Has anyone used the aesthetix calypso preamp?

I was going to invest in a Calypso, but after reading the online documentation that warned against using it with low-impedance amplifiers, I went a different direction.

The MusicalSurroundings.com site quotes the following:

Recommended load is >50K ohms"

Both of my amps at the time, a Pass X-250 and Sim Audio Titan, operate at 20-22Kohms, less then HALF of the reccomendation. So they will work great with SOME amps - not great with others.

Check your amp specs before making any assumptions about compatibility.

BTW - I looked up the input impedance of the Ayre V5x that Bigtee uses and your Plinius SA250. The Ayre's 100k load is 'SAFE' for use with this pre, and your Plinius is 47k.

Though fairly close to the recommended 50k, you MAY experience some minor softening of dynamics and extension when used with the Calypso.

I suggest you contact Musical Surroundings to discuss your particular situation before any purchase.

Bigtee,

Not to beat the point the death, but-

I totally agree that buyers should qualify with and hold Aesthetix responsible for their statement about 'Recommended load is >50K ohms' on their website. They need to understand that I completely avoided the Calypso BECAUSE of this statement. If one should REALLY cut a specific published impedance value in half, multiply by 2, take the square root or whatever, then manufacturers are only confusing potential customers with such broad-and-simple compatibility statements. Unfortunately, I have read posts on AudioAsylum and AudiogoN from people who have experienced softened or even severely-limited dynamics when using the Calypso with certain amps, so careful system matching MUST be taken very seriously with this pre.

If an output buffer circuit is supposed to make the Calypso 'immune to impedance mismatches', then why would they even feel the need to quote an acceptable impedance load at all? And they mention nothing about the target amp's gain characteristics, which also affects compatibility.

The gain and impedance curves of your Ayre amp are apparently well-matched with this pre, so your experience would obviously be quite positive if the Calypso's other sonic attributes suit your listening preferences.

I decided to go with a tube preamp that has a transformer-coupled output rated to tolerate impedances of as little as 300 OHMS - that's 0.3K Ohms! This characteristic shows up dramatically through BETTER dynamics and impact from this tubed unit then any of the previous Solid-State pre's that I have owned - which is really saying something. Now THAT's true immunity to impedance mismatches to me...

But as usual, YMMV....
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Bigtee-

Very good points. Please report back with us when you talk to Aesthetix.

I forgot to mention an amp's input sensitivity above - which is yet another important factor in the BLACK ART of system matching. Things like this never get any air-time when people openly recommend preamps they own.

But, as I said above, minor frequency/extension rolloff COULD be a potential problem with an impedance mismatch, so again, I agree with you.

As to the Calypso specifically, I researched it heavily and really liked what I saw, but then I read those few comments about poor dynamics or rolloff. Finally, the 50k manufacturer recommendation really pooched the deal and I went no further.

From the research that I have done, transformer-coupled tube output designs are a unique breed of preamp circuit, that has proven to generally combine the dynamics of solid-state pre's without sacrificing the mid-range magic and delicacy of tubes (when they are executed well). The VAC Renaissance series and some of the current Supratek and First Sound models (among others) use this basic design to help eliminate system/ground noise, to drive long interconnect runs and to match the impedance curves of virtually any power amp.

As to HOW it is specifically designed to improve these things and why it doesn't seem to cause other problems - I couldn't tell you. But I am sure that Kevin Hayes at VAC or Emmanuel Go of 1st Sound would be happy to.

I DID compare my VAC Ren to 4 well-regarded preamps - a tube hybrid and 3 solid-state pre's, all connected to my 'low impedance' 20kohm Pass X-250 amp. The VAC was clearly more dynamic and punchy then all 4, while it provided the 3-dimensional midrange that the SS pre's could only dream about.

All I can tell you is, I have NO problems with dynamics, extension or impedance-matching in my system... so it MUST work!
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