I did not mean to make JD cringe here. I do recall him telling me he was not at all impressed with the BAT 50SE. If it is anything like the 30SE, I understand why this is. But the 31SE has a very different sonic signature altogether. I heard the 30SE vs. the 31SE back to back at the dealer. The 30SE had virtually no life in the top frequencies which robbed the music of its harmonics and ambience. This was corrected with the 31SE upgrade. When I get the 31SE back from loan to a colleague, I will play this vs. the Callisto for JD when he comes back to my home to start the tweak process of my system.
And I had to laugh about JD rolling his eyes. There's always a wise guy! There simply has to be other "great" preamps out there. Jim White can't be the only designer to achieve such "qualities" like JD and I like so much from the Callisto. There are many A'gon members and other audiophiles I respect who highly praise the likes of the Atmasphere MP1, Lamm L2, VTL 7.5. And what about the top models from Audio Note, Jadis, VAC, etc.? Since I have not heard these in my system, or anywhere else, I am unwilling to give any absolute "best of" rating to the Callisto. All I know is that it stands head and shoulders above all the models I have heard.
John |
jd,
another thoughtful and (unusually) useful review. bravo!
fwiw, i, too, am a big fan of jim white's designs. my most recent audio system purchase is an io signature (the first shipped with platinum faceplates). this is partnered with a boulder 1012 pre/dac and a pair of the most recent nagra vpa's, all connected fully balanced with tara, 0.8. so far, my valve/ss/valve electronics are producing the best sound i've heard in my decade's-old listening room.
-kelly |
Jadem6,
forgot to mention...nice review of Jafox's Callisto Signature! i've found it to be the best line stage i've had a chance to own. :-) |
I have only a couple comments to add to Jafox’s post. First it should be pointed out once again how pleased I was with the Calypso. (And still am.) But in order to fully appreciate what a great pre-amp the Calypso is you must read my review, and understand I have tried a number of ~$5000 pre-amps during the years. The Aesthetix is in its own category when competing with its rivals.
Secondly it’s very important to point out that Jafox and I are night and day in our system directions, yet we both without ever meeting, created extremely similar tonal qualities in our systems. For the two of us to be this pleased with a piece of gear (Callisto) says volumes about how special it truly is. When Jafox comments about the BAT pre-amp I cringe. When he discusses the other great (complex at times) pre-amps I roll my eyes. I have not found the magic of the Aesthetix designs in other products within the context of my system. The Callisto is truly a great product and if you are considering a line stage in this price range than you must already have a great amount invested in your system. To not audition this product would be cheating yourself from knowing its’ potential.
I can only imagine the improvements we will hear with N.O.S. tubes. As I discussed in my review of the Calypso, tubes made a very significant difference in the quality of sound. Albert Porter has posted a couple times over the years the tube combination that best enhances the Callisto’s sonic qualities. Below is a reprint of that (Without A. Porter’s consent no less) I will ask Audiogon if they can amend my original review as I should have included this.
TUBES FOR AESTHEITX
Regarding the comments by Bud and Rayhall, the 6922 Sovtek would be my first change. For additional midrange and air, try the Siemens 6922 CCa or the Amperex US Military 7308 CEP. If either of these produce too much midrange presence, try the Mullard 6922 (gold pin). Realize, that when you upgrade to one of these higher resolution NOS 6922's you are listening with more intensity to the weaknesses of the remaining (original) tubes. You are judging the replacement, plus all that it exposes downstream. If after changing to the CCa or CEP, you find that there is too much "grit" in the sound, try swapping the 6SN-7 as described in my long post. After that, if you are feeling adventuresome, trade out the first stage 12AX7 tubes (Io only). Note, these 12AX7's are the ones I warned about, get TESTED, ultra noise tubes for this position. My first choice and the most beautiful sound is the Telefunken 12AX7. Other options are the RCA 5751, a US Military version of the 12AX7. The 5751 will alter the tonal balance somewhat, as it is not an exact replacement. There will be a slight loss in gain, with improved signal to noise and lower distortion. Overall, the sound will be a bit more on the dry side. One final suggestion would be the 12AX7 French Mazda. A good sample of this will produce significant improvements in high frequency transparency, especially compared to the Sovtek. However, the Mazda has not been without problems in my experience. The samples I received are not equally reliable or equally low noise. Some will play perfectly for many months while retaining their original "voice" while other samples will develop horrible micro-phonics and tube noise in as little as a week. This is a situation that could lead to disappointment with the Io, when in fact, the tubes are the culprit. Unfortunately, there must be some risk and experimentation within your own system to determine what is best. |
Guidocorona: Yes absolutely, keep this model as a serious contender. But just be prepared for the Callisto and Io units to take up a lot more space than your average preamp.
