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CD-player: Advance Acoustics MCD-203 modded with ECC803s tubes, burn in done wrong. No good.
CD-player: Advance Acoustics MCD-203 modded with ECC803s tubes.
Amp: Vincent SV-236MK.
Speakers: Elac FS207 Anniversary edition. Image taken while testing some really thick Supra cables I had borrowed. (They didn't add much from my regular ones as I expected, but wanted to try anyhow.)
The Vincent is reviewed on this site:
http://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/vincent_tubeline_sv-236mk_inte...
I'd like to add some comments to the review. I mostly agree with the very favourable review of Mr Michael Fremer.
He almost seem apologetic for this amplifier having tone controls and loudness.
But he misses what target group it is intended for, the audiophile metalhead. Yes I am one!
For us, tone controls are a must, but in my case I could do without the loudness.
When I first fired my Vincent up it sounded absolutely horrible!
Yes it really did and I nearly returned it.
But I gave it a chance to "burn in" as some recommends after a week it was decent and reached the excellent sound it have now about 150 hours.
The reviewer say that the SV-236 have no "rhythmic confusion on bottom" actually it has!
It's one of the two weaknesses I have been able to find.
The amplifier looses its footing with very complex signals, and its not dependent of listening level.
The other is that the Vincent don't have that depth of silence that really good high end equipment comes with.
(How I wish they had given it balanced XLR connections!)
Lastly, the reviewer claim that the Vincent have one emphasis of transient information at the expense of the harmonic and textural envelope.
I agree that the amplifier comes with an excellent ability to reproduce transients and quick changes in the signal, the square wave reproduction bears testimony to that. But I cannot agree that it sacrifice any harmonics or depth in acoustic sounds.
In fact I haven't heard ANY amplifier in this price range that is so musical.