YikesA couple of thousand pounds of shipping on my American made speakers in my case, cost me $9K shipping one way !
Aesthetix Io Users Group
- Thread starter audioquest4life
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The switch to Allnic is temporary- until my Io returns. I will experiment with the unit over the next month or two and come up with some first hand thoughts. Who knows what might happen.....
The Io with VC in my system, over the years, has been very hard to beat when its loaded with NOS European tubes in the PS and pre.
Early days I just put it into the system ---- will have to live with it for a while---- its a temp loaner. My Io will be out for a month or two.
Hi Kcin, I would be very interested in your comment on Io vs Allnic! Years ago, when Albert Porter switched from Io and Callisto to Allnic (I believe the 5000s at the time), I asked him about the difference. If I remember correctly, he said the Io had that big sound and a wider soundstage, while the Allnic had more precise imaging. I would be very interested to know if that still holds true.
Thanks
Thanks
I think that you should translate your own posts to english when you post on a english speaking forum !
I think that you should translate your own posts to english when you post on a english speaking forum !
I do!
Will be interesting for Sure. Not a bad shoe in for now. I almost did a trade in for an Allnic a few years ago with Albert Porter but I ended up doing the Eclipse upgrade with dual power supplies and I feel as if I cannot ask for anything more. I truly believe that at this level, it is really a matter of taste. I really have nothing to fault or to make disparaging comments about the Io. I have sent it to the factory for repair once (was not a fault, but a tube issue) and the Eclipse upgrade afterwards at least 13 years apart. I am not seeking anything else because I am satisfied but I am always interested to hear what differences are out there. For me, no matter the difference, I like my sauce the way it is. Now, the fact that the Allnic 7000 is considered a viable competitor or contender to the Io, well, after all of these years, it is about time someone caught up to the sound qualities of the Io. The Io reminds me of the phono preamp by Dr. Arther Loesch of Tempo Electric, Tempo Electric . It is a classic beauty that stands the test of time and is constantly appreciated as we and the devices age with grace. For those who have held onto their Io for so long, know this to be true.
Well said @audioquest4life
I am not "looking" for a change I am a long time owner of the Io with VC and Eclipse upgrade. You would not believe the heavy hitters I have had in here to get" better and simple"... the Io stands the test of time.
Nothing is for ever though so I will see. I'll have the Allnic here for long enough to form an opinion
So I got an email from Glenn at Aesthetix to say my 3 boxes arrived in good condition in California 3000 miles away.
....and according to UPS the boxes were accepted by "White" So you get the boxes signed off by the head engineer and CEO and you get the Service Manager emailing you to tell you your boxes are safe.
Who does that in 2023? so cool.
....and according to UPS the boxes were accepted by "White" So you get the boxes signed off by the head engineer and CEO and you get the Service Manager emailing you to tell you your boxes are safe.
Who does that in 2023? so cool.
You’re right, nothing is forever. Your shared experiences are valuable to this hobby. Can’t wait to hear your listening impressions.
I do believe you and Ron are getting special treatment !
I only tried directly contacting Aesthetix the first time my Io was being repaired, with no answer, they ignored my emails and went trough the distributer instead. A somewhat different customer experience !I have never contacted Aesthetix regarding repairs, as all official repairs were handled by the agent.
However, I have emailed Jim White a few times over the years regarding tubes and setup issues, which I have always got prompt replies from either Jim or Glenn!
However, I have emailed Jim White a few times over the years regarding tubes and setup issues, which I have always got prompt replies from either Jim or Glenn!
Credo davvero che tu e Ron stiate ricevendo un trattamento speciale!
