Aesthetix Rhea & Calypso Tube Upgrade

Just picked a NOS Janus. The Sovtek tubes are kinda crappy. I read they had a bunch of issues with those tubes and stopped using them? Are they running JJ’s in current production?

Old thread but current thoughts... I have had the Calypso and Rhea Signatures for a long, long time, tried most every band/type and find a 5751 RCA triple mica black plate to be the weapon of choice in my pre, with Amperex 6DJ8s. I utilize an NOS quad of Telefunken smooth plate 12AX7s (Amperex Bugle Boys were also very nice, perhaps offering just a bit of music sparkle (NOT overly tipped up at all)) in the first gain stage of the Rhea for their clean, top to bottom linearity and lack of added colour, and RCA 7058s (per Glenn at Aesthetix) in the 2nd stage (RIAA). The 3rd has far less influence on tone. I found a date matched pair of Telefunken 6DJ8 medical grade that are dead quiet (between the music of course) for the final sockets. Sounds lovely and very revealing.

I've never found a "regular" 12AX7, either current or NOS, that could compare sonically with (either) the RCA or Sylvania 5751 triple mica black plates. For more on these tubes, as well as 6DJ8/6922 and 12AU7, I strongly suggest you read the (classic) Joe's Tube Lore here: http://www.audioasylum.com/scripts/d.pl?audio/faq/joes-tubes.html

There is no best tube. Synergy is the key. In my Calypso, I liked the stock 12AX7 tubes with my warm McCormack SS amp and warm NOS Mullard tubes with the cool NCore digital amps.

Bob

I have the Aesthetix Janus, and in my system, I have purchased a brand new stock set of tubes from Aesthetix, and I've also purchased NOS Amperex and RCA tubes from Andy at Vintage Tube Services. I will say that for the phono section, I liked the sound of both sets just fine. For the Calypso portion, however, the stock tubes sound rolled off and therefore dead except at quite loud levels. The VTS tubes sound much better.

What do you guys consider to be an 'Expensive' tube(s) ?

I just checked Ebay (8/8) and there are 10 of the 7058 tubes I mentioned going for a total of $70, buy-it-now. These are NOS. That's more than I usually paid, but not bad.

Good quality 12ax7 or 6922 tubes cost from a reputable dealer will run you $30/ea., so you're talking about $420 minimum for a complete retube. What does the factory charge for a complete set? You might want to talk to the factory about whether there is a specific tube position you might want to splurge on. Really good editions of these tubes can be had for under $100/ea.

Check with Glenn Buckley at Aesthetix. I've found an excellent replacement for the 12AX7 is a 7058 tube. NOS 7058s turn up on Ebay in quantity every once in a while at reasonable prices, but are not especially cheap when bought one or two at a time. No ideas on replacing the 6922s, and I'm not even sure what types (6922/6DJ8/etc) i'm using now in my Aesthetix and Rhea. Great components, by the way. Power them down, as Corby recommends, before changing tubes.

i have a rhea, that had the stock tubes in it. i replaced them with a set put together by jim mcshane.
much livelier sound, still new production tubes, jim just mixed and matched brands for the different stages in the pre. i'm happier with the sonics of the new tubes over the stock set.
one thing to be aware of with the rhea. completely power down and let the unit sit idle for at least 20 minutes before pulling a tube. if the caps aren't discharged when you pull a tube, you risk damage to the circuit.

Good question?

Why not use the same tubes that come stock with the Aesthetix?