Ypsilon VPS-100 MKII + MCL / CH P1 / Aesthetix Io

[Ron Resnick]

I have had my Io fail 6 times, none of them were capacitor failures, no tubes have seem to be the culprits either. The Io is known for unexplained failures where diodes and regulator transistors fail, without apparent reasons. Multiple repair men have also warned about potential circuitboard failure in connection with these phantom problems, that is what happened in my last breakdown. Maybe the reason is power transformers that go bad over time, seems to happen especially to 220-240 V versions. Mine has been back to the US factory 2 times, and never worked more than 1 year maximum without breakdown, average run time has been about 3 month between breakdowns. Be sure to be prepared for long repair times every time it breaks, Aesthetix seem to average at least 3 month, with several European owners reporting 6 month to a year wait time. Just know what you can potentially be subjected to as a Io owner.

You undoubtedly have had a very bad experience, I agree.

Who are these multiple repair men? A year and a half ago Jim came on this thread and explained that he does not want the Io going to random technicians who are not factory approved. Sending the Io to random technicians who are not factory approved, and then complaining about not achieving a working Io, is unfair, is wrong and is not Jim's fault.

An owner who sends an Io to a random technician who is not factory approved has no standing to complain.

Who are these several European owners?

A year and a half ago Jim came on this thread and explained the European service technician and repair process that should be followed. Have you and each of these European owners followed that stated procedure?

I concluded that my current noise problem is not being caused by the Io.

 

[bonzo75]

These three are fairly similarly priced, which one you would get? As a long term component without any knowledge which cartridge you'll end up having in your collection, or arm or even turntable.

Allnic, having compared 7000 with Ypsilon, 5000 with IO Eclipse.

Thrax second iteration is excellent.

Ear 834p is a giant killer when tubes are swapped with telefunken (possibly also Mullards)

 

[Gregm]

Ear 834p is a giant killer when tubes are swapped with telefunken (possibly also Mullards)

I second that (esp with Telefunken, no idea abut Mullards, reportedly modern KR are also good)

 

[thekong]

You undoubtedly have had a very bad experience, but it is unfair to Jim to keep defaming the Io.

Who are these multiple repair men? A year and a half ago Jim came on this thread and explained that he does not want the Io going to random technicians who are not factory approved. Sending the Io to random technicians who are not factory approved, and then complaining about not achieving a working Io, is unfair, is wrong and is not Jim's fault.

An owner who sends an Io to a random technician who is not factory approved has no standing to complain.

Who are these several European owners?

A year and a half ago Jim came on this thread and explained the European service technician and repair process that should be followed. Have you and each of these European owners followed that stated procedure?

I concluded that my current noise problem is not being caused by the Io.

I don’t think Lagonda was defaming either the Io or Jim White; he was just sharing his experience! Didn’t he say his Io went back to the factory 2 times, and never worked for more than one year? Do you consider that normal and acceptable for a highend phono?

Lagonda is certainly not the only owner faced with this problem, and we have seen a number of European and Asian owners, including myself, sharing similar experiences in the Io user thread! Actually, I would be very interested to know if any European and Asian member, using 220-240V unit, can share their experiences on having a reliable Io years after years!

I love the sound of the Io, and I certainly don’t want to say bad things about it! But then, it is what it is, and there is no denying the Io, at least those 220-240V units, have reliability problems! I would be glad if the new in-house transformers have solved the problem, but we are not seeing any assurances from the factory on that yet!

I appreciate that you have a reliable Io, and I am certainly envious! Unfortunately, many European and Asian owners are not having the same good fortune !

 

[Argonaut]

I would second the recommendation of the Aries Cerat Talos , you may find the following thread of interest , there being references to the Talos as well as references to other phono’s.

Aries Cerat Talos Signature Worth It?

Hi all, I am new here, from Jakarta- Indonesia. My friend introduced me to this forum, I am usually active on the ‘other’ forum. Nice to be here and hope to share and learn with you folks. I am in the process of finalizing my front end. Components are as follow: - Kuzma XL DC with Kuzma 4-11 TA...

www.whatsbestforum.com

 

[Lagonda]

You undoubtedly have had a very bad experience, but it is unfair to Jim to keep defaming the Io.

Who are these multiple repair men? A year and a half ago Jim came on this thread and explained that he does not want the Io going to random technicians who are not factory approved. Sending the Io to random technicians who are not factory approved, and then complaining about not achieving a working Io, is unfair, is wrong and is not Jim's fault.

An owner who sends an Io to a random technician who is not factory approved has no standing to complain.

Who are these several European owners?

A year and a half ago Jim came on this thread and explained the European service technician and repair process that should be followed. Have you and each of these European owners followed that stated procedure?

I concluded that my current noise problem is not being caused by the Io.

