Aesthetix Calypso vs ARC LS25 MK2

Oh my!!! And just whenI was getting quite interested in this (Calypso) pre amp!! I currently have an ARC LS25 and Rhea Phono and was geting ready for a possible change....but I'll wait for your further reports.....good luck!!!

Steady Perfectionist. . . it is likely that your linestage is just undergoing a little pubescent crisis. As soon as it gets over those new exciting hormonal changes, you'll be able to reason with it once again. Be patient. . . and you won't have to wait until its 20th birthday either! (chuckles!)

The advantages to the tube dampers are immediately noticable and include better inner detail. I did not notice any negative effect, and if there was, it was much smaller than the improvement. Nice thing is - they don't need a break-in HEHE. (and they are inexpensive)

As far as your Calypso going through changes, let it burn!
When I did the tube changes, it took a good three weeks (and a lot of hours) to settle down. During that time, it went from glorious to terrible within hours. It will end, patience is the key here.

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.