangement is called for.