My Take on Rhea
There have been a number of beautiful Phono Preamps to pass through Schroeder HiFi over the years. Most of which have done one or two things well, sometimes exceedingly well, though have always had something obvious to take fault with. From tonality to noise to (very) hard-to-get-to internal switches for adjusting your gain or "load" settings on your cartridge.
Enter Aesthetix Audio and their sublime "Rhea" phono stage. I'll confess now that this phono stage is actually the reason I picked up Aesthetix's entire line (well the Rhea and the Mimas Integrated, more on that later...).
There are always a few turntables on display in the shop at any given time. I try to have a range of cartridges ready to go as well. These typically range from Moving Magnet designs with higher outputs, to high-end Moving Coil designs, most often with lower outputs as well as a need for adjustable loading to dial in and get the most out of them.
Okay Schroeder, focus, What's sooo great about the Rhea...
- If it doesn't have "the sound", I wouldn't be droning on here in the first place... Detail, musicality, realistic sense of space and depth topped off with just the right amount of "woo" to make you sink another inch deeper into your seat. Let's be honest, this is Vinyl we're talking about. If it doesn't Woo me, I'm not going to put up with the inconvenience! You WANT to listen more and more...
- You can adjust the gain and loading of your cartridge while seated in your chair via the remote control. This is a very big deal to anyone who has had to turn their phono pre over, with all the wires hanging out the back, so as to twiddle the tiny "Dip Switches" inside.
- It has 3 input channels! I'm able to have 3 (I always have at least 2) different carts hooked up at the same time and toggle between. For folks such as myself who have large vintage Mono jazz collections, you can switch between your Mono Cart and Stereo cart on the fly.
From Aesthetix
Rhea is an all-tube phono stage, suitable for moving coil and moving magnet cartridges. It offers high maximum gain at 75 dB, making it ideal for low output cartridges. Rhea broke new ground as the first phono stage with 3 phono inputs, the first with gain and loading settings stored in memory for every input, and the first with full remote control adjustability. Dual-mono audio boards provide superb channel separation and soundstaging. A cartridge demagnetizer is a built-in convenience that can also be operated by remote control. The all-aluminum chassis is designed for rigidity and acoustic inertness, the brushed anodized panels are beautiful too. Rhea has enjoyed worldwide acclaim for its sound quality, build quality, flexibility and ease of use.
Key Features:
- Three RCA inputs.
- Each input has its own gain and loading setting that is saved even when in standby mode or the unit is turned off.
- Zero feedback.
- 40-75dB gain maximum, selectable via front panel or remote control.
- 9 MC loading settings: 75-47,000 ohms, selectable via front panel or remote control.
- Remote control of gain, loading, input switching, mute, and demagnetizer.
- Built-in MC cartridge demagnetizer.
- Two sets of XLR and two sets of RCA outputs per channel.
- All tube amplification and output (10 tubes total).
- Full function remote included.
- Available in black or silver faceplate.
One Model / Three Editions
Rhea is available in three versions: Standard, Signature and Eclipse.
The standard version uses high-grade Rel-Cap polypropylene coupling capacitors. The Signature version uses exotic and expensive coupling capacitors and other critical parts to bring the performance to a higher level.
The Aesthetix Rhea Signature version uses custom-made inter-stage Teflon hybrid coupling capacitors, replacing the polypropylene units, between the 2nd and 3rd, and 3rd and 4th, gain stages (4 total per channel). The change in these capacitors results in higher resolution, extension, less grain and more air. The 2uF coupling capacitor between the 1st and 2nd gain stages is replaced with a 4uF Dynamicap by Peter Moncrief (1 per channel). This change removes grain and provides more openness, while also increasing bass dynamics and slam. The 2uF output coupling capacitors (4 per channel) are also replaced with 4uF Dynamicaps. This change provides more drive, bass extension, resolution and dynamics while also reducing grain. Highly specialized adjustable air-core capacitors, used primarily in the radio-frequency realm, are installed and adjusted to "tweek" each unit to a rigid standard. The five rubber feet are replaced with Harmonic Resolutions Systems' Nimbus Couplers specially made for Aesthetix (Earlier Signature Saturn pieces did not incorporate this, please contact Aesthetix for this free upgrade if you have an earlier Signature piece without the Nimbus Couplers). This change results in a lower noise floor and more air and space. The cost of these specialized parts alone is about 1/4 the manufacturing cost of a brand new unit! Any tubes that can be bettered by our special stock of graded and matched tubes are replaced. Any other improvements needed to make the unit current are installed, including software updates, etc. A new lens with "SIGNATURE" stenciled is installed. Each Signature unit undergoes rigorous test procedures and listening.
First phase: Internal changes to the Rhea start with .22uF / 600v Stealth coupling capacitors used between the second and third gain stages, and the third gain stage and output stage. Eight total of these exotic capacitors are used.
There are four 2uF / 400v coupling capacitors used in each channel of the output stage of the Rhea. In the Eclipse version, these are replaced with Stealth copper foil 4uF/400v, improving low frequency response. This capacitor is also used between the first and second gain stages.
Second phase: High frequency tuning capacitors are installed and hand-adjusted to tailor the frequency response to a tight .1dB standard (as also found on our Signature version).
Third phase: The high voltage transformer, heater transformer and high voltage choke are all re-installed on isolation mounts. Harmonic Resolutions Systems' Nimbus Couplers specially made for Aesthetix replace the four rubber feet of standard units (as also found on our Signature version). The new power supply is installed with enhanced ventilation. Additional damping material is added to key chassis points.
Fourth phase: A single point ground system is used to ground the transformer cases as they are no longer electrically grounded to the chassis via physical contact due to their isolation mounts. All Eclipse Rhea, Calypso and Janus units receive a new power supply, which has been refined by improved trace routing to further reduce extraneous noise.
All versions of Rhea can be factory upgraded to Signature.
