Aesthetix and Audio Research

rmaurin -- Thu, 11/30/2006 - 18:49

Has anyone listened to the new Audio Research PH-7 and the Aesthetix Io Signature? Comparison? I have an Aesthetix Io and am thinking of the Signature upgrade, but am intrigued by the new PH-7.

Jonathan Valin -- Sun, 12/03/2006 - 12:51

I have, and, IMO, the PH7 is, in most ways, hard to beat. It is much less noisy than the Io (and much less susceptible to noise), almost as bloomy and airy, at least as detailed (more, I think), superior in transient response, more natural in overall tonal balance, superb at staging, and much more convenient to use and adjust (to change loading you press a button on the remote). What the Io has that the ARC does not is unlimited gain; you can neither overload nor "underpower" the thing. If you use an extrmely low output cartridge or an extremely high output one, the Io might have an edge, but you still have to deal with the RFI/noise problem, which, in my listening room, was insurmountable. You also have to deal with the Io/Callisto's extremely irritating habit of blowing internal fuses at turn-on, which necessitates taking off the lids of the twin power supplies (you can't just leave them off unless you have unlimited floor space and no RFI) and figuring out which of the fuses has blown. This was a nightmare for me.

rmaurin -- Mon, 12/04/2006 - 08:50

Thanks Jonathan.

I have the Aesthetix Io (non-Signature) and a .4mV Koetsu Urushi Vermillion. I am starting to think this is not the most synergistic match. There is a veiling and darkness to the sound. (I do use the balanced outputs on the Io) So I was thinking of moving to the PH-7 and keeping the Koetsu or buying a Clearaudio Titanium and keeping the Io. Since I am not using a preamp (Using the attenuators on my Tenor OTL’s), I think I will run into gain problems with the PH-7 and the Koetsu. Maybe the Clearaudio and Io is the way to go.