Aesthetix Io Users Group

[Johan K]

Yes you put that one on the map for me with a earlier post, i have been looking for a used one since, the Burmester 100 is on my radar too, on Ked's recommendation, they can occasionally be bought for about € 10 K, as can the Gryphon Legato Legacy

Hey Milan,

I had the Burmester 100 here prior to my Momentum phono. It was really really good sounding. I had true thoughts about to invest in it, as at the time the Momentum seemed out of reach. The Burmester 100 had close to the sound I was looking for and is really high quality both soundwise and build quality. I would definitely recommend it, or at least give it a try at your place… it would not hurt anyway.

For me in the end… I choosed the Momentum as the best choice for my setup and to match the rest of my gear. If you want to give your heavy wallet some air, maybe the Momentum is something for you as well. At least there’s no tubes inside !

/ Jk

 

[Johan K]

If or when i give up the Io i will probably go all SS i have lost all interest in tubes, not that big a fan of the sameness i hear coming from SUT"s either. Too much hassle with tubes when you are not a electric wizard and can do your own maintenance. I also find bass better with good SS, the Io is better sounding in some areas, but in the bass range my 37 year old SS built in phono section is superior, there is also a coherence in the tone range that the Io misses out on, with all its tubes. I would probably buy Burmester, Gryphon or Moon if i go SS. I will research the Manley, but not a big fan of it in the looks department. Thank you Stephan.

I would NOT recommend the MOON Phonostages together with your Martin Logans under ANY circumstances !! I have had them all here, and they were very very bright sounding, also very idiotic construction when you wanna change the loading and gain, which is under the unit or behind. The 810LP had to be turned off and turn upside down to change the loading… completely mad… thought my brain would explode!!

No no no - no Moon for you my friend..!!!

/ Jk

 

[bonzo75]

But regretfully a lot of tube gear seams to be badly designed, so some of us end up passing on those endless repair/shipping situations when we make future purchases,. I will probably never buy anything with tubes again. I have a total of about $20 K sunk into this piece of crap at this point. I keep paying for repairs in hope of a couple more roles in the hay with the Io, she sounds great when she works.

So blame yourself, not tubes

 

[Lagonda]

Hey Milan,

I had the Burmester 100 here prior to my Momentum phono. It was really really good sounding. I had true thoughts about to invest in it, as at the time the Momentum seemed out of reach. The Burmester 100 had close to the sound I was looking for and is really high quality both soundwise and build quality. I would definitely recommend it, or at least give it a try at your place… it would not hurt anyway.

For me in the end… I choosed the Momentum as the best choice for my setup and to match the rest of my gear. If you want to give your heavy wallet some air, maybe the Momentum is something for you as well. At least there’s no tubes inside !

/ Jk

Not a bad suggestion Johan, did Björn ever have yours in for repair ? He told me he measured one and it did not do very well and it surprised him. Maybe a previous model, this was back in 2019 when i visited him the last time in Sweden. After Björn has stopped repairing in am definitely over my Krell days, just had the dac in my KPS 25sc repaired, had to buy a used Primare CD player just to obtain the dac chip that had broken down for the third time about 9 years ago. I am so used to analog now, i am sitting here listening wondering why i bothered, i should not have listened to a new Van Morrison record i received today before listening to digital

 

[Lagonda]

So blame yourself, not tubes

I blame the construction of the Io, it has vaccinated me against future tube gear purchases and american class A products in general, running hot is just not durable in the long run, same problem with Krell.

 

[Johan K]

Not a bad suggestion Johan, did Björn ever have yours in for repair ? He told me he measured one and it did not do very well and it surprised him. Maybe a previous model, this was back in 2019 when i visited him the last time in Sweden. After Björn has stopped repairing in am definitely over my Krell days, just had the dac in my KPS 25sc repaired, had to buy a used Primare CD player just obtain the dac chip that had broken down for the third time about 9 years ago. I am so used to analog now, i am sitting here listening wondering why i bothered, i should not have listened to a new Van Morrison record i received today before listening to digital

Björn has never repaired anything of my gear. He has only serviced my amps and and one of my preamps. Not the Momentum though.

You have had some bad luck I have to say. I wonder if there is a spoky danish red/white Grinch on your power grid, making fuzzy things to your hifi gear.. LOL.. ??!!

