Which amps work well with VSA?

JackD201 · « **Reply #100 on:** 3 May 2011, 08:43 am »

I've been using a bi-amp combo of the Lamm Hybrids (Lamm M1.2 Reference up top and M2.2 for bass with Mullard CV2492s) on the VR-9s. This combination is a powerhouse. The combo is liquid with tight punchy bass and shows off VSA's transient capabilities. The 2.2 went on loan so now I'm using the tubed Lamm ML1.1 up top and the M1.2s got assigned to bass module duties. I retubed the inputs to Telefunken red tip ecc83s on the ML1.1 and Telefunken 6922 cca red tips for the M1.2 References. The loss of more than a third of the power shrunk the soundstage and made bass transients in particular softer. You don't feel the bass pressure penetrate all the way to your bones anymore.

While shrunk down the presentation has become more intimate. The wispiness of the fine details makes for a more "surreal" soundscape as opposed to the twin hybrid's "real" and more like a fantasy version. Relative scaling of instruments and placement I would say are an improvement. On the Alain-Poulanc works for Pipe Organ LP (Proprius) for instance where with the hybrids stage height went above the ceilings and size was shock and awe large, with this combo the whole stage was shrunk to just a bit larger than floor to ceiling (10ft) and wall to wall (20ft) with a gain in depth of what seems to be about 5 feet. The surreal part is how easy it seems to imagine yourself navigating and picking out musical threads within the soundscape.

The downside is that my Phonostage, the Lamm LP2 works best with cartridges in the .5mV range and my carts are in the .2mV range. With all the extra juice of the original combo the lack of Gain was never an issue. Now I have to crank the preamp and even then while I can get digital to ball busting levels my analog won't. I borrowed a Dynavector Head Amp and a modded Cotter yesterday and will be playing around with them today.

es347 · « **Reply #101 on:** 3 May 2011, 12:21 pm »

Jack, JV should consider using you as a ghost writer. I might even start reading his reviews, with emphasis on might.

JackD201 · « **Reply #102 on:** 3 May 2011, 04:09 pm »

I dunno Gavin, I'm not big on having a new "Best" all the time. People will notice for sure!

Besides, even as a kid I preferred "Show" more than "Tell". I wish you could find your way over here sometime, and all our VSA friends too. Tough being half way around the world, not that the VSA guys over here aren't great company. We're a fun crew! Fair warning though, if you do find your way over be prepared for some serious eating more than listening!

es347 · « **Reply #103 on:** 3 May 2011, 08:21 pm »

It's a very large hop, skip and jump to the Philippines from Indiana unfortunately. Otherwise, I might take up residence in that new listening room of yours. Heck, once over there I might even be persuaded to visit your brother's man cave. Seriously though Jack, don't think for a minute I wouldn't love the visit. By the way, one of our favorite waiters served us lunch today and he is from the Philippines. He was adopted by a local dermatologist when he was young...he's 35 now. A really good guy. I mentioned my fellow audio buddy to him. And now you know the rest of the story (PH)

vincent28 · « **Reply #104 on:** 20 Jun 2011, 02:30 pm »

Quote from: Delacroix on 4 Oct 2008, 01:56 pm

Anyone ever hear the Red Wine amps with the Vons? I asked over on the Red Wine circle a while back and did not get any feedback other than comments indicating there would be no problem given the specs, but I am really interested in hearing from people who have heard this for themselves.

Im using red wine isabella hpv + mini darios 7308 tube with vsa U3, plinius cd 101+oval 2 power cord and W4S st1000 + telos taiwan gold pwr cords, AP oval 8 biwire spkr. Also using coulpure and TAOC isolationpads with their spikes..

red wine off the grids with this tube is the most profound change for me. try it.

vincent28 · « **Reply #105 on:** 20 Jun 2011, 02:39 pm »

Quote from: mfsoa on 5 Oct 2008, 02:54 pm

I've always thought about the RedWine stuff for the mid/tweeter cabinet w/ traditional SS for the bass. And I think it's available (standard, maybe) w/ a quality attenuator to make biamping a snap.This is definitely worth a try for somebody. -Mike

my room is 5x6metre. I removed most of the dalcron off vsa U3.
The bass is outstanding, defined without boom, no room treatment. The key is 2 tier platform isolation on W4S and CDP, nothing under red wine preamp. red wine preamp no transformer, no need to isolate. Adjust tremendously n time to get the bass right without affecting highs n mids. Spike on spike plate, spike below on taoc 6 layer platform, above taoc is dh cones sharp side face down, cdp same config except using copulare cone below cdp to emphasis airness.

vincent28 · « **Reply #106 on:** 20 Jun 2011, 02:55 pm »

i tried the above many times to achieve no loss of dyamics, defined bass and gd highs.

in between , as anyone tried ayre mx-r on VSA speakers? dealer is offering home audition.. veri exciting..

kernelbob · « **Reply #107 on:** 20 Jun 2011, 04:53 pm »

I've been using Spectron monoblocks on VR5-Anni's. Preamp is an Audio Research REF-3. The Spectron monoblocks are a big step up from a single stereo Spectron. Using them as monoblocks has the benefit of wider bandwidth (to 100k) and a lower noise floor (a benefit of common mode noise rejection in the monoblock mode). The Spectrons have always been very neutral on the VR5's, but after replacing my Shunyata Python power cords with the Masterbuilt cables (the top of the line versions), the Spectrons were transformed. See my comments on the "VSA Masterbuilt cables evaluation" thread. Top-to-bottom integration and coherency are exceptional. A few seconds of piano music will show this off-- with the Masterbuilt power cords, speaker cables, and interconnects the coherency is amazing. I'm about to try a pair of Kronzillas, possibly ending up biamping with the Spectrons on the bottom and Kronzillas on the top.

es347 · « **Reply #108 on:** 21 Jun 2011, 01:18 am »

That's quite a set up you have there kernel but I'll have to see some pictures in order to believe you actually own all that stuff

vincent28 · « **Reply #109 on:** 21 Jun 2011, 02:11 am »

http://www.xtremeplace.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=83244.30

pic 6 months back. the lighternote accentuntor has been replaced by red wine preamp
and i added the taoc platforms , spikes and cones. too lazy to take pic.

typically in asia, we get better pricing due to lower taxes and hard bargaining, its a small community here.

