best amps for vivid audio Giya G2

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,442
13,471
2,710
London
Have found my matching amp with my vivid giya G2;it has become the luxman M900 poweramp and i am quit happy with it.My next upgrade will be to change my accuphase c2410 pre amp to the luxman C900 u pre amp??

Good choice
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Have found my matching amp with my vivid giya G2;it has become the luxman M900 poweramp and i am quit happy with it.My next upgrade will be to change my accuphase c2410 pre amp to the luxman C900 u pre amp??

I've heard the same at Philip's house

terrific amp
 

heihei

VIP/Donor
Jul 24, 2017
466
538
283
Would love to hear this bridged on Vivids.
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,442
13,471
2,710
London

tedtag

New Member
Jul 19, 2016
59
8
0
Georgia
I'm looking for some updates on these setups. The CAT/Spirit combo? Any one ever hear naim and vivid together, looking hard at the G3's? Using Revel/Joseph now.

Thanks,
jeff

Yesterday Jim Smith (Get Better Sound) came over and spent the day dialing in my system. I've been a huge supporter of him for years and fortunately Jim lives only a little over an hour away. I'd positioned the Spirits to what I thought sounded good, but hadn't done exact measurements and was a little apprehensive about what he would say. After all I had just spent over a year building the room, selecting and buying all the gear, adding room treatments, etc, so there was a ton of time and money invested in the system. He had never heard the Spirits before.

We ended up moving the left speaker about 3" in and the right about 1.75" forward to get everything within about 1/8" or less using laser beams. Toe in crosses right in front of my nose. The Spirits ended up 91" apart and 115" from my ears for a 79% ratio. That was a little closer together than I had them but it tightened the images and pulled them slightly forward. Even with that, there is still tremendous depth and dimension to the soundstage. Sound just fills the whole room. But I was close and felt really good about that! With so many variables, its quite a daunting task to start from scratch to build a system in a dedicated room.

Then using an RT Analyzer, we moved the subs to about 4' behind the speakers and pointing backwards! They are crossed over at 25 hz with volume set at 15. The verdict is still out with the subs but I plan on spending more time today with them on and off to see if they add anything significant. The Spirits produce plenty of bass on their own but we were going for a little more air and space. Since I already had the RELs, why not try?

I'll try to avoid gushing over the outcome, but I could not be more pleased with everything! The Spirits are so fast and detailed that they just draw you in to the music. Plus the tonality is luscious with lots of texture. Dynamics are startling on drum thwacks and loud orchestral pieces. The bass is clear and crisp and the system just dances through complex bass passages pronouncing every note so you can hear all the details but they blend together beautifully. And that was with the CAT JL7's. As mentioned before, I have a pair of Statements on the way and they should be here next week. So I'm expecting even more.

Speaking of the CATs, I cannot imagine better amps to match with the Spirits. The combo is natural sounding but powerful. The triode/tube sound and texture is there, but so is the bass. It's a very musical system that really does not draw attention to itself, and instead just lets the performances come through. Plus it will play really loud or very soft and sounds good at just about any volume setting.

So for now, my wandering eye has settled down and I've finally found the sound I've been looking for. One last thought on the Spirits..... I've always been a planar speaker/tube guy because of the seductive midrange and the natural sound, speed, and detail that's possible if set up well. But there was always something missing especially in the bass. This system seems to have everything I loved about planars plus all the missing pieces.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: sbo6

CGabriel

Industry Expert
Oct 31, 2013
618
92
265
WA, USA
www.shunyata.com
I had the G3 in house for several years partnered with several different amps including the big Luxman, Mola-Mola, Berning, Ayon, Constellation Centaur stereo and new Centaur II mono-blocks. I found a particularly nice synergy with the Constellation amps slightly preferring the stereo amp to the big Luxman. The Centaur II mono-blocks are in a completely different league however. I may upgrade to the Spirits and intend to use the Centaur II with them.
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,442
13,471
2,710
London
I had the G3 in house for several years partnered with several different amps including the big Luxman, Mola-Mola, Berning, Ayon, Constellation Centaur stereo and new Centaur II mono-blocks. I found a particularly nice synergy with the Constellation amps slightly preferring the stereo amp to the big Luxman. The Centaur II mono-blocks are in a completely different league however. I may upgrade to the Spirits and intend to use the Centaur II with them.

Thanks. How is the Berning.

Thing is the m900u is only 10k GBP in UK retail and one has to go a lot above that price to beat it. When you go to the big Lux the price game changes
 

elescher

Member Sponsor
Sep 12, 2010
201
1
0
New York
I have been using the Centaur (Stereo amp) with my G2's for about a month or so (along with the Virgo II preamp) I know that the Centaur amp was designed by a dream team of engineering experts in the audio industry most notably one of the same that is designing all the circuitry in the Thrax components. The newer Centaur II has different circuitry designs and although it 'specs' out better than the original, it may be that your preference for the original is not without good reason. That being said, you may want to 'look into' the differences before deciding that the II is better. Same with the new Virgo III preamp. There have been many problems with the new optic volume control.
 

