I am an Aesthetix lover and currently own the Mimas Integrated amp. I owned the Aesthetix Calypso for many years with Quicksilver tube monoblocks and it was a great combination. When I switched to a Pass 250.5 the Calypso did not work well with it. After listening to many preamps I landed on an Audio Research Ref 3. It was a major improvement over the Calypso with the Pass amplifier. A Pass preamp was also really good with it but I slightly preferred the Ref 3 and got a great deal on it. YMMV. Good Luck.
Anybody familiar with both Aesthetix and Audio Research?
Somebody is telling me that Aesthetix is comparable to Arc and I would be using my money more wisely going for a Calypso Signature than an Audio Research ref 6SE. But from reading it seems the Callisto is far superior to the Calypso.
I am already familiar with Arc gear which I like a lot but know little about Aesthetix.
I'll be matching it to a pass xa 25 and am looking for a deeper soundstage(one which goes way back) and more transparency with large orchestral forces.
Some poster was comparing the Calypso Signature to a ref 3 which would of course be a real step back to me.
Anybody know the two brands and have an opinion?
Thanks