Ypsilon Electronics Aelius II Monoblock
The Ypsilon Aelius II Monoblock envelops music in harmonic richness, billowing air, and an exceptionally expansive soundstage. Stereophile found its tube-inflected presentation texturally convincing and effortlessly immersive, while 200W of output and the first 60W in Class A bring scale to demanding loudspeakers. It is a distinctive high-end amplifier for listeners drawn to generous tone, atmosphere, and musical ease.
WATT RECOMMENDS
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Nicely Roasted
Sound Quality
86/100
Build Quality
89/100
Value for Money
85/100
Pros
Exceptionally large, enveloping soundstage with abundant air and spaciousness.
Warm, harmonically rich and texturally convincing tube-inflected presentation.
Precise instrumental attacks and cleanly delineated transients across much of the audioband.
Practical, generously spaced speaker terminals securely accommodate spades and banana plugs.
Cons
Bass was judged less taut, nimble, and controlled than the partnering speakers could deliver.
The presentation can sound dark, diffuse, and overly soft through the lower midrange and bass.
Transparency falls short of the most direct and incisive high-end amplifiers.
WATT RECOMMENDS
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 86/100
The Aelius II is described as unusually spacious, texturally convincing, and harmonically rich, with a notably relaxed, voluptuous presentation. Its appeal is tempered by a darkish balance and softer, less tightly controlled bass than the reviewer wanted from the partnering Wilson Alexandrias.
Transparency Resolution
84/100
The review found reasonably good detail resolution, generous air, and uncanny textural verisimilitude. However, the presentation was also called somewhat diffuse and soft, which limits its sense of incisive clarity and low-frequency definition.
Tonal Balance Musicality
86/100
The tube input stage gave the amplifier a warm, voluptuous, distinctly tubelike character with attractive harmonic richness. That musical generosity can become overripe and dark, particularly through the lower midrange and bass, rather than sounding strictly neutral.
Dynamics
82/100
Instrumental attacks were precise and transients remained cleanly delineated through much of the audible range. Bass was less taut, nimble, and controlled than the reviewer knew the Wilson Alexandria XLFs could deliver, holding back the amplifier's ultimate sense of grip.
Soundstage Imaging
90/100
The Aelius II produced billowy air, spaciousness, and an unusually enormous, enveloping soundstage. Despite the generous bloom, attacks retained enough precision to keep images from becoming wholly vague.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
89/100
This is a substantial 45kg monoblock with balanced inputs and a high-bias design that supplies its first 60 watts in pure Class A. The review also praises the practical speaker terminals: their large hand-tightened knobs provide a secure fit and ample clearance for spades or banana plugs.
Value for Money
85/100
At $32,000 per pair, the Aelius II competes in a demanding high-end monoblock market. The review offers no direct comparison with similarly priced alternatives or clear judgment on whether its distinctive warmth, scale, and engineering justify that asking price.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
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Specifications
- OUTPUT POWER BEFORE CLIPPING
- 200W rms @ 8 ohm 350W rms @4 ohm
- BANDWIDTH
- 11Hz -75Khz -3db
- OUTPUT IMPEDANCE
- 0,25 ohm
- INPUT IMPEDANCE
- 47 Kohm
- GAIN
- X30 (29,5db)
- INPUTS
- Balanced
- POWER CONSUMPTION
- 250W @ idle
- DIMENSIONS
- 425x425x230 (W xD xH)mm
- WEIGHT
- 45 Kgr (each)
Manufacturer's Description — Ypsilon Electronics
The first gain stage is implemented with a valve, operated in single-ended class A , transformer coupled to the output stage. By using a transformer we avoid using an additional gain stage, so transparency and purity of the signal is preserved.
For this purpose a wide bandwidth (10-75 KHz) transformer is made, developed under extensive listening tests and measurements. The bandwidth of the transformer defines also that of the amplifier.
In Aelius II a recently developed input transformer is added that extends the purity of the signal path even further. It also gives the opportunity of a balanced input in the amplifier, adding versatility of using longer interconnect cables.
The output stage uses components of the same polarity (N-channel), working in the same topology. The output of the amplifier is symmetrical so both output connectors, plus, minus, carry signal in opposite phase.
Great attention was paid also in the power supply design. It uses high current inductors for smooth and quiet filtering.
Aelius II is most certainly a revolutionary product having a unique set of features, refinement and transparency with power and control over the speaker.
Verified Dealers
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Authorized dealers for Ypsilon Electronics Aelius II Monoblock
- Audio Art — in-store — London, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Dream Audio — in-store — Innere Stadt, Wien, Slovakia (website)
- Dream Audio Components — online and in-store — Dunaharaszti, Hungary (website)
- Hey Now Hifi — online and in-store — St Kilda, Victoria, Australia (website)
- J&J Audio Solutions — in-store — San Jose, California, United States (website)
- Knox Audio — in-store — New South Wales, Australia (website)
- Musicadomia — in-store — Courbevoie, Île-de-France, France (website)
- Nirvana Sound — in-store — Cheltenham, Victoria, Australia (website)
- Onest Audio — in-store — Rehoboth, Massachusetts, United States (website)
- Perfect sense Audio — in-store — Stockholms län, Sweden (website)
and 3 more verified dealers