How good is Aesthetix audio?


Aesthetix audio always seems to run under the radar. They have been around for awhile but don’t seem to get a lot of attention. Here on Audiogon, they seem to pop up here and there, but never with any consistency. I have always heard good things about them but how do they stack up against their peers? Their top of the line Eclipse range has always fascinated me, especially their power amps, but kinda risky not having ever heard one or even knowing much about their sound. 

hiendmmoe

I owned the Calypso Eclipse preamp and the Atlas Eclipse (including Eclipse casework) stereo amp until recently.  I was very happy with them.  Great sound.  Fully balanced and dual mono so very quiet and detailed with lovely full midrange.  The calypso is all tube and the Atlas is hybrid so you get a nice detailed sound with plenty of punch.  The calypso is also extremely flexible, lots of connection options including all inputs accept both RCA and XLR.

One caveat.  The Eclipse casework looks much better to me.  It is available for the Atlas but not the Calypso.  The good looks come at a price though.  The Atlas stereo is heavy, about 100lbs.  The Eclipse casework has sharp edges and the feet are short.  I found it literally painful to move around.  You may not have to move it much but be advised.

I would also say the preamp remote is good not great.

I recently replaced them, but to be fair to Aesthetix, they were replaced by much more expensive gear that I had been considering for a long time.  I do not have experience with the phono or digital but my dealer has had the IO with dual tube power supplies as his reference for probably eight years now.

I sold through The Music Room (highly recommended).  I believe my pre may actually still be available.

I hope this was helpful.

I have been hang out at Audio Connection a long time listen to more gear then the average bear but alway go back to Aesthetix 

I have Aesthetix Atlas and Pallene in my system and enjoy them all the time

Fine a dealer and listen for your self 

I’ve had an aesthetix Io phono stage for about 20 years. Sent it in for the signature upgrade last year and had a Boulder 1008 phononstage in the meantime. The aesthetix is a vastly superior phono stage in my opinion. And I use Boulder amplification

Aesthetix audio is an established company with a long time reputation of high quality components.  There are plenty of positive reviews, but not as much lately as the press usually covers newer released products.