Class A integrated
- Thread starter Cleese74
- Start date
First of all, I wrote this with the help of Google Translator, so apologize!
My source and my speakers are far below the price of the vitus, (moon 280 with MIND2 and Klipsch Forte III) but I was really surprised how Waltz For Debbie sounded. I have never heard it so clear and clean. The feeling was not "they are here", the feeling was "my house is empty, there is only them". Even my wife was surprised at the presence while we were dinning. Maybe I missed the warmth of the 2A3 valves, but who wants warmth when you can have Bill Evans dining by your side.
Things changed when I put Quadrophenia. I really missed the "live" feeling of the tubes , but hey, it's a studio album!
Selling England By The Pound sounded like it was recorded yesterday, like my source was an Esoteric: I could hear the first fights between Collins and Gabriel between songs
Vitus is so good that it improved my source and my speakers. But I missed some bass. The highs and mids were so perfect that if the lows were 9/10, it seemed much less.
All of this were also in the Gryphon Atilla, but as in a minor division. The instruments and vocals weren't so detached and that was less enjoyable with Jazz but it made the Who and Zeppelin records, and the Canterbury follies (EGG, National Health, Caravan) much more fun. The Gryphon's powerful and clear bass supported any downsides to mids and highs compared to the Vitus.
The Gryphon takes the best of my records and equipment, and make the funnier. The Vitus upgraded.
Both the Vitus and the Atilla that I have tried must be around 8 years old. After this, I just want to know how the latest Diablo and the latest SIA25 (or even the latest RI-101) would sound like in my system.
I wish I could have had a Luxman or a Pass in this home demo. Right now, if I have to choice right now, I kept the Vitus despite missing certain basses. I think that would be compensable by improving other parts of my equipment or playing with cables.
Oh! By the way, I have never been able to find in any store with an equipment capable of making The Epic of Kamasi Washington sound good. It always sounds dirty and poorly mixed, as if it only wanted to be played on cellphone or a car.
Thank you for the update and no need to apologise, you and the Google translator did a very good job of describing your audition of the 025 and the Gryphon.
I am not really familar with the Gryphon but was immediately able to relate to your listening impresions of the Vitus 025.
Obviously valuable progress, but very sensible to take your time to make the choice that is right for you. Most of us, and certainly myself, are inveterate/serial upgraders. IME it is best to take a longer term view and to resist "quick fixes" Getting the foundations right is key to future upgrades as you are then able to realise the full qualities of the initial upgrade and the subsequent upgrades of other parts of the system. It does,of course, require some patience, but will be more successful and cost effective.
The Viuts is not bass light with the right ancillaries. My YGs have 8" woofers so bass is not a problem in my system and it can be easy to overdo the bass to the detriment of the overall balance of the sound.
Good luck with the next stages and keep us posted.
I really love the Brainfeeder crew not just Kamasi but Flylo too and where can you hear beats like Ras G?...but recording quality is only ok, not particularly great. Wouldn't chase that as a reference.
I am a huge Sugden fan. I have 2 systems, my main one is the SPA-4 / LA-4 combo. My basement system, i have the Sugden IA-4, that is an incredible little amp. I have it paired with a set of Capriccio continuo Ad monitor 311 speakers.
Yes I still have happy memories of the Musical Fidelity A1 I had many years ago and regret selling.
I am sure that contributed to my decision to move subsequently to the Vitus SIA 025 and more recently to the Vitus 030.
Not to rain on anyone any class A bias amp not just saying class A alone halves on power in watts as imp halves it’s math Period . When an amp maker claims there amp doubles in watts while the imp is halved is referring to class ab
someone correct me of I’m wrong please.
I am no techie, but believe your math on the science is correct.
However, i think it depends on how they are setting the bar for their definitions. For example, the Robert Koda K160 is Class A 150 amps into 8ohms at regular power (800 watts)...but you can use a High Power mode which increases the draw from the wall to 1100 watts out of the wall.
However, at this High Power mode, they still record the 8ohm power as being 150 Class A watts...but now 230 amps into 4ohms. So by their description in their literature, the Class A watts 'look' like they going up into 4ohm...but in reality I think that either the 8ohm rating is much higher or perhaps they have limited it for some reason?
Luxman and accuphase make excellent class a integrated amplifiers.I would buy out of these two brands.
Well another year rolled on and no Java integrated ever surfaced so I bought a Riviera Levante instead. Is still burning in but is sounding pretty nice after an upgrade to the stock JJ 12at7 valves. A pretty stout 30wpc of class A driving my Benesch ACT well in a large volume room.
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Sounds good , the Riviera very much appeals to me too , what is the total tube compliment in the Levante , are you able to supply any pics of the inside when you did the 12at7 change, thankyou.
It’s just a pair of 12at7 on the input side, easily changed with the lid off, and there are plenty of photos on google. I initially slipped in a pair of amperex pinched waist long plates but also have gec a2900 / brimar 6060 / valvo 6201 / siemens halkse ecc81 on the way. Also of interest is that there are no fewer than 4 fuses in this amp (ac and 3 dc rail ones) which can likely also be upgraded, possibly with the new SR Purple.
AM Audio PA 60X from Italy nice sounding Class A Amp 100Watt
Really good amps
StereoWise
www.stereohifi.nl
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Hi, I guess the running in phase must have passed by pretty quickly as I have been enjoying the amp without thinking about it. All those tubes arrived but I haven’t tried any of them, just kept running with the Amperex. i‘ll have a play with the SR Purple fuses next month when they reach the market.
Agree .looks cool as well.AM Audio PA 60X from Italy nice sounding Class A Amp 100Watt
Really good ampsStereoWise
www.stereohifi.nl
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