Spend my $8,000 pt. 2

Swampwalker: Yeah, that's what I gather about the BAT. I don't think it's ultimately the route for me regardless of the phono. This is a petty concern (and I'm petty person) but I can't stand the look of the BAT. I know it should be abot the music, and I know cosmetics are all subjective, but I'm an art dealer and can't avoid what runs through my veins.

Kurt_tank: I'm now considering the Ayre, but would have to find a good price on it, or save up some more loot. I read great things about the Phono stage, and the thing that worries me about the Aesthetix Janus is that there could be tube-rush. Anyone experience this? I could always add the Ayre outboard phono to an integrated...

Tobias: I'm getting warmer (thanks to everyone's help!) I also love the sim/totem combo. Totem uses Sim and Ayre equipment when they demo, so the K-1 and the i-7 are interesting. I'm actually nervous about the idea of tubes, because it means more tweaking and maintenace down the road compared to SS. However, the Janus gets great reviews and has some great features (that even the Ayre lacks) so I'll make careful study of it. If I stick to my budget, I could get the Sim i-7 and the Ayre outboard phono for about the same as the Aesthetix Janus would cost me, and I wouldn't have to shell out extra for a power amp. I guess the question is do I want to be limited to my choice of phono stage, and get to play around with diff. power amps, or be limited to the power amp and try diff. phono stages. I listen to 50/50 vinyl/cd so that's a tough decision. Anone else in this predicament?

Thanks everyone, and keep the help coming!

Cellorover: Thanks for the info. As the Aesthetix pre is 6500 and the Ayre pre is 8600, it appears I'm not looking at preamps under 5-6K. I'm not looking to spend this money on principa (the plinius is on my list)l, it's just worked out that way, because, and this is the other thing I've mentioned above, I only want 2 boxes (covering pre/power and phono) and these seem to satisfy my needs without sacrificing too much in any area. Also, I'm sure the Modwright is a great preamp, and I'm sure Dan has every right to be confident in it, but I will only buy gear that I can audition in NYC, and I think this precludes the Modwright. Someone emailed me offline to say they thought the sim i-7 and ayre p-5xe combo would possibly rival the aesthetix janus and ayre v-5xe combo but at about 3 grand less (although they haven't heard the i-7) so that'll bear some looking into.

Rbstehno: I like the classe unit, but It also only goes to 225 at 4 ohm, and while that's not a concern with the Totems, I don't want to rule out the idea of getting a pair of huge brutes down the road if I end up finding something I like more than the Verity Fidelios. Also, I think the Plinius 9200 sounds better.

The Mcintosh I don't like. I know some people love Mc gear, I just may not be one of them. It's also HUGE, which is a drawback, and don't like the EQ feature (although I don't have to use it, I know).

Is it possible that there aren't integratedes in the sub 8K area that rival seperate pre/amp combos (w/out phono) the same way there are Preamps with onboard phonos that rival a line/outboard phono combo?

It seems more people end up trading their integrated for a pre/power combo than swapping out their Preamp for a 2-box line/phono solution; however, this is like comparing apples and oranges (and I'm by no means a fruit expert).

Thoughts?

R_f_sayles: After reading your back and forth with the ARC supporters on Perfectionist's thread on the Calypso, I'm scared what would happen if I _didn't_ get the Janus. Actually, after a long discussion with a really helpful Agoner (and the posts above!) it's looking like the only things I'm seriously considering from the ridiculously long list of gear are the following:

Sim i-7 + seperate phono stage (Aesthetix Rhea or Ayre P-5xe)
JRDG Concerto
Aesthetix Janus + power amp (to be determined)

I've been reading a bunch on the Janus and Aesthetix in general, and am very intrigued. My worries over tube warmth and high noise floor have been assuaged, and I think that it may make more sense to get a preamp I could live with for the conceivable future, as opposed to an integrated I might be tempted to upgrade. HOWEVER, I'm giving all these a try, because, well, I haven't heard them yet and I'd be an idiot not to. I gotta trust my ears, right (at least while there's still not too much hair growing out of them).

