Aesthetix Io Sig vs Manley Steelhead-opinions pls

Not all trailing-edge transiency is equal. Listen for a component's ability to reproduce human intervention on decay. Perhaps most audibly evident from percussionists dampening their instrument (timps, bass drums, cymbals, bells,) with their hands. Conductors and concert musicians are aware of decay and actively manage it. Its pretty cool. That big dynamic full stop that leaves an harmonic cloud sprayed over the entire orchestra - that wonderful moment when the air is charged, when some are sated and some are stunned and no one is yet applauding. Or the flickering fade from the single emberesque note at the top end. Bow no longer touching string, asymptotic, the lark ascending.

And yep - some cables with their bloodless black backgrounds sucking on the event horizon only to offer hyped hi-fi artificiality that screams digititus. Point my ear at a real world black background - pretty rare if you ask me.

Tim

Tim,
Very well stated. Thank you.

Is the IO the very best?

Jtimothia, WOW! Very nice. Some will refer to that kind of language as descriptive pornography. Too bad, it's their loss. How can one remove the romance of the music from it's description? Anyway back to the subject at hand: It is an old and common truism among musicians that the silences are even more important than the notes. Enough said!

"... some cables with their bloodless black backgrounds sucking on the event horizon ..."

Nicely put, Tim (even if we're a bit slow in noticing).

Similar to such cables is the lubricant-laden stuff some people use on their vinyl to produce blacker backgrounds, which smothers the very life you described so, er, tonographically.