I used to own both amps. I owned the V12i for a short while - one of my first purchases on Audiogon - and traded it in for a new V12R. What I remember most is the beautiful tone and the surprising low end grunt that both amps helped to deliver . I used them with Quad ESL 57, 63, and 988 speakers. I also had Apogee Stages and Magnepan III’s. My favorite pairing was with the ESL-63’s and Stages.
Since you are interested in using the amp with planars, you might be interested to know that for me, the V12R ran out of juice with the Magnepans when played above 80-85db. The amp worked well with the other speakers I had, though.
I ended up selling the V12R because the combination of the V12R and Cary SLP-98 preamp that i had resulted in too much gain. The protection circuit in my ESL-988’s kept kicking in. There was loud tube hiss through the speakers, perhaps because of the stock tubes that I was using, but also because there was too much gain . The combo had limited usable volume range. I sold the V12R, but in hindsight I probably should have tried different tubes and kept the amp. I should have sold the preamp instead.
Another thing, I’m not sure if the V12i and V12R really have balanced circuitry, or if the xlr inputs are just for convenience. I would double check. Oh, and the V12i and V12R get very hot, almost as hot as an OTL amp.
The above qualms aside, if you have the right speakers and preamp with the V12R, I am sure you will be very happy, just as the other posters in this thread have been.
Since you are interested in using the amp with planars, you might be interested to know that for me, the V12R ran out of juice with the Magnepans when played above 80-85db. The amp worked well with the other speakers I had, though.
I ended up selling the V12R because the combination of the V12R and Cary SLP-98 preamp that i had resulted in too much gain. The protection circuit in my ESL-988’s kept kicking in. There was loud tube hiss through the speakers, perhaps because of the stock tubes that I was using, but also because there was too much gain . The combo had limited usable volume range. I sold the V12R, but in hindsight I probably should have tried different tubes and kept the amp. I should have sold the preamp instead.
Another thing, I’m not sure if the V12i and V12R really have balanced circuitry, or if the xlr inputs are just for convenience. I would double check. Oh, and the V12i and V12R get very hot, almost as hot as an OTL amp.
The above qualms aside, if you have the right speakers and preamp with the V12R, I am sure you will be very happy, just as the other posters in this thread have been.