Dayens Audio Ampino is without a doubt the best musical bang for the buck this side of the universe. At $699 the 25 watt wonder offers startling musical sound reproduction that should cost 5x more. Combined with the equally amazing Oppo DVD player this duo cannot be touched for their surprising low budget price. |
I received my new VAC Phi Beta 110i yesterday. Apart from the PITA of lugging the bulky 100 lb main unit upstairs to my listening room, installation was a snap. A few initial comments: 1) From a functional standpoint, and for my particular circumstances, this is absolutely perfect 2) Aesthetics - also perfect. Even my distinctly non-audiophile wife says it's 'pretty'. 3) And the most important bit, the sound - I can only say that I am very, very tired this morning, as I was up until after 2am listening. I'm not one to make snap judgments, but I can tell you that after it was well warmed up, my impression is that this is the finest amplification I've ever heard. I've owned various combinations of gear over the past 30 years (including Atma-Sphere, Aesthetix, CAT, Supratek, Ayre MX-R, Messenger, even a CTC Blowtorch), but nothing has blown me away at first listen the way this did. I'll reserve further comments until I get the full measure of the amp. |
Hi Mike, We'll all be looking forward to the inside scoop on the VAC. Kevin and I met back in 2002 I believe...I arrived at the Vegas show late, went directly to his demo room--he said, "I'm worn out, got to get dinner." Three hours later, after listening to his best and music selections, I bought him dinner at the Alexis Park Bar. What a great guy--what a music lover. He too is enthralled by great music and great recordings. Larry |
Hi Larry, I've had several conversations with Kevin Hayes just lately. Couldn't ask for a nicer, more helpful individual. With regard to Jim Thiel, I met him while attending university in Lexington. This was in 1980 when he was just starting out. Great guy, and sorely missed. I'll post my impressions later. Mike |
Curriemt11, As much as I love the Gryphon, I have to say that I know you're in for a treat when the VAC arrives. Not only is the VAC gear wonderful, Kevin Hayes is one of the most honorable designers I've ever met. Though a bit different, he reminds me so much of my personal mentor and friend of 30 years, the late Jim Thiel. Brilliant, understated, music lover who has only the 'best intentions' for everything that he puts on the street. In a different world, (maybe just across the pond even) a guy like Kevin would be exhaulted by everyone as an audio God! LOL... Please tell us, as this unit breaks in, and give it time, how it sounds...please? Larry Staples |
Ultimate integrated is a machine called Sroll Lyric,this amp can compete and exceedes sound quality of best separates,it is amazing machine which would deserve a lot more attention.The problem is that this guy mr.Sroll is not very good at marketing and is not ready to enter US market.His amp bettered Halcro with ease.It uses totaly diffrent technology,mr.Sroll is a genius.I never heard one box nor separates to sound like this,so clean and natural,dynamic a holographic with maximum informations with no distortion whatsoever. Output power 2x530W / 2Ohm 2x350W / 4Ohm 2x225W / 8Ohm Frequency range 2 Hz - 200 kHz Dumping factor on output terminal 3500 / 8Ohm / 1 kHz Distortion no hearable distortion Power amplifier class AB four-layered gilded printed circuit board casts in aluminium monolith Loudness control precise resistors, switched by relays Input circuits balanced input, discrete circuits without total feedbacks and without opamps D/A converter 16 - 24 bit / 32 - 192 kHz, cast in aluminium monolith Chasis milled massive aluminium case Cooling by the whole case, upper desk thickness 40 mm, 620 pcs. vent, heat distribution by gas without Freon´s Inner cables halogen free, high quality Output terminals WBT Inputs - analog 1x XLR 3x cinch - digital 4x cinch 75Ohm Measures 440 x 185 x 440 mm Weight 38 kg |
I just bought the Ayon Spirit II and i'm very impressed with it. Out of curiosity I added the Pangea AC-9 and the amp went from very good to incredible sounding. The bass I'm getting from this integrated rivals some of my previous solid state amplifiers, and I had a few. This amplifier has one of the most fateful reproductions of tone or timbre that you'll ever hear. |