 

[Johan K]

Not a bad suggestion Johan, did Björn ever have yours in for repair ? He told me he measured one and it did not do very well and it surprised him. Maybe a previous model, this was back in 2019 when i visited him the last time in Sweden. After Björn has stopped repairing in am definitely over my Krell days, just had the dac in my KPS 25sc repaired, had to buy a used Primare CD player just obtain the dac chip that had broken down for the third time about 9 years ago. I am so used to analog now, i am sitting here listening wondering why i bothered, i should not have listened to a new Van Morrison record i received today before listening to digital

I think you would actually like the Momentum phono very much due to its convenience in operation. Everything is on the front panel, gain, loading and capacitive.

50 dB for MM, 70 dB for MC. +/- 6 dB in adjustments for each and everyone of the four inputs. 2MC, 2 MM. Also of importance: it does not run particularly hot… just a fine sweet normal temp… only thing, it is rather expensive .

 

[Lagonda]

Björn has never repaired anything of my gear. He has only serviced my amps and and one of my preamps. Not the Momentum though.

You have had some bad luck I have to say. I wonder if there is a spoky danish red/white Grinch on your power grid, making fuzzy things to your hifi gear.. LOL.. ??!!

All my Krell problems where during the time i was living in Sweden, i had the unburied powerlines in the countryside under suspicion, we had black-outs often in Simlångsdalen almost always when a storm came trough, had it all recapped too. My brother has a KPS 25 Sc too, nothing but problems, laser, recapped and broken dac card. Björn could not repair the dac, as it used the Ultra Analog 20 bit dacs that where impossible to get ahold of 10 years ago, he is using it with a outboard dac. He still has a FPB 700 CX that has never broken down.

 

[Lagonda]

I think you would actually like the Momentum phono very much due to its convenience in operation. Everything is on the front panel, gain, loading and capacitive.

50 dB for MM, 70 dB for MC. +/- 6 dB in adjustments for each and everyone of the four inputs. 2MC, 2 MM. Also of importance: it does not run particularly hot… just a fine sweet normal temp… only thing, it is rather expensive .

I definitely like the look of the Momentum phono, very cool looking, hope he learned his lesson about heat management, i will put it on my phono list. Listening to my 39 year old Primare 928 right now, with the VDH Grand Crue it is amazing, better bass than the Io. With the Benz LPS the Io was better in general, with the VDH not so much.

 

[Johan K]

I definitely like the look of the Momentum phono, very cool looking, hope he learned his lesson about heat management, i will put it on my phono list. Listening to my 37 year old Primare 928 right now, with the VDH Grand Crue it is amazing, better bass than the Io. With the Benz LPS the Io was better in general, with the VDH not so much.

Sounds great you are able to play vinyl even without the IO, even though not exactly the sound you want. I think I would have a nervous breakdown if I’d have all the trouble you just described… It’s not fair for ANYONE to have that much trouble.

Yea the Momentum phono is no warmer than 35-40°C, and for me, it is the perfect match with my setup… 4 tonearms, different carts and gains… different loads… The Momentum just sum everything up to a nice package and send it flawlessly to my main preamp… so easy, so convenient. Think you would love it.

 

[Lagonda]

Sounds great you are able to play vinyl even without the IO, even though not exactly the sound you want. I think I would have a nervous breakdown if I’d have all the trouble you just described… It’s not fair for ANYONE to have that much trouble.

Yea the Momentum phono is no warmer than 35-40°C, and for me, it is the perfect match with my setup… 4 tonearms, different carts and gains… different loads… The Momentum just sum everything up to a nice package and send it flawlessly to my main preamp… so easy, so convenient. Think you would love it.

Don't get me wrong my old phono is so good with the VDH i would probably not have bought anything different if it had been this good with other carts, there is synergy, the Io never got a coherent bass with the VDH, i was going to experiment more with loading, bought a bunch of resistors before it broke down the last time. The Io has a smidgen more resolution in the treble and adds warmth that is not really on the recording sometimes, a tube thing, the Primare is more honest. You hear more of a pleasant sameness with the Io. I will definitely have to audition anything else directly in my system before buying it. The Io at this point is more about stubbornness and not having wasted all that money I have more or less given up on it long term by now.