I consider you lucky men (Aesthetix audiophiles), I must say that Aesthetix too, both Jim and Glenn, answered me but except for the proposed eventuality of shipping the devices from the Italian importer (I wouldn't even do it dead face the experience previously had) or alternatively to America from Italy (cost of the single return shipment of over 2000 euros) I was unable to obtain anything else. As for the differences between Allnic 7000 and Aesthetix io Signature I have to confirm what was previously said in a previous post, it is absolutely true aesrhetix has a decidedly extremely persuasive valve character with a huge soundstage, provided you hit a perfect tube Rolling, while allnic 7000 while maintaining a tube character it is more precise while remaining very sweet, in terms of detail they both play very well, I believe that these devices in the medium-high price range are among the best ever since in my experience I have had in my system as well as they also have the Bat vk 12 Se , the Manley Steelhead and other Phono grade. I must however point out that the aesthetix compared to the Allnic requires at least an hour of heating to give its best, while the Allnic manages to reach maximum efficiency in 30 minutes. probably the day I manage to get my Signatoure back repaired I will sell it together with the Allnic H 7000 to switch to the Allnic H 8000, after listening to the latter I think there are not many other alternatives. I apologize in advance for my bad English
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No special treatment here Milan just a customer.I do believe you and Ron are getting special treatment !
I phoned Aesthetix spoke to Glenn at length had several email exchanges and It was decided to get our distributor in on the conversation to see if he could help locally. In the end I elected to send the unit in. Glenn prepared the import paperwork- I'm in Canada-and asked the distributor to sign a copy of the paper work in to affirm original importation ( NAFTA) and it was done literally same day within hours.
It was smooth process with total communication amongst my dealer, Distributor and Aesthetix. I have spoken to Jim in the past for my Eclipse work directly on the phone.
I fully expect the work to stand in queue for a few months- but- I knew that going in- its summer here and I am mostly out and about so it works out.
Well.........
Just became a member, and wanted some help with the Io signature version, but after reading all 58 pages in this thread, I´m afraid, there´s not much to have.
Just to clarify, I´m a certified A/V technician, and has been for close to 50 years. And here´s where the story begins.
My longtime friend and fellow enthusiast, living just 10 min. from my residense,
has enjoyed his Io signature for many years. He has been playing for several hours daily, and a couple of years ago, he decided, that it was time for tube-replacement. He contacted the sweedish distributor and put in an order for a complete tube packet. 15 months later, without any response, he gave up. The only explanation he got, was that Aeshetix didn´t reply.
Then about a month ago he called me, almost in tears, that the Io had stopped working. The HT and filament lamps on PSU lighted up slowly as normal, but no sound.
I asked him to bring it, which he did. We took the cover off of the PSU, and the obvious came to sight. Big black burnt spot on one of the EL34 sockets. 5 or 6 traces on the PCB had gone up in smoke.
Have spent a couple of weeks measuring an repairing the PCB, replaced the socket, since it was impossible to clean (deep burn into the ceramic). 4 of the LM317T regulators shorted, small transistors shorted/open, several electrolytics shorted with big burnmarks on them etc etc.
Replaced all tubes in both Io and PSU.
Now it powers up, all filaments glow normally. Connected to my home system, you can hear amplification is active, meaning the tube hiss sounds normal when turning the pre fully up. But still no signal. You can faintly hear music being played when the volume is turned to max., so something is still missing.
That´s when I contacted Aesthetix by e-mail....... twice, since the first email wasn´t replied to in over a week. I also wrote the serial no. which are the same on both riaa and psu, and offered to send pictures to prove ownership (of my friend, of course). Asked them the second time, if it could really be true, that my e-mail didn´t even qualify for a reply. Still nothing.
Then trying to phone them within office hours = "The person at this extension is not available at the moment"......at every call.
The shipping costs (from Denmark anyway) is beyond stupid close to fraud, so unfortunately not an option.
I guess reverse engineering a schematic from the PCB would be possible, if you had nothing else to do for the next couple of months, but this too is not an option, at least for me.
All I can say for now is, that I´m really dissapointed with the way, Aesthetix treat their customers not residents of the US. I would have been happy signing a NDA, just to have a glance at the schematics of the PSU, but not getting my hopes up anymore. My friend is equally dissapointed too, and no matter how good the Io is, it has to go when finally finished.