Primare I21 or I30. I have the most experience with the I21. Primare is by far one of the best audio designers out there. There simplicity approach proves nothing but the purest sound reproduction. Some say relaxed, but I think thats a cop out because its pretty sad how most of these companies review equipment any way. Give them an audition, also keep in mind Primare equipment is rarely available used and that say something. Can you find it used, yes but not nearly as readily available as other higher end contenders that many people claim to be the holy grail of audio. whole sale pricing and as a gift from my wife Theres a lot of BS in the HiFi world quoting an owner of a leading audio dist and manufacturer, told me that in his living room when auditioning an prototype turntable long story . Also customer service from The Sound Organisation is very good and same as for Sumiko for when they where they dists. |
*yawn* Vernneal, is there a model or any actual experiences you want to share about "Mcintosh"? No offense, but I'm not sure how much that comment actually added to the conversation. Anyway... Kiwi, I will admit that the Diablo is slightly more dry on my Quad ESLs 57s than my favorite tube amps that I've put on them in the past. But I do think that the Diablo scores a lot better in certain other areas. The original 57s are pretty different from all other ESLs (in my experience), so maybe that is why I think they sound good with the Diablo, whereas maybe some other ESLs would not sound so good. |
Hi Rottenclam, I am interested to read that you've paired the Gryphon with Quad ESL speakers. I've recently been trying out different ESL's (most lately Kingsound, Martin Logan and Sanders Audio) and i've generally found the Gryphon / ESL combo's too stark for my taste. Wow, higher end Rockports are really something. Do try others in a similar price category though [Avalon, Eben, Hansen to name some]. |
Kiwi, thanks for the update. I read your reviews pretty thoroughly while on my quest to purchase one of the best (if not *the* best) integrated amp. For some reason, I thought you were partial to the Gamut over the Gryphon. Anyway, I ended up buying the Gryphon Diablo too. On my short list was the Gamut, the Pass Labs INT-150, and the Dartzeel integrated. The Diablo's sound is absolutely superb, but I also really appreciate the power on-hand, as well as the fact that it has an on-board phono stage. The Dartzeel was the only other integrated on my short list that had a phono stage. For me, the phono stage was a pretty crucial element to my selection process. Anyway, I run my Diablo with Quad ESL 57s and also with JBL L300 Summits. Within the next year or two, I would like to buy some of the higher-end Rockports to match it up with. |
Last year I bought a Gryphon Diablo integrated amplifier after spending more than six months evaluating options including the Jeff Rowland Continuum C-500, the GamuT DI-150; the AMR AM-77; the Unison Research Unico 200 and the Plinius Hiato (to name some). I wrote about my experience in detail Here Almost a year on there has not been a single moment of buyers remorse other than when I tried to pair the Gryphon with an ESL speaker which did not work out. No problem. I also own valve amplification which was better for that specific task. Currently the Gryphon is driving dynamic speakers from Eben Acoustics (Raidho) and the pairing is simply wonderful. There must be something in the water in Denmark. The Danes seem to create some awesome audio products. |
Hifisoundguy all i can say is i have a RITA-880 driving a pair of 82db Acoustat 1+1s and doing a great job this is no regular 45 watts per channel amplifier it replaced a Bow Wazoo XL 75 watts per channel very good amplifier BUT for my tastes i prefer the RITA-880 and it,s believe it or not MORE powerful than the Bow Wazoo XL AND ALL THIS WITH ONLY 170 hours on the unit i was told it will reach it,s full potential after 300 hours even if the sound stays the way it is now i would be very pleased. |
Stiltskin's right, a thread that goes by this title should at least draw some attention to the ASR Emitter II Exclusive Akku. The extreme focus on one product and its careful evolution for two and a half decades makes the Emitter a monument of particular allure in Audioland. Although a four box system weighing in at 300 lbs may somewhat defy some people's concept of "integrated" |
Markphd, Well, there can be a 'best' for a given moment in time, if not by acclimation, by performance. Though, to get this group to agree on that, or even on what day it is would be impossible. Anyone heard the DarTzeel? It's $20.5K including a phono section. I hear that they're somehwat 'fat' in the midbass--some say musical--potato, potaaatooo.(Where's Dan Quail when you need him?) Anyone heard it? |
Just keep the Integrated amp you have now and do this free tweak to it. On the amp outputs just reverse the way you hook up the speaker cables to your Integrated amp on the other end of your speaker cables, your speaker hook ups you (do not) reverse the cables....I did this in my tape loop on my Integrated amp too. Did you all know that some recordings were recorded this way? |