The first of these repairmen was a Swedish technician hired by the Scandinavian importer to repair my Io during its warranty period, he had a hard time getting diagrams from Jim. This happened after the Io had been returned to the factory twice with ridicules waiting times and resulting high shipping expenses incurred by the importer. None of these repairs lasted very long and a local repair is the only option that is feasible with a product this unreliable. Go back trough the Io thread and you will find owners in Hong Kong, Norway, Denmark and Italy with problems, some with pictures of their smoking Io's some have given up and sold their Io's, others have shelved them for long periods of time in disgust, like i did when it broke the 4 time after the warranty had run out. I never had a noise problem, just sudden breakdowns.

 

[bonzo75]

The first of these repairmen was a Swedish technician hired by the Scandinavian importer to repair my Io during its warranty period, he had a hard time getting diagrams from Jim. This happened after the Io had been returned to the factory twice with ridicules waiting times and resulting high shipping expenses incurred by the importer. None of these repairs lasted very long and a local repair is the only option that is feasible with a product this unreliable. Go back trough the Io thread and you will find owners in Hong Kong, Norway, Denmark and Italy with problems, some with pictures of their smoking Io's some have given up and sold their Io's, others have shelved them for long periods of time in disgust, like i did when it broke the 4 time after the warranty had run out. I never had a noise problem, just sudden breakdowns.

But why go solid state after this frustration? Next you will go digital because your phono let you down

 

[Lagonda]

But why go solid state after this frustration? Next you will go digital because your phono let you down

I just don't feel like taking chances with tubes anymore SS is just more reliable . I prefer the bass of good solid state anyway, tubes give i slightly warmer presentation, depending on tube, but is something added to the recording. Pleasurable but not necessarily totally honest. I might pick up something cheap like EAR as reserve.

 

[Ron Resnick]

I prefer the bass of good solid state anyway, tubes give i slightly warmer presentation, depending on tube, but is something added to the recording.

To me, it's not only about tonal balance. Tubes for me provide "breath of life" -- which I do not consider to be a tonal balance phenomenon.

What about a VAC or VTL phono stage? (no reliability issues there)

 

[bonzo75]

To me, it's not only about tonal balance. Tubes for me provide "breath of life" -- which I do not consider to be a tonal balance phenomenon.

What about a VAC or VTL phono stage? (no reliability issues there)

VTL 6,5 was poor

 

[Lagonda]

To me, it's not only about tonal balance. Tubes for me provide "breath of life" -- which I do not consider to be a tonal balance phenomenon.

What about a VAC or VTL phono stage? (no reliability issues there)

Ron, i have an old SS preamp with phono that does breath of life better than the tube phonos included a VAC i have tried in my system. The Io is slightly better, but does not quite make it all the way in the bass, maybe finer adjustments in loading and differently voiced tubes could improve the bass, but it is never working long enough for me to get there. The Io's greatest quality is its dynamics, but it is probably slightly exaggerated, after buying a VDH Grand Crue the difference have diminished, it seems to favor my SS phono, my Benz LPS favored the Io to a higher degree. I love the big sound of the Io and wish it would be playable more often.

 

[thekong]

Ron, i have a old SS preamp with phono that does breath of life better than the tube phonos included a VAC i have tried in my system. The Io is slightly better, but does not quite make it all the way in the bass, maybe finer adjustments in loading and differently voiced tubes could improve the bass, but it is never working long enough for me to get there. The Io's greatest quality is its dynamics, but it is probably slightly exaggerated, after buying a VDH Grand Crue the difference have diminished, it seems to favor my SS phono. I love the big sound of the Io and wish it would be playable more often.

The Io’s big sound is exactly what I am addicted to!

 

[mtemur]

Dear @Lagonda and @thekong I’m reading your unfortunate IO experience and trying to overcome its issues on this thread. I also know that you like the sound of IO. This reminds me the sound of Tungsol 5687 black plates square getter from 50s and VT-231 oval mica, copper posts D-getters from 40s. That special 5687 tube sounds great on Kondo Ongaku similarly that VT-231 sounds great on Kagura as well as other amps. But it is almost impossible to find those tubes without microphony. What makes them sound great is also making them microphonic. Probably same goes with Aesthetix IO. What makes it sound good probably makes it unreliable.

 

[thekong]

Hi mtemur, I would not be surprised if the Io’s big sound came from the high number of tubes used (32 tubes total for the dual power supply units) and the two hefty power supplies. It would be acceptable to me if it required a little more maintenance compared to other highend phonos due to the heat generated. But it certainly should not be that problematic!

Curiously, many of the Io users in the US, with 110V units, have reported having trouble free units for 10+ years. That’s why I suspect the problem is just due to the 220-240V transformers, and hope the new in-house transformers can fixed the problem!