Aesthetix Io-Reliability Problems???

I have had only one pilot error problem (my fault) with Aesthetix Io (volume conrols) in two plus years of very continous use. Jim White has been fantastic with responding to my needs. I had the second power supply added to my unit and WOW that makes the music performance even better.

I have three different tube sets for each area of Jim White's Aesthetix design. Stock Sovteks of course for everything and they were pretty good. I am doing this from work right now and don't have the exact facts in front of me right now. Please feel free to E-mail me directly if you want the exact specific brand and tube types. So go easy on me if I am misspelling the brand names in the following tidbits. Still going from my memory the preamp section I got NOS Mullard and Mazda special selects. For the PS I got extra Mullard EL34s and then went to Genelex KT-66s. Jim White can customize the pre-amp area to accept two power supplies. Note the standard product has one very hefty separate power 19X22X6 supply. With Jim's mod you then get to add another one just like it for even better power supply reserve, regulation, and lower noise. How much does this really helps - is subject to your interpretation of the final results. Jim is very happy with the standard product, as he has designed. I like the tube changes that I have dove and adding the extra power supply. BTW: Albert Porter was great in helping and suggestion way to change the sound. He really knows the sound of many tubes. Also, Ken at Upscale Audio was extremely helpful on tubes sound characteristic and getting me great NOS tubes. Hope this helps. Also, Jim White was very responsive and treated me very well even when I did a dumb ass thing like having a wrong tube type in the wrong place. Amazing that it worked at all. BTW: do e-mail me, because I want to continue the good practice of assisting others that people like Albert Porter practice on this site.

I am aghast with some of the long-term reliability comments being made here with out any specifics details on those problems and the resolution of them. I am user for over two plus years and no Aesthetix caused problems period. Yet on the other hand I am a tweeker I am a tweeker-DIY, and I make many more mistakes than the manufactures. Maybe what we have here is a great design, complex true, which is getting us 80db gain in a phono stage with out a step up transformer. Maybe there are just too many tubes to not touch. I am glad Albert chained in with a detail brand description of the possible tube changes on could make to better suit you personal music taste. Because, I've been doing this type of thing since 1955 I did immediately go the route of NOS (along Albert's suggestions), But I do have to emphasis several points here the Aesthetix in its stock form (per review) is one of the best phono pre-amps in the world. The best, No! That is always you're personal choice and very subjective. I found the Aesthetix Io to be the only phono circuit that could drive my very low output MC with the music I was looking for and with too much noise. The second point is that Jim White does recommend changing to stock tubes to other NOS brands although he knows that people like Albert and myself will do exactly that. Still, Jim White has been just great to me when I made an error on my unit. He figured it out for me and we were off and running again. The last point I would make is that I do use the French Mazda's in the first phono stages and I had no problems at all. These French Mazda's are very transparent, fast, detail and very low noise. Perfect for that stage. With all this will an Aesthetix be right for you and your system, you knows? There are a lot of very good pre-amp (phono) out there - go and listen. Try to find out about reliability, but trust people that will give specifics with the equipment they have actually owned for a while.