Rhea Noise

Dan_ed, I'm in agreement with the comments on tube rush. I find the same true with my Rhea.
For me though when someone denounces tubes totally for use in phono amplification as Rauliruegas did, I have a problem understanding it.

Rauliruegas, my point was that if some of the most beautiful (source) material for music of all time comes though tube equipment in its recording, production, cutter heads, etc how can one argue so vehemently against using tube equipment for the (re)production in ones home? And to that question, you did not answer. For the moment lets not confuse the issue by including all the ancillary components, room acoustics, or even wall current. And yes, I do use live acoustic music as my reference.
Happy Listening!

Xagwell, My advice is talk to Jim White at Aesthetix. You will not find a greater gentleman in Hifi audio. There is lots of rumor and innuendo and questionable fact being aired against the Rhea and the Calypso. If you want to bring the noise down on the Rhea you must have very good tube selection by a reputable source, period. I have owned the Aesthetix Rhea and Calypso (preamp) for some time now and can attest to the fact that they are very, very picky. It is not so much the brand of tube as it is the quality of the tube. Brands with give you flavor, quality tested and hand selected tubes with give you peace and quiet and you should find that for the extra attention to tube selection you will get back an extremely detailed and dynamic result. If your not up to chasing down a good tube supplier you may as well go out and trade the Rhea for very possibly a lesser phono amp. I have put this phono amp head to head with many, foremost a world class Aesthetix I/O with a full complement of vintage Telefunken and although the I/O will better it every time in dynamics, air, and scale, it will by a very small margin when you consider the price difference, not to mention the Rhea is far more flexible than most all phono amps on the market at any price including the I/O. IMHO the Rhea is the best overall value and sound out there. I’m not saying it’s easy or cheap, but it is the solution and it is worth it. Best regards.
Happy Listening!

Rauliruegas, I'm curious... If vacuum tube phono amps are so inferior for the reproduction of vinyl sourced music than why is it that vacuum tubes were used in most of the finest recordings and mastering processes of all time? Just one modern day example might be the Analogue Productions 45RPM Fantasy jazz series. I have yet to hear a plausible explanation for why tubes stir my emotions greater than transistors. I’m really surprised that with that stream of logic you don’t prefer digital. Truly, I do not mean to insult you, please don’t take it that way but, I just don’t understand and I don’t agree. Happy Listening!

Well just to add some perspective... I still have the Rhea and I still find it most satisfying. Soon the Rhea will be back from Jim White and friends as a Signature upgraded version. It has been a long wait and a lot of pennies banked in the cookie jar to make it happen, but it is a good investment in gear that proven itself so clearly.

And as fate would have it, my pal, Andy of Vintage tube Services just sent me for consideration the most beautiful quad of Amperex 12AX7's I have ever experienced in my first gain stage. They are true NOS, perfectly matched, and DEAD quiet, as (almost) no one but Andy seems to come up with! These should last a life time of excellent musical enjoyment. So one might ask when evaluating a cost/pleasure consideration, are vintage tubes worth it... just go ahead and guess whether or not I returned these old dusty valves?!

and consider a semi-conductor phono stage?...in my house?...not so much.

Happy Listening!