Mobiusman

Well-Known Member
May 24, 2010
704
560
1,655
Jersey Shore- waterside
I had the G3 in house for several years partnered with several different amps including the big Luxman, Mola-Mola, Berning, Ayon, Constellation Centaur stereo and new Centaur II mono-blocks. I found a particularly nice synergy with the Constellation amps slightly preferring the stereo amp to the big Luxman. The Centaur II mono-blocks are in a completely different league however. I may upgrade to the Spirits and intend to use the Centaur II with them.

I bought G3's soon after hearing them in Caelin's reference room at Shunyata, largely because of their bass to low midrange transition, which surpassed anything I had heard to date. Upon the arrival of the G3's I began the somewhat arduous task of determining the rest of the complimentary equipment, starting with a Spectral DMA 260 amp and a BAT Vk 32 SE preamp using a Meitner DAC and Oppo 103 transport and MIT cabling eventually migrating up to their SHD series.

I currently have Spectral DMC 30 SV Preamp and a DMA 300RS amp, with the addition of a Lamm phono section and an ARC REF 9 as spinner and DAC (reboxed REF 9 DAC). What I can say without any hesitation, is that each time I change anything, the G3's rapidly project the change because they are so sensitive to what feeds them. I would love to consider the Spirit's, but that money went to a 2018 Audi S5 Cab so that I would actually go outside.

All, I can say is that this speaker is more sensitive to any change in the signal path than anything I have owned in 50 years and probably anything else I have heard, and they always sound like a point source with no evidence of individual drivers. Therefore, do not buy them if you're obsessed with making them sound their best unless you are willing to experiment with equipment, because every thing makes a difference with these speakers and it takes a while to figure out what is doing what. Having said that, I love them and look forward to the upcoming changes that I am working on making in my system and will comment when they are complete. I am quite confident that I have found my speaker mark, but will likely upgrade at some point, hopefully to the Spirits.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sbo6

Scott W

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
336
163
1,600
Texas
www.suprahifi.com
When and if you get tired of the Audi, remember I am here to help with the Spirit order :D



"I would love to consider the Spirit's, but that money went to a 2018 Audi S5 Cab so that I would actually go outside."

"I am quite confident that I have found my speaker mark, but will likely upgrade at some point, hopefully to the Spirits."
 

gtl

New Member
Jan 29, 2016
7
0
0
Now that Philip carries Gryphon amps, would be interesting to hear if the Diablo 300 matches well with the Vivids. Considering getting one for my G3
 

BillK

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2015
280
193
273
Funny that you said that; I was an Apogee guy for years and the only speaker that ever got me to change was the Giya G2.
 
best amps for vivid audio Giya G2 - Gryphon or Luxman

hello,

for a few months i have some vivid giya G2
i am looking for nice amp what works great with them.
Do you people have suggestions??
i was thinking about:vitis sia 02,dartzeel cth 8550,luxman..

My recommendation would be either the Luxman B-1000f monoblocks or the Gryphon Colosseum - both deliver that liquid Class A sound; we used the Luxman monos at the LA Audio Show to stunning success and the Gryphon has a magical mid-range and when run completely in Class A has a mid-range & bass full of gravitas. The bass is not over blown but articulate & well defined. You won't go wrong with either amp.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sefischer1

sbo6

VIP/Donor
May 18, 2014
1,660
594
480
Round Rock, TX
Curious about Aesthetix atlas signature monos to run G1 or G2s??
 

sefischer1

Well-Known Member
Aug 10, 2018
102
40
115
Southern California
I've heard them at shows with the Luxman amps and have owned a pair of M800a amps and can confirm that they are excellent and able to drive difficult loads well. I used them with Martin Logan CLX speakers quite successfully.
 

felix01

Well-Known Member
Feb 5, 2017
10
2
108
at the moment....
Vivid giya g2,luxman m 900u;luxman c 900u,dac chord dave,aurender xl 100,shunyata power cables,transrotor fat bob turntable.
 
We lent Joseph Cali Systems Design a pair of the Luxman B-100f monoblocks to use with the G2 during T.HE. Show Newport a few years ago. It was a stunning combination; Joe brought his own personal G2 speakers to the show after we used the G1 Spirit originally, but the room was too small for the G1 Spirit and they over-loaded the room.

Joe commented that he never heard the G2 play so cleanly, with such bass extension and yet threw a wonderfully defined sound-stage, quite 3-D like.
 

sbo6

VIP/Donor
May 18, 2014
1,660
594
480
Round Rock, TX
My takeaway from this thread is - pretty much all the amps above work well with Vivids and it's more personal taste - specific. I've heard Vivids with Gryphon and Audionet, in both cases excellent results. I also had Wells Audio Innamoratas biamped which sounded quite good, but not as good as Audionet and Gryphon which are also more $$ than the Wells.
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing