[-Richard-]

I have been a Red Wine enthusiast for many years. I started with Vinnie's first amplifier iterations and worked all the way up to the Signature 70.2.

Vinnie knows I love tube amplification and felt the Signature 70.2 would give me everything a tube amp has to offer but without all the fussing of tubes and the reliability issues... not to mention the accelerated cost of good tubes... he was right of course. Deb and I love the Signature 70.2! It is no exaggeration to say that the Signature 70.2 is the only non-tube, non-Triode amplification that Deborah loves (Deb's hearing acuity is far more sensitive than mine... so my audio life is actually composed of equipment she loves to listen to).

I finally got a chance to hear the Isabellina with my Signature 70.2 on my Open Baffle speakers. The Isabellina takes nothing away from the complex content of the music... it also delivers the music with a wonderful sense of rhythm and timing... which is so critical to "feeling" the inner dynamic life of music. The Isabellina also presents a much appreciated smooth, spacious sense of dimension... it is a thoroughly musical dac and the perfect compliment to the Signature 70.2.

Vinnie has done it again!!! Congratulations, Vinnie, on creating another audio legend.

With Warmest Regards ~ Richard

[Vinnie R.]

I finally got a chance to hear the Isabellina with my Signature 70.2 on my Open Baffle speakers. The Isabellina takes nothing away from the complex content of the music... it also delivers the music with a wonderful sense of rhythm and timing... which is so critical to "feeling" the inner dynamic life of music. The Isabellina also presents a much appreciated smooth, spacious sense of dimension... it is a thoroughly musical dac and the perfect compliment to the Signature 70.2.

Hi Richard,

Thank you for posting your impressions of the Isabellina dac and how it sounds feeding your 70.2s! 

Happy listening!

Vinnie

[dspringham]

Richard,

If you're still out there - just wondering if you are running the Isabellina direct into the 70.2's or are you going through your Mapletree preamp.

Would appreciate any additional comparative comments regarding the Isabellina with and/or without tubes in the signal path.

Any plans for an Isabella preamp?

Regards,
Dave

[-Richard-]

Hi Dave ~

"...just wondering if you are running the Isabellina direct into the 70.2's or are you going through your Mapletree preamp."

I find the combination of the Mapletree tube triode-circuit preamp with the 70.2 monoblocks works perfectly with my Open Baffle speakers to create a smooth dimensional sound that helps to bring the music to life.
 
"Would appreciate any additional comparative comments regarding the Isabellina with and/or without tubes in the signal path."

About 13 years ago I fell in love with what tubes can do to reconstruct the "dimensional" quality of music... tubes in the circuit seemed to bