Aesthetix Calypso vs ARC LS25 MK2

Thanks for the support guys (and the laughs).
I'll keep you posted.

Well, this is all very interesting indeed...

It was a rough weekend of not enjoying my music until Sunday. My initial impressions of the Tungsram tubes (8/29 post) was right on. There must be something wrong with these tubes, 'cause they sound like shit. Good inner detail and nice mids and highs, but the bass is not right at all. Not just a lack of bass, but there's something awry with it, it's hard to put it in words. They are also UNINVOLVING and UNMUSICAL IMO, two things I can't do. And I've racked up more than enough hours on them so that is not an issue. I put the stock Tesla's in yesterday morning, which only had about 10 hours on them, and the sound yesterday was FANTASTIC. Not as much inner detail and air as the Tung's and GE's though, this I did notice. I should have went with my gut and kept the GE's. But one would occasionally pop, and everything I've read on Agon praises the Tung's.

Now there are some extenuating circumstances here...

1) As I've said before, all the tube rolls I did up to the point where the pre opened up were pretty much a moot point.

2) The nirvana that my girlfriend and I experienced the weekend that the pre let loose was with the GE's installed.

3) I did my last tube roll on labor day during a time when the pre went in the shitter cause it's still going through it's "changes." It sounded horrible this day, and I tried to make a final determination on tubes at that time. Not the ideal conditions obviously.

Now that the pre is sounding good again (and I hope it stays that way now), well like I said, the Tesla's are mucho better than the Tung's, and with less hours.
And I don't think it's a system synergy thing, as my first impressions of this tube were that they didn't sound "right."

And I'm sure there is something not right with these Tung's as many audiophiles with far more experience than myself say it's a good tube.

I just hope Kevin at Upscale will understand and take them back and send me out either a different set of Tung's or a set of GE's as I've already returned the GE's and Brimars.
But my gut is telling me to go with the GE's.

So in conclusion...Sounding very nice indeed with the stock (and quiet) Tesla's (right now),
but lacking some inner detail and air of the GE's and Tung's.

Kevin at Upscale, being the cool dude that he is, has agreed to send me a different pair of GE Longplate 12ax7's (due to the occasional pop from one) to replace the Tungsram's.

As of today this thread has had 3360 views, so I thought I should give an update.

I had put two Supra Lorad pc's into my system, one on pre and one on cdp, I have since pulled them out and put my H-T pro ac-11 back on the pre and a stock JC1 pc on the cdp. The Supra's provided more detail, but my system "hits" much harder with the other pc's mentioned above. The GE longplates are wonderful rock 'n roll tubes, 'nuff said on that.
This pre is very sensitive to iso devices. My friend was nice enough to sell me his two pairs of Aurios Pro's, which are under pre and cdp. I ordered a set(3) of 5/8" Tungsten Carbide balls (Hoover Precision)(per Tgun5's suggestion) to try under the pre as a test. At $15 each, what the hell. Nice, very nice. More detail and even more headroom. I like 'em so much I'm ordering a set for the cdp this week.

So the sound finally started to settle in now that I haven't messed with anything for awhile.
But there was one more thing to do...

Speaker placement, speaker placement, speaker placement...

Yes, I know it's important, but I'll go as far as to say it's tantamount, at least with my gear (specifically speakers). This pre throws a much larger/wider soundstage than the LS25 and speaker placement turned out to be a critical factor here. I just finally got them dialed-in yesterday and re-spiked them.

My system is sounding amazing, and on a consistant basis. I now have no reservations of moving on from the LS25 to the Calypso and am no longer looking back...:-)

I'm not sure how many people have your patience Perfectionist, but I'm glad to here you've gotten there. The speaker issue is one many of us forget to re-address when a new component comes into our systems. For me 1/16th of an inch can be huge sonically, so thank you for reminding all of us about that.
Your experience with the Aurios Pro match my experience. I have tried so many combinations with the Pro's that I know for a fact that everything you try will change the sound, and it is trial and error to find the right combination. I use Orchard Bay titanium cones (no longer made) on my Aurios Pros. I would recommend trying everything you can get your hands on, the isolation can be bigger than tubes and cabling. At least that's my ten cents.
Thanks for the update!
JD