Aesthetix IO vs. Manley Steelhead vs. The Groove

quote: "That been said, if i'll bump in to to "steal" priced IO, i'll get it as second phono, but it is not necessary at all"
I further compared both units for another day on two carts now - Denon 103, and Shelter 901, and at this point i doubt very much i'll be interested in IO, even as a second phono. Every time i switched to from IO back to Manley the last one was clear out-performer, especially with Shelter 901, so, what's a point.
I'm wondering now if any of the posters here compared those two A-B in the same setup or not?

Dvavc,

Did you notice that many of the posts on this topic were back in 2003?

My post from 2004 still pretty much expresses my opinion today. Aesthetix top tier (Eclipse) with ideal choice NOS tubes is still among the finest ever offered. You can only get so good and it qualifies as excellent.

It's been 7 years since my post and more than a decade since I purchased my first Aesthetix. I have since switched to Allnic which is more of the same as the Aesthetix sound and even less like the Steelhead.

All that aside, the Steelhead is a high quality piece of equipment and the fact you like it is enough. Enjoy it and don't worry about comments derived from tests a decade ago.

I concur that the IO is a great phonostage. Amazing how some issues from the past still resonate today. I have yet to expereience a better sounding phonostage than the IO Signature I have owned for the last 6 years. I have demoed and A/B'd Pass Xono, ARS, BAT, and heard a Steelhead at a dealer. None of these phono stages did it for me, not even the Steelhead. I know the Steelhead is an outstanding phono stage, however, it did not give me the feeling of emotional involvement as I get with the IO. Just something about tht IO that keeps me coming back for more.

I have never felt that I had major tube rush except when a tube was going bad, which can happen in any setup. I used matched tubes from one of the tube sellers, Jim, and mixed and matched some on my own, with oustanding results.

Glad you like the Steelhead, I wanted do, but it just could not satisfy my desire for a truly in depth experience lifting the emotional veil and causing music and vocals to be portrayed in my room as sounding rool, sometimes spooky real. Voices and drums or instruments that pop out of the air, can catch you off guard, and be startling at times. Sometimes, I think I hear a knock in the door, or someone is talking in the room, seriously, the IO phono stage has brought that level of detail to the forefront, in an enjoyable way. Just my thoughts.

Audioquest4life