NOS tubes For my Rhea

Call Aesthetix.

Yes, call or email Glenn Buckley at Aesthetix.

Thanks all!

To see if it’s the Calypso, why not turn on the system except the Rhea and unmute it. Any tube rush would be coming from the Calypso. I owned a Rhea and suspect that it’s the culprit since it’s fairly picky about tubes. The other thing to try is to flip the right and left channel tubes one at a time. The process is a bit tedious but you’ll find the bad one.

Getting V1 & V2 in the Rhea quiet enough is tough. I got tubes for those two positions for both my Rhea and IO from Andy at Vintage Tube Services. I can’t recommend him enough and he’s very familiar with Aesthetix products. My preference for tubes in the Rhea is vintage EI’s in V1 & V2 positions with Telefunken’s for V3-V5.

The key tube to get good sound out of the Rhea is the 6DJ8/6922 which if I remember correctly is V5. When I first got my Rhea, I rolled in Tele’s, Mullards and Bugle Boys in the 12AX7 positions with fairly poor results. I had left the stock Russian 6922 in place while I was doing this. On a whim, I put in a Tele 6DJ8 in place of the Sovtek 6922. Wow – what a difference that made. I was ready to sell the Rhea and write it off before I switched the 6DJ8 but ended up keeping it until I found an IO on the used market.

Boy.....Sbrown what a fabulous response. OK....You gave me some very good ideas regarding identifying the problem source and recommending tubes. BTW...what brand is EI???
And you recommend Tele's in V3-V4-V5??
Thanks again!!

What I’m referring to when I say EI are pre-war tubes made in Yugoslavia. The factory was founded in the 50’s using Telefunken equipment. I find that they have more body than Tele’s but are slightly less transparent. The combination of EI’s and Tele’s balances body with transparency nicely and should work well with your Lyra. The friend that I sold my Rhea to auditioned it using a Dynavector 17D2. That tube combination also worked well with my ZYX Airy3. The other added benefit of the EI’s that they are reasonably priced.

RWD, forgot to say in may last post that I love your speakers. I've only head them once but I've never forgot it. When I get a bigger room, a set of those are in my future.

Thank you for you response and compliment of my speakers. I know that they are quite old but I would have to spend 30K-60K to get a replacement (I think?).

Rick (RWD)

Hi all again! Before I call Andy at Vintage Tube (I suspect he is very knowledgeable but expensive) has anyone bought tubes for the Rhea (or anything else) from Upscale Audio???

Thanks all!

Rick (RWD)

Don't overlook Brent Jessee at http://www.audiotubes.com/ if NOS is what you're after.

All the best,
Nonoise

RWD, Do yourself a favor and just call Andy at Vintage Tube Services. He is the only NOS tube supplier that is endorsed by Aesthetix.

I have an Aesthetix Calypso and Rhea, both running NOS tubes provided by Andy at Vintage Tube Services. I am very happy with the product and the advice provided by Andy.

If you want new production tubes you might want to work with a different supplier as I think Andy only deals in vintage NOS tubes.

The lowest price is not always the best deal. NOS tubes are not all equal. Testing and matching are critical in the Rhea.

Best Regards,

Jim Perry

Thank you Jim and Nonoise.....I am interested in NOS but some of these tubes are quite expensive. As you know Jim,,,the Rhea has 10 tubes.....so we're taking 1K plus (or more). And I also understand that the better the tube .... the better the sound. Thank you all for your valued advise.

Rick (RWD)

RWD, you don't need to spend $1,000 for good NOS tubes for your Rhea, and all of the 12ax7 tubes don't have to be as low noise as the V1 and V2 positions, which are the most critical.

Another option would be selected modern tubes from Aesthetix or Jim McShane, although Jim has a waiting list for a Rhea tube set right now.

Best Regards,

Jim Perry

I have Sylvanias on V1 & v2 (nice top end sparkle' and went with the Ampex 6922 and my Rhea is pretty quiet.

"has anyone bought tubes for the Rhea (or anything else) from Upscale Audio???"

Yes, this past fall I bought 5 Telefunken E88CCs for my Symphonic Line pre from "Uncle Kevin." He was extremely informative about what the various 6922 family tube flavors would provide when I spoke with him about options.

And when one tube died within the 90-day warranty period, he replaced it without issue. So count me as a happy camper.

Thank you all for your responses and advise! I must say that both Brent Jessee and Andy Bowman were so helpful.....I made my decision.
Now I have another question that I will post on a new thread.

Hi all...I am looking for the contact number for Aesthetix but can't locate them. Anyone have it???? Tks!

Call Andy of Vintage Tube Services honest with the best tubes.

Well it’s been approx. 3 days (9-12 hrs. ) of listening . It’s amazing how new tubes could make such a significant difference. The top end on my RS 1-B’s is more delicate and shimmering and yet the mid-range and bass has much more meat on the bone then before. Enjoying the new tubes and a big endorsement to Andy Bowman of Vintage Tube Service. Now I need to think of re-tubing my Aesthetic Calypso!!

Rick (rwd)

I am happy to hear you are getting such great results. I had the same experience and re-tubed my Calypo as well.

The good news is tubes for your Calypso will be less with the tube count down and no need for MC selected 12ax7 tubes.

Best Regards,

Jim Perry