TAS Aesthetix Romulus Review

[jap]

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/aesthetix-romulus-cd-playerdac/

 

[Bodhi]

Thanks for posting the link Jap As an owner of this terrific player, I have to agree with Robert Harley..i've never heard a player at this price point which sounds this good. The Romulus has very natural/organic, flowing sound. And looking at the circuit design is a treat for the eyes. Here you can see Jim White's exceptional attention to detail and quality. As they say, "it's got it where it counts".

 

[Audioclyde]

I recently moved from the Meitner MA-1 to the Romulus--I actually prefer the Romulus to the Meitner on PCM; I hear a more organic, natural "meatier" presentation (although the Meitner is very good IMHO). I sorely miss the MA-1's ability to play DSD files however, and am eagerly waiting for Aesthetix to begin the Signature upgrade so that my Romulus will also be able to do DSD.

I'm a tube lover, and really enjoy being able to subtly tweak my sound with different tubes. I've found that a mix of Mullard 10M 6DJ8's with nos Tesla ecc83's is fantastic to my ears, or for an equally sublime but a bit different sound, Mullard cv4109's with Mullard 10M 12ax7.

I also use the Aesthetix Calypso pre, and like that it uses the same types of tubes, so that I can compile a nice stock of alternatives that will work in both the DAC and the pre.

I recently started feeding the dac's xlr input via a Transparent Ref XL cable from an Audiobyte Hydra X usb converter (my transport is a bootcamped Mac Mini running Windows Server 2012 with Audiophile Optimizer) and I've never had better digital playback.

For anyone using a Windows computer based system, I strongly urge that you give Windows Server 2012 with the Audiophile Optimizer a try. I'm still in the demo period of WS2012, so haven't had to pay that high license fee yet (although Phil the creator of Audiophile Optimizer now has it working with Windows Essential server software, which is a couple hundred bucks cheaper than WS2012), but I truly believe that the license fee I paid for Audiophile Optimizer is the best $ I've spent on audio in over 30 years of being immersed in this hobby! (No affiliation with Phil/Audiophile Optimizer other than as an extremely satisfied customer).

Randy

 

[cjfrbw]

Interesting, the Romulus is still using the Burr Brown 1792 chips also used in the (now) much older Yamaha RX Z9 HTR, which I still employ for the occasions when I listen to digital.

I know implementation is key, but i am surprised this Romulus didn't utilize some of the wowee zowee current chips. I still have no complaints about the performance of the Yamaha RX Z9.

 

[jap]

I sorely miss the MA-1's ability to play DSD files however, and am eagerly waiting for Aesthetix to begin the Signature upgrade so that my Romulus will also be able to do DSD.
Randy

Check with your dealer, Aesthetix has started doing the Signature upgrades.