Viva Amps - Any thoughts?

I currently own the Viva Aurora 845. I received them shortly after the January CES in Vegas. I sold a pair of the Viva Aurora 572 to buy them. The lower powered Viva Verona amp is no longer manufactured, at least not for US distribution. One friend in my group has compared the Viva to a WE 300B based amp and said that the Viva was better. I know the Cary 845 is not in the running against these, and I doubt the Nagra (dual 845) is either. I cannot absolutely say with the Lamm. Although I heard the Lamm at the CES, and was not impressed, this is poor experience to compare against having owned the Viva's for over two years. I can say that I am not a fan of the 6C33C that the Lamm uses as an output. It is also safe to say that the Viva is one of my most favored amps, and I have owned many of the highest end amps made. The (current) final decision about what to use in my own system is being performed with the Viva as a finalist.

I had the pleasure of spending the weekend with the 572 version of the Viva. It is the finest amp I have heard second to my Tube Research Labs mono's. The Viva flat out made the Joule-Electra VZN 100's (latest rev) sound.., well (trying to be nice) not so good. I can honestly say that if I were in the market for a new amp for my 2 channel reference system at this point I would buy the Viva. It is very very transparent, palpable and has weight behind the music, very dynamic and fast. I also compared it to the Art Audio Jota Mono's with the VV52 tubes. The viva is better. Regards, Mike

If you decide that you would to purchase a VIVA amplifier and do not have a local dealer, I am a VIVA dealer you can email me at audioman@bestweb.net

Albert, did you get the Wolcott amps yet?

call brian at: aaudio.com , for the best advice on viva amps.

Jls3, Yes, I did get the Wolcott amps. They are coming along very well. There are those in my listening group that already think that they are the best I've had in my system. However, I have not made up my own mind yet, and still have several types of NOS tubes on order to try with the Wolcotts. I have to see what can be gotten out of them at their limit, and only after they are totally broken in. The Viva has taken a really long time to break in, and is just now, in the last month or so, performed where I thought it should be all along. I am REALLY tough on break in, and need to state that fact to everyone. I am overly sensitive to the effects of break in on all types of new products, and knowing my curse, I reserve judgement until I'm sure I am not making a mistake, either in my system, or my comments.