Aesthetix IO vs. Manley Steelhead vs. The Groove

AJ and Frank - I guess I should clarify. I'm a big believer in system synergy. I have no doubt that the tubby or tubey bass is coming from the Dynaco - I could hear that when I switched the amp in a few months ago. That bass compensated for a certain leanness in the Rogue phono stage that made listening to music easy.

Now that I have a fuller - read more accurate - sound from the Io, the tubby bass of the Dynaco is unacceptably audible - and for this reason I plan to replace my amp.

Will report on the fuse issue later today after I buy a replacement. I did indeed have the Io plugged into my Audio Magic Stealth, so maybe this was the problem!

Patrick

Yes, Patrick, system synergy is EVERYTHING AFAIK. I have an Audio Magic Matrix (for my digital isolation) but agree with A.J., do not out your Io into it.

When you get an amp that mates well with the Io and in your system, look out, you will like what you hear on those black discs!!

What's the Audio Magic Matrix?

Ouch - inserted replacement fuse, restarted the Io, and one of the EL-34s started glowing bright red and emitting a burning odor. Sounds like I've got a bad tube :-(

Will report back after I replace the EL-34s.

Wow, it gets worse. Popped in a pair of Chinese EL-34s, and now the OTHER tube won't get warm at all. But tube in place of the bad one glows properly. Tried switching a third tube into the other tube's place and still no luck - something in the circuit. Very weird.

I bought the unit secondhand from a reputable dealer - going back to him now. :-(