Aesthetix,cary audio and pass lab synergy


Hi there,
This is my first posting here and i am glad to be a part of this forum as i have been reading a lot from here before i joined up.

Coming from a car audio enthusiast over the years and after marriage things have changed and i have been looking, reading and auditioning over the past 6 months or so for a proper home proper hifi set up.
I will building my system around a pair of dyns confidence C1 speakers which I have acquired from my uncle who sold it for a very good price.

Finally i have narrowed down to these few brands that I am seriously looking into Aesthetix, cary audio, pass labs and rogue audio. These are the only brands that appealed to me due to its price ,sound and support.
CDP/DAC : Aesthetix Romulus
Preamp : Aesthetix Callisto, cary audio slp-05, pass xp-20
Amp : Aesthetix Atlas, cary S500.1, x250.5 and rogue M-180
Others are like ARC, Lamm, audio note, bryston and audio space i did auditioned but somehow it was either above my budget or it just didn't sound right to me. Also the dyns are on the power hungry side which was a factor for me when driving it with to its full potential which was why i didn't include cary tube amps ,passx100.5 monos and atlas monos(again also due to price factor).
Now the problem i am facing, is trying to get a good understanding on these system synergy when mixing these brands and a comparison shootout between these brands as its hard for me to get it on loan as I stay very far from those audio shops. So my question is :
1) Has anyone heard/auditioned a combination between these brands together such as romulus--slp-05--atlas as in compare to a full aesthetix setup or even a mixmatch such as romulus--slp 05--rogue M 180?

I have heard a full same brand matching but the curiosity side of me was to always think of better system synergy by mixing it up (this was how i did for my car audio and there was nothing on the same brand for my final setup)

2)for that some reviews showed that slp-05 was not a good combination with the SS pass x250.5 due to its impedance miss match how would it be with the combination of slp-05 or xp-20 with atlas amp or even rogue m180?

Well that's all for now, there will definitely be more questions coming from me but for now i shall leave it to this only.
Hoping for all of those who have had the experience and pleasure of listening to this brands could please chime in and give your advice to a noob like me..Cheers
128x128tjbhuler
I owned an XP20, XP10, Aesthetix Calypso, Aesthetix Janus, Pass Labs X250, X350, XA100.5's, and have Rogue M180's due to arrive Friday. I can tell you that the XP series is more forward and detailed but the Aesthetix has a more realistic sound. I personally sold the Pass XP's due to the Aeshetix sounding better to me. If you are looking for mirco detail the XP is the route you want to go. The XP10 vs the XP20 is in the weight of the instruments and the bass power. The XP20 is obviously the better of the 2 but the 10 has the same house sound. The Calypso and Janus sound very similar but the janus has a little more noise and runs a little hotter due to the extra tubes etx in the Janus. The X250 sounded good, X350 was a little more forward but more powerful, the XA100.5's sound excellent but a hair bass shy in comparison to some other amps. I will be doing a direct AB of the Rogue and XA100.5's Friday so we shall see.
wow that's great you have answered a few questions I had in mind..would love to know about your rogue and xa 100.5 review..
Just to be sure I understood, when you said that the bass of xa's a hair bass shy was it in comparison to the x250.5/350.5 amps ?
It was actually in reference to a comparison made recently between my Krell FPB300cx, Parasound A21, and the XA100.5's. The XA100.5s were the most realistic with the best timbre, depth, soundstage etc. The Krell was second best on all the attributes that make the pass great, but excelled in bass performance. The A21 lost to both amps pretty much in every category. Being the least expensive that was expected but I was really hoping for more from it.
I have often wondered about pairing the Aesthetix pre-amp w/ a Pass Labs power amp...

Love the Romulus spinner. for its price-point, there is nothing better! Great conversation/exchange of ideas here, keep up the excellent flow. Happy Listening!
great thanks for the reply..i am leaning towards aesthetix romulus--callisto--x250.5 combo..XA100.5 is something I definitely would like to try but i couldn't do a comparison between X.5 and XA.5 to hear how significant the differences are as the dealer had no stock on XA.5 series..