Frankchaos · « **Reply #110 on:** 21 Jul 2011, 06:39 pm »

I am using a KR Kronzilla SD with 22 Watts for the mid and high and a Krell FPB 600 for the woofers on my VS VR4 Gen III. In the beginning it sounded crap

, because the Krell hugely overpowered

the Kronzilla

. Now I have a balanced potmeter

between the AR pre and the Krell, which works perfectly

. I have a clean and powerful bass and wonderful high and mid, thanks to the KR

.
I have tried both amplifiers with the entire system, but the KR evidently lacked the power for the bass

and the Krell missed the musical element in the mid and high

, very focussed, but not very musical.

JackD201 · « **Reply #111 on:** 2 Aug 2011, 10:22 am »

I'm back with the all hybrid set-up. Woohooo! It was astringent at first but the entry of the VSA Signature PCs along with my electrician balancing the lines as close as possible to ideal sorted all of that out really quickly. A lot of the spatial congestion turned out to be lines noise and the PCs filtered out what appears to have been a lot of hash. I wouldn't describe it as lifting a veil or anything like that. If anything it was more like the difference in visibility between snorkeling in clear and not so clear water. The shapes and the colors are the same but there's so much random stuff floating around between them with uncleaned power. Dang the stuff that becomes noticeable with a quiet room. These quiet rooms can be both blessings and curses I tell 'ya. This was never much of an issue in my old, noisier place.

es347 · « **Reply #112 on:** 2 Aug 2011, 06:11 pm »

Jack you are tugging at my heart strings....a quiet room...such a problem with which to be saddled

Woot · « **Reply #113 on:** 5 Oct 2011, 03:13 am »

I'm running an EDGE 10.1nl with Harmonic Technology Magic woofer/tweeter speaker cables and IC's throughout. My sources are a VPI Scoutmaster with a 10.5 arm and a Zyx Airy3 silver SB cart, and a J River served PS Audio PerfectWave DAC/Bridge for a balanced digital front end. Pre amp is a Pass XP-20, phono is a Pass XP-15. VSA VR SrIV's and a pair-o VSA S-1 subs.

Shi*s-n-giggles here!

zmikem53 · « **Reply #114 on:** 1 Dec 2011, 03:20 pm »

I have the VSA VR-7 HSE and am using the BAT VK-75SE with good results.
Maybe not as tight on the bottom end as some high powered SS amps.. But the mids and highs are smooth and well defined.. and the bass is surprisingly
good.. The amp also acts as a room heater in the winter

johnlee2002 · « **Reply #115 on:** 25 Feb 2012, 06:48 pm »

For VR5 Anni, currently using bi-amp configuration:

Octave V70SE (German intergrated amp - around 55W@8 ohms) driving the M/T module.
Wyred4 Sound STI1000 (500W) driving Woofer module.

Superb sounding

Mike11 · « **Reply #116 on:** 8 Mar 2012, 01:28 am »

I have the Unifield 3s.
Powered by:
Joule Electra VZN160 transformerless, 160 watt tube amplifiers.
Joule Electra LME300 line stage preamp.
Joule Electra OPS4 phono stage preamp.

The sound of the music in general is very good with exceptional imaging, separation and sound stage. The most impressive result of this combination is the sound of live music. The texture of the voices and stringed instruments have a realism, depth and emotion that I have not experienced before. I can feel the emotion, rawness and ragged edge of Lucinda William's voice suspended around me. Music that can be listened to for hours with out fatigue.
I'm working my way towards a new pair of VR9s.

golfit007 · « **Reply #117 on:** 9 Mar 2012, 06:13 pm »

I have been a long time owner of Von Schweikert speakers. I have owned the VR4 JRs for 6 years and now currently own the VR5 HSEs. These were driven with a Counterpoint SA220 amp and I am now currently using a Moscode 402AU with mundorf and vishay modifications. Pairing this amp with 6H30EB-DR tubes provides a fantastive listening experience. I wanted sufficient bass authority that here-to-fore could only be achieved with solid state, but did not care for the dryness of the presentation. Going straigt tube either was a little tubey sounding or insufficient power. By using the hybrid Mosocde402AU 200wpc provides a thrilling listening experience especially with the VR5 HSE which is a significant improvement to the VR4 JRs. I have been in an audiophile for 45 years and have owned many pieces of equipment. I cannot say enough about the pairing of the Von Schweikerts with the MOSCODE 402AU amp. I previously owned the 401HR and there is a night and day difference in these amps. The speakers are shotgun wired.

Dimfer · « **Reply #118 on:** 15 Mar 2012, 10:33 am »

currently using Trodt GM70 to drive the VR5 Anniversary.

60 watts of parallel single ended triode bliss and Von Schweikert speakers gives you a very dynamic sound with a lot of heft.

marcman · « **Reply #119 on:** 27 Mar 2012, 12:14 pm »

New member group. I've had VRs for about 15 years now; first pair was VR-4 silver series in custom stained cabinets. They are currently in CA being rebuilt with new drivers, crossovers, wiring etc. Can't wait to get them back.

I've always run my VRs with a pair of Brystons set for high-current output. In my last three places there was plenty of power, but in my new house, the room has a vaulted ceiling so I may have to get some bigger amps.