Should I have missed any info in any post, or if someone has similar experience/solution, I would love to hear.
@Lagonda..... seeing, you´re from Denmark, please PM me with info on who in Sweeden you were mentioning.
Sorry for the loooong post.
Just became a member, and wanted some help with the Io signature version, but after reading all 58 pages in this thread, I´m afraid, there´s not much to have.
Just to clarify, I´m a certified A/V technician, and has been for close to 50 years. And here´s where the story begins.
My longtime friend and fellow enthusiast, living just 10 min. from my residense,
has enjoyed his Io signature for many years. He has been playing for several hours daily, and a couple of years ago, he decided, that it was time for tube-replacement. He contacted the sweedish distributor and put in an order for a complete tube packet. 15 months later, without any response, he gave up. The only explanation he got, was that Aeshetix didn´t reply.
Then about a month ago he called me, almost in tears, that the Io had stopped working. The HT and filament lamps on PSU lighted up slowly as normal, but no sound.
I asked him to bring it, which he did. We took the cover off of the PSU, and the obvious came to sight. Big black burnt spot on one of the EL34 sockets. 5 or 6 traces on the PCB had gone up in smoke.
Have spent a couple of weeks measuring an repairing the PCB, replaced the socket, since it was impossible to clean (deep burn into the ceramic). 4 of the LM317T regulators shorted, small transistors shorted/open, several electrolytics shorted with big burnmarks on them etc etc.
Replaced all tubes in both Io and PSU.
Now it powers up, all filaments glow normally. Connected to my home system, you can hear amplification is active, meaning the tube hiss sounds normal when turning the pre fully up. But still no signal. You can faintly hear music being played when the volume is turned to max., so something is still missing.
That´s when I contacted Aesthetix by e-mail....... twice, since the first email wasn´t replied to in over a week. I also wrote the serial no. which are the same on both riaa and psu, and offered to send pictures to prove ownership (of my friend, of course). Asked them the second time, if it could really be true, that my e-mail didn´t even qualify for a reply. Still nothing.
Then trying to phone them within office hours = "The person at this extension is not available at the moment"......at every call.
The shipping costs (from Denmark anyway) is beyond stupid close to fraud, so unfortunately not an option.
I guess reverse engineering a schematic from the PCB would be possible, if you had nothing else to do for the next couple of months, but this too is not an option, at least for me.
All I can say for now is, that I´m really dissapointed with the way, Aesthetix treat their customers not residents of the US. I would have been happy signing a NDA, just to have a glance at the schematics of the PSU, but not getting my hopes up anymore. My friend is equally dissapointed too, and no matter how good the Io is, it has to go when finally finished.
Should I have missed any info in any post, or if someone has similar experience/solution, I would love to hear.
@Lagonda..... seeing, you´re from Denmark, please PM me with info on who in Sweeden you were mentioning.
Sorry for the loooong post.
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If an audio component (other than loudspeakers) I have needs repair I assume I am going to have to send it back to the factory. High shipping cost is the risk we take on a component made in another country, or made across a big country.
Maybe so, but considering the product price, it´s beyond sane, that Asthetix won´t prioritize a service network outside their own factory. Most (not all) brands don´t suffer from that kind of arrogance, and are most willing to distribute schematics/service bulletins etc etc., to have happy, satisfied customers. Seems the closer you get to a niche product, the more they price themselves as having the 8.th wonder of the world, surrounding it with secrets no one can be allowed to know anything about.
It has to be bad for business.
I remember one incident, when still working in the repair-business, I had a customer with a Canadian "Sonic Frontiers" preamp. The primary of the psu transformer had shorted due to heat. Although out of warranty, they shipped a new transformer free of all charges, because as they said "This should not happen to one of our products".
Maybe a bit over the top considering what to expect, but if you can´t even bother to answer an e-mail from a service technician, then in the matter of "service minded" Aesthetix har some serious problems.
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