My Tesla pair is now 75 hours in and for the past 15 hours it’s been exactly as Fabio describes. Golum suggested I use the 596 as recti and that is a good match for the kind of tonality I like (tho maybe it could use a little more pronounced bottom end). I’m not sure of Fabio’s use of the Callisto, but at least here it seems to be a kicker in what is coming out of the EL51s. I’ve been using a TotalDac USB cable/filter for several years, which has very natural warmth, smoothness, soundstage, clarity, etc. It runs between an SSD full of music files and a modified-to-digital-only Oppo 203. Earlier this week I swapped in a a three month old Callisto I picked up from a guy in Australia — thank you internet — and let it run continuously for 36 hours, then listened. It was like something I’d never heard before. As Fabio described, explosive, black background, large, articulate, transparent, midrange presence, alive without being edgy.. Just in another league, as if someone had finally allowed me in the high end listening room (for some reason, in spite of my older executive appearance, shops have always been steered in the other direction)..
But then I started wondering how much of this was the Callisto and how much the Tesla’s moving along in burnin. Comparing the two USB cables, it was immediately apparent that the Callisto brings more energy, transparency and articulation, all of which enhance the Tesla’s own, if not also its slight mid-high balance. In playing at modestly loud levels, It’s such a powerful pairing that sometimes I’m having to adjust the volume because on louder, closer miked passages they are apt to get those room modes going. Have to see if this smooths out with time.