Any thoughts on power amps for the Janus? (sim, rowland, mccormack, etc. come to mind...would like to keep it SS)

The Ayre is outta my budget, the Plinius would be here for about 10 days and then be re-listed, the BAT I don't love (and feel like they're kicking you in the groin by making you purcahse the remote..I mean honestly!) and the Accustic Arts I can't demo (seems they've been dropped by their only NY dealer!?!)

I've noticed it's impossible for me to write any post that's less than about 2000 words, and half of them are just filler. Maybe I should start reviewing equipment professionaly? heh...

R_f_sayles: It seems Jim White is good at customer service (some say he's slow, but I've had not experience, clearly, so I'll reserve any opinion) so should a problem develop I'm confident he'll stand behind the product. As far as the reviews go, it's nice, but ultimately not a deal breaker. I did a little rading on the Atma-Spheres, but I think I'm going to stick with SS for now. I want tubes somewhere in the chain, but I think I'll start with the Pre, as this is my first tube exposure and I want to take my time getting used to it. Likely contenders would be a sim w-5, Rowland 201s, McCormack 250, and there are some nice classe's out there, or maybe an old rowland, but I'd prefer to buy new. What do your buddies use with their Aesthetix gear?

Heli_dog: Thanks for the heads up. What are you using the Copland with? Have you compared its phono stage with anything else? I can't seem to find who reps them in NY, so I guess I'll email the copland people. Anyone have an idea?

Also, any Rowland 201 users want to chime in on what they think of the sound? Man am I demanding!

Thanks everyone for your help...I'll continue to update this thread as I audition (starting this friday!) just in case anyone is interested. Maybe someday I'll even be able to add pics of my system, if I ever get to set it up. If you're selling/renting an apt. in downtown manhattan let me know!!!!

So I finally got to audition the rowland gear. I couldn't listen to the integrated, but I heard the concerto pre with the rowland 201s, with a meridian cd player and some B&Ws. The sound was unimpressive. Everything sounded rather condensed, especially in the lows and mids. The soundstage was pretty deep, and the imaging was rather nice, but something about the highs seemed to assault my ears. It seemed a little grating, and didn't make me want to listen. I'm not a B&W fan in general, although I have liked some of their stuff in my time, but this was just a bad match. I tried to get them to switch in some proacs, which I'm much more familiar with, but they only had them on special order. I think it's hysterical that a store of this size and inventory only has B&W speakers to audition with...filling quotas much? So that wasn't my cup of tea.

The Sim i-7 is apparently still not available, which is a bit of a drag. I mean, I know shipment dates aren't concrete things, but that's why it's better to say "Available in Fall 2005" instead of "Available in August 2005". I listened to an ayre K1xe at a friends place and ultimately think it's pretty great, but not for me. I listened to the Aesthetix Janus with a Cary 303/300, Bat VK-250, an Avid TT, and a pair of Audio Physics. The sound was great in the mids highs, but the bass, although it had great extension into the lower registers, sounded a little sluggish and murky. We swapped in some Electra 927BEs and it was a different ballgame altogether. If I was just looking for a line stage or just looking for a phono stage, I think I'd still get the Janus. Jesus, what a piece of equipment. I liked the BAT quite a bit too, and I think it had remarkably little signature. I almost wonder what their tube amp would sound like in this setup, but I'm still partial to SS at this stage. The Avid table sounded killer, and I need to find out the model # of it, because it's the first Avid I've heard and I _really_ enjoyed it. Some people have said they sound slow, but I disagree in this case. Also, I noted none of the tube rush on the Janus that others have cited. It was exceedingly quiet and not nearly as hot as I feared. Okay, so it's not winning any awards for power conservation, but if it sounds this good, who f-in cares.

So it looks like the Aesthetix is the winner. Next up: TT and cables.

I relistened to the Avid and I retract my earlier statement. It may sound a bit slow in comparison to the super scoutmaster. Not that it's a bad table, and I'm not even sure slow is the right word to describe the sound, but I think it involves some careful matching in other areas (but what doesn't?). In any case, I'll need to save up for the power amplifier before any changes to my analog source so I'll bother you all later when the time comes for my TT.