How good is Aesthetix audio?

My favorite dealer, Audioconnection, sells them, so they must be good. He is a member here, so why not PM him? (And, he give great advice without trying to sell you something).

Bob

Thanks gdnrbob!

I have the Aesthetix Romulus Eclipse CD Player and it's awesome, especially with some great NOS Tubes...totally agree with talking to John R at Audio Connection...

The Aesthetix room at AXPONA 2019 was among my top few for natural sounding hi-fi. They were running their Mimas integrated amp into a pair of Aerial speakers, 7t or 6t if I remember right.

I've owned two of their preamps in the past.  Very reliable and excellent sound quality.  Recommended.

For the Same money or less Modwright is better in my opinion. They have a better integrated for 10k.

The Mimas power is 150 into 8 280 into 4 BUT the Modwright KEH 225i is 225W into 8 and 400 into 4! It’s cleaner too…less noisy and has 25W pure class A!!! It just has more control than the Mimas. 

I just got myself a used Mimas with the optional DAC and phono modules this weekend (replacing a W4S 10th DAC & a Black Ice F360 preamp), and I've either screwed up royally, or there's something I need to tweak. 

But, my speakers (Acoustic Energy AE520s) have never sounded so poor. They sound boxy, there's no treble, and the bass is muddy. Now, I'm not a tube guy, but after researching I'm inclined to replace the tubes. Although, they should last a small lifetime.

Saying all that, you can tell there's something special lurking, so I'd rather not return it.  

Anyone else come across this?

The other thing I've just found is there's an iPhone app remote that requires a bluetooth adapter that isn't mentioned in the manual, nor have I seen mentioned online that allows you to update the firmware.

@hiendmmoe Dunno about Eclipse but I have the Mimas driving SabrinaX.  I listen to it on the weekends to the point that my daughter asked my wife if anything wrong w me as I was on my couch all day. 

Comparing w Dagostino integrated, Progression has more bass when listening to Kari Bremnes's Glem ikkje but same amount of drums snares and kicks fr Def Leppard's Hysteria. 

But, I was surprised when listening to Uncle Lucius Keep the wolves away. Dagastino was a bit let down comparing w Mimas as the percussion or whatever the instrument is at the intro, there's more in the Mimas.

Comparing w AR integrated I/50,  there's no contest but I guess that's not a fair comparison. 

I assume the tubes preamp section makes the Mimas the sound I enjoy

I don’t have any experience w/ their power or integrated amps but owned their Calypso pre amp for several years. It was a very high quality piece, performed flawlessly, sounded excellent. The few times I had questions, was able to speak to very knowledgeable folks at the company. I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase something from them again. 

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 have an Asthetix Pallene for sale if anyone is i8.

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.

Well, having replaced the tubes with nothing too fancy, and just on initial listening without them having burned in, we've gone from the worst my speakers have sounded to the best they've ever sounded.

At least everybody wasn't lying - this is quite the amplifier!

Use a Calypso, Sig with various Tube & SS amps... have tried other line stages by Audible Illusions, Krell, Herron... none match the sophisticated presentation of the Aesthetix. Love the snap off top too for tube swaps

Fantastic sounding, robust engineering, good post sale support w upgrade path, reasonable case work without excess… in business a long time….. = wow.

i have owned a Pandora DAC ( signature ) for a decade..other than chasing better sound w NOS tubes..no urge to change….

i have also setup more than a few systems that include Aesthetix gear, recently two w Mimas…. very nice bit of kit… especially w card based DAC…. 

I’ve had a used Rhea Signature phono stage for about six months now.  I was able to demo it in home against a CJ an Allnic and a couple of others and it was the best sounding amp easily.   
 

The Rhea Signature is able to accommodate up to three tonearms, remotely switch between all three and change the gain and loading as well.

Also, their support over the phone and e-mail has been fantastic.  Highly recommended!

I have not seen any agreement regarding phono stages that outperform the Aesthetix Io Eclipse with dual power supplies and good NOS tubes (some say: Allnic 8000 - others: maybe - a question of taste). You can find a lot of info on the Io  here , mostly from happy long-term users.

@pawoodster did you get an answer on the Bluetooth adapter? I’m trying to update the firmware of my Mimas. Thanks. 

It wasn't available at the time, and I returned it for other reasons, unfortunately.