There are some incredible preamps out there but there are several that I have heard that immediately destroy the musicality of my system that I have worked so hard to achieve. Over the years this continues to be the most sensitive link in my system.
As much as we'd like to hear the "great" models, it really is tough to get the opportunity to do so. It looks like JD and I have pretty much exhausted our options with our local dealers. The Atmasphere MP1 might still be a possibility for consideration as it is available through a local dealer. Otherwise it looks like only through other local audiophiles might we have a chance to do a comparison in two systems like we did here.
Another listen to the BAT 31SE vs. the Callisto yesterday and I am still very impressed with this BAT model. It portrays the 3-dimensionality and body of the instruments much more like the Callisto than does the Calypso. But the 31SE does not have quite the bass extension nor the openness in the top frequencies as the 2 Aesthetix products. The Callisto is unique in my experience in that it brings on dimensionality, frequency extremes AND dynamics like no other line stage I have heard in my system.
As I have mentioned here already, I am awaiting the Michael Elliot Aria preamp. Imagine how a modern version of the Counterpoint SA9/SA11 might sound today and you have a recipe for serious competition to the Aesthetix and a top-tier standing. And like the Callisto, the Aria WV preamp uses an all-tube regulated power supply. I believe this has a lot to do with the Calisto's magic.
Fmtien: I had my system just on short of two hours before JD came to my home. And the first thing we did was power up his Calypso while he got "acclimated" to my system with the Callisto. And hour or so later, we switched to the Calypso and played the same tracks again. And then back to the Callisto for another couple tracks or so and then a few minutes back to the Calypso where JD had had enough! 8-) So if anything, the Calypso was not given a fair warmup of only an hour or so at the beginning but at the end it had been on for over 2 hours and still the difference was as dramatic as the hour before.
When I took the Callisto to his home, the first thing we did was get it powered up. He played over an hour of music in his system. I suspect the Calypso had been on for awhile. A switch-over to the Callisto and the same character differences was right there as at my home. We both heard plenty after just an hour to confirm what I feel we both knew from the time at my home.
JD: Tonight I made another step forward with 4 Siemens 6922 and 2 Sylvania 6SN7 replacements in the audio chassis. Already I have a noticeable increase in dynamic punch than with the Sovteks. And this week I will get the Mullard EL34s for the PS which Albert writes is even more of a dramatic improvement over the stock Sovteks. So I might need you to come over soon to write an addendum to your review with these new tubes. 8-)
And heaven forbid the 2nd PS in my future. I can see how this and the Io could become an obsession with tube rolling. I must work hard not to let this get the best of me. I will leave such attention to detail to JD!
John |
John and JD, this review was magnificent. This makes me truly think I have to keep the Callisto in the running for my next linestage. Have you guys had the opportunity of comparing it to some First Sound models in the same price range? Or perhaps the Supratek Cabernet?
