Need some advice, Vincent Audio


Greetings, Wondering is anyone has any experience with Vincent Audio hybrid integrated amplifiers.
Considering a SV-737 hybrid integrated and haven't been able to find much feed back other then the usual standard reviews and reviewers which seem positive, wanted to know if anyone has any real world experience with this company and their amps and what they think.  Thanks in advance for your thoughts, enjoy this site.
GP
geepee17
I have owned SV-737 for 2 weeks now, driving Gershman Sonograms. Fantastic sound, huge stage and dynamics I never though were there. At this price point you'd have a hard time finding anything comparably sounding even on the used market.
I feel like Vincent is one of the best value products out there.  I have owned more integrated amps than I should admit to (McIntosh MAC6700, Esoteric AI-10, BMC C1, Pathos ClassicOne MKIII, Teac AI-3000, Cambridge 840A, NuPrime IDA-16, etc.) ...and I keep coming back to Vincent (I have owned the SV-500, SV-236, SV-236MK, SV-237).  I have also owned/enjoyed the SA31, SP-331, and SP-10 separate amps.

The Vincent SV-236MK & SV-237 is the piece I have recommended to more than a dozen friends/enthusiasts and they've been equally as thrilled as I have been.  And the Vincent PHO-8 is, in my opinion, one of the best MM phono preamps you can buy for the money.

Anyway - in case it wasn't apparent, I'm a huge Vincent fan...I wouldn't hesitate on the SV-737!
I have the Vincent SV-500 coming up on 2 years now.

Really nice and smooth. I haven't tried any tube rolling but I also haven't felt a need to. Everything from Vinyl to Digital sounds great.

I am thinking about perhaps getting a amp and using it as a pre-amp but have also pondered about upgrading to the SV-237MK.

The new 737 looks like a beast for sure.
I've always been curious about their amps. Good to hear these positive comments. They're often available used for reasonable prices.
These are the tubes I used in the SV-237:

Tung-Sol 12AX7A - long gray plates, halo getter, phono grade

Voskhod 6N1P 

That really smoothed out the sound and improved dynamics. 
I have owned several well reviewed integrated amps in the 2-4K range from Yamaha, Wells Audio, Hegel, Primare, Kinki Srudio and a few others and Vincent was a real standout. 

I’ve owned the 236 mk, 226 mk and the 237 and liked the 237 the best. Like big_greg I now own Simaudio (i7) but really miss the 237.

I used RCA triple mica black plate 5751 in the 12ax7 spot and vintage Reflektor‘s in the 6n1p position and it sounded great,

I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on the 737 if you get it.

big_greg,
 do recall the brand and model of the tubes you replaced the originals with, in case I want to try them, Thanks
Don't know if this is still the case but some of their integrated amps a few years ago were re-branded Shengya amps. Shengya is a Chinese company and the same amp under the Shengya name was around 500 bucks and re branded Vincent was 1800. Vincent claimed there were big upgrades once they were called out on it ?? That kind of turned me off from them. That's my recollection at least. I saw a lot of those Shengya amps around when I lived in Shanghai.

Cayin was another one. Chinese Spark MT100 was the same as a Cayin A100T. Great sounding amp and very well made, I had one and a Cayin. Could pick up a new spark in China from a dealer for 800 bucks. Cayin costs 3200. 

Not trying to start a fight and not saying they don't sound good. 
I've had the Vincent SP 332 Power Amp for about 2 years and I have been very satisfied. It sounds great in my system and drives my Revel Performa F-206s with ease. In particular the bass performance is notably better than the Parasound amp that it replaced. Another plus is that it is built like a tank.
i used to own the 236, which i stupidly sold on impulse. really outstanding integrated and a great value at around a grand used-- it was very full bodied but detailed.
I owned a SV-237 integrated for a while and really liked it.  I upgraded to a Simaudio 600i, which is better, but only incrementally and quite a bit more expensive. 

Other integrateds I've owned - Audio Research Vsi-55 (I still own it), Peachtree Nova 300, Peachtree Grand X1, Heed Elixir.  I like the sound of the Vsi-55 a little better than the Vincent, but the Vincent has a lot more power and can hold its own.  The Vincent was better than the others mentioned, although the Peachtree units are both very nice, just not quite as much body as the Vincent.  They were a little rolled off on top like many Class D units. 

The SV-237 responded very well to some better tubes.  I didn't like it at first with the stock tubes (kind of edgy), but it sounded great when I replaced them.  Some of their units have the tubes soldered in (which I think is kind of weird).

The guy I sold it to said he liked the sound better than his McIntosh gear.
I once owned the Vincent SV-226. I called it the little brother to the SV-236, which became the SV-237. 
 I thought the 226 to be a great product, providing transparency with bloom around the notes, dynamics, and a great soundstage. Original MSRP was ~$1500.