I have an M3, but unfortunately have never gotten to hear the Vincent. The M3 is pretty good, but I'm wondering if the new Musical Fidelity M3 is even better. I heard it at Axpona connected to the MF M3 integrated and Wharfedale 10.7 speakers and it was all just tremendous together. The NAD M3 seems to excel at 70s rock CDs for some reason. I don't think its SACD playback is all that great. And its HDCD playback is quite nice.
I purchased the Vincent 236MK II in December and am absolutely crazy about it. I have matched with Def Tech Mythos ST super towers and Marantz SA8003 SACD player. Regarding the $800 Shengya,I dont want to be constantly worrying that I might have bought a lesser quality knockoff. I looked at a website of one of those importers and it gave me definite pause. Also, with so much being mail order these days, even if you get it as promised, how do you know about sound quality until you get it home? Go with the sure thing and then sit back and be amazed by the soundstage, imaging, warmth, power and utter detail produced by this int amp. It is not the most attractive piece of audio gear in the world, but oh boy does it sing! And yes, following up on a post, it does produce a low hiss from the speakers but not enough to be audible at any distance away from them. I have nothing much to compare this amp to, having just forayed into the world of high end audio, except for one experience. When auditioning the Mythos speakers, the speakers were running through a very high end amp, I believe a top of the line Marantz costing in the neighborhood of $3K. My goal was to at least replicate that sound experience I heard in the showroom. The Vincent more than rose to the occasion!
04-13-09: Hifisoundguy The Vincent 236mk is the amp as the ShengYa A10CS...This is the same company just different name on it. Over at the Pacific Valve & Electric Company they sell the same amp for only $899 !...
Sheng Ya manufacture the Vincent product range but it is not correct to say that they Vincent SV-236MK is the same as the Shengya A10CS (or Sheng Ya A10CSII). I've had the covers off the Sheng Ya A10CS and found it differed significantly from the Vincent SV-236MK Tubeline. You might be interested in my report
Geph0007 originally asked, "Has anyone had the chance to compare the Vincent 236MKII to the NAD M3?", but all the responses I've seen so far are discussions/arguments over whether or not the the Vincent is the same as the Shengya.
Can anyone respond to Geph0007's question - how does the Vincent 236MKII sound compared to the NAD M3? My local audio dealer doesn't carry Vincent, but they do have the NAD M3.Not having both available, I can't listen and compare.
The Vincent web site worked just fine for me. I bought a pair of their top of the line hybrid monoblocks earlier this year and I think they are fantastic amps. Have never heard the 236MKII so can't comment on it.
I've listened to the Vincent extensively and was very impressed--its huge advantage, of course being the tube preamp stage. Really, really nice balance and detail. I've also heard the NAD M series amps, albeit briefly, and recall thinking that they weren't significantly better than NAD's less pricey mass-market amps. As for the whole China debate, it seems that globalization has taken such hold of the audio industry that it's becoming very difficult to ascertain precisely where gear is assembled or where components are sourced (I've read, for example, of differently-branded high end amplifiers with almost identical Chinese-made guts varying in price by as much as 300%). To reiterate others' advice, if you like how a well-reviewed piece sounds, buy it irrespective of where it was screwed together.
Well if you look inside the units they are laid out differently and do use different circuit boards etc.. So who knows WTF is going on over in China.. The problem is there is no control to who is making what. Dynaudio stopped selling raw drivers because people were making knock offs. So not sure what to think here, regardless the reviews on the unit are good and the Vincent gear seems hard to get especially the 236MK II.
I still think some of the best stuff is designed in the UK and US/Canada, Japan and Taiwan.
I've had good luck with ChiFi. No reliability problems at all with Dussun v8i int amp, Xindak CDP and Esound CD-E5 CDP.
Ebay seller does provide DOA protection of sort with 100% positive rating. They packed it very well be covering the outer box with layers of bubble wrap. Best packing I've seen to date from anyone.