I know, I know, someone is probably already saying I should get my act together and make up my mind once and for all, and finally take the plunge, but. . . |
Jadem,
according to Jim White, the Callisto takes a few hours minimum to really warm up before it sounds its best and based on my experience, i'd have to agree. hopefully you guys plugged in the Callisto while you were listening to the Calypso. if not, you may not have heard the Callisto at its best. :-) |
Thanks Jafox, i cann't wait to come over and "play" some more. I promise I will keep "most" of my tweaking toys at home. :- ) |
JD is quite a detailed writer. I had to smile and laugh and smile more as I could see he was very alert to my reactions (the good and not so good) of his system. Not only does he take the blue ribbon for noticing detail in his and my system far more than I do, but now I see that he deserves this award for noticing the detail of one's observations while listening.
I have yet to meet anyone remotely close as this man to deserving the title of "Tweak Geek"! And this has much to do with why his system does piano like no other digital based system I have heard.
As JD pointed out, the two Aesthetix products have great sonic similarity. Only in the context of the areas that he so well described does the Callisto pull away and significantly at that. The big difference here has to be the tube regulated power supply of the Callisto.
I have heard and owned many preamps and line stages, and I still have yet to hear any SS product in this link of the system exhibit the dimensionality and/or decay that brings on the naturalness of the human voice or piano. On some recordings there will likely be a little too much of a good thing in midrange presence. But of all such preamps I have liked that exhibit this quality, I feel the Callisto does this in a most superb manner. Perhaps this is due to its incredible bass authority (shared by the Calypso) and its highly resolving trebles (also shared by the Calypso) to still bring on an incredible coherency. But as JD writes, "I'll take it". And that's a comment from a perfectionist audiophile. Hey Albert, I think we have another convert!
There is much time and effort that we all need to take to balance out the warmth and dimensional side of the system with the highly detailed and neutral side of the system. For JD and myself, with two very different systems, the Callisto is one of those products that covers both sides of the fence so well. He and I would both agree we have heard nothing like it in our systems.
Concerning the issues of balanced and single-ended, actually, I use a mixture of both. My tonearm cable is XLR so I use this into the Io and then the Io drives the Callisto with balanced cables. I also use balanced cables from the Manley Ref DAC.
The CAT JL-3's only have SE inputs which required me to find another cable to replace my long time favorite NBS Statement XLR cable. Here I managed to find a 25' SE MIT 350 EVO cable that works very well. In my system, the Callisto has no problem at all to drive these long SE cables to the amps. I did try the NBS into the CAT using adaptors, and thus only one phase of the Callisto output was being used. Between the Callisto and CATs, I prefered the MIT just slightly here because it has a little more neutral midrange tonality vs. the NBS. Again, it's a balancing (no pun intended) act.
This coming week I have a bunch of tubes arriving from all of Albert's great recommendations. When I get these installed in the Callisto, I'll have JD come over again and perhaps he can rewrite this review all over again. And then if I splurge with a 2nd power supply, we'll have him do it again. 8-)
John |
Now go out and buy the Tom Evans Vibe a Pulse power supply preamp and really hear what that preamp can do, and it is a SS design. There was one here for $4K recently, a real bargin.
Happy Listening. |
J. D. Thanks for your thoughts and a nice review. Keep looking until you get that Callisto (they do come up for sale used). They are special units (pure tube design and great parts quality). I have an Io Sig and it is extraordinary. I have a c-j ART 2 but have always thought of going with the Callisto - it is not that the ART 2 is lacking, I just thought the synergy between the Io and Callisto would be worth a try!
Enjoy!
Frank |
Peepoy2, It will be great. My system is all RCA connections while Jafox is all balanced. You should have not trouble what so ever.
J.D. |
Hello Jadem6 and Jafox,
Based on your experience, is the Aesthetix Callisto Signature as good a linestage when used single-ended exclusively compared to balanced mode? I was nearly tempted to spring for a pre-owned Callisto Signature but was concerned because I have a single-ended digital source, a balanced analog source and a single-ended power amplification. I am not sure if the Callisto would blend well with my system. Right now, I have a balanced to single ended BAT adaptor from my BAT phono pre to my linestage.
Do either one of you have any comments on the sonic merits of the Callisto in single-ended mode?
Congratulations on a great review!!! |