Yeah and $200 is shipping!! I would worry about service on the Vincent at 2 grand, but I guess at $800 bucks you could throw it away as long as it lasts a few years. Any idea about warranty and or repair ? I also see if there are issues on it initially, they do not reimburse shipping. So it seems a gamble, and if everything works out your ok I guess.
Just got Shengya A10CS from eBay seller "listeningchina" for $800 shipped for US 110V version. It's same as Vincent SV-236 MkII (not 226 as pointed out by james_lipski) sold in US for $2,000. My decision was based on glowing review on Stereophile's April 2009 issue.
Wow. No kidding and can see why this int amp has been darling of TAS too as "Editor's Choice" for 3 years straight (2006 to 2008).
This along with Esound CD-E5 will be with me for a while.
I've owned following amps in last 10 years: Linn Classik, Monachy SE100, Marsh Audio (another TAS fave), Bel Canto evo, PS Audio digital (Bel Canto was way better), Nuforce, Dussun V8i - all in order. So went from solid state to digital back to solid state (Dussun was another great sounding 90lb bargain) to tube/ss hybrid.
Listen guys, just take TAS and Stereophile's glowing reviews says it all and yeah incredible BARGAIN at only $800 SHIPPED!
Lastly be careful when you buy from China as most are 220V.
ShengYa A10CS actually is the Vincent 226 not the 236. For the heck of it check out the Nad c375, you may get what you are after for less. The c375 looks impressive.
Well I would sure like to know if any of this is true. I have the exact unit that was reviewed in Stereophile this month and had understood that the Vincent goods were designed in Germany and manufactured in China. As I understand it the Chinese brands are knockoffs of the Vincents.(Many people forget that many respected brands are manufactured in China) Would sure like to know what is true here. The Vincents do look very German being very symetrical and even in the layout of the front panel. The build quality on mine is as nice as I have ever seen on anything I have owned. There is a slight hiss from the speakers when you walk by them but it does not change with volume and is very slight. I compared it to some other highly praised integrateds in my home and will write on that later.
Waynefia, for a while I was under the impression that Vincent was an outfit owned by the Chinese to do business in Europe but I may have been wrong. In any case, they just seem to be importing chinese gear and re-badging them. Their cd players and amps appear identical in design to the Shengya and Kavent ones from Kellsie Audio/video.
Interesting Rotarius. It seems them possibly the Vincent is not an original design, but a Shengya copy, or vice versa ? While the NAD M3 is made in China, it is supposed to be designed by LenBrook Ind. (NAD) I assume in Canada, and don't know of any similar units ?
Shengya was the OEM for Vincent, some Shengya units had "Vincent" on the transformer covers! I read somewhere that Vincent now has its own factory in China. The A10 was the same as the vincent 236 mk1
Well then somebody has some explaining to do I think, as Vincent says they design all their units, and have it built in China ! Interesting question ? I was just recently told by a company in the US with some awesome Integrated amps, that there is a lot of copy units being produced by Chinese Companies,and they are not the same in quality, QC, and certainly warranty service and back up. HMMMMM ?
The Vincent 236mk is the amp as the ShengYa A10CS...This is the same company just different name on it. Over at the Pacific Valve & Electric Company they sell the same amp for only $899 !... . www.pacificvalve.us/ShengYaA10CS.html
OK Kieth, so you have the new 150 watt version. How do you like it so far ? I have thought about the NAD M3 to go with my M5 SACD player, but also wondered about the Vincent hybrid. For around 2 grand or a little over, new and used, there are quite a few integrated amps I have been digging up info on.
Besides these 2, the Moon Audio version of the LSA integrated amps, Primare, McIntosh,Cary, and a bunch more. So I am pretty confused by now !
Good question ? At these prices new or used there are tons of things available. My guess is you will get love and hate comments about both units. I'll be watching to see what comments you get, as I am in a similar frame of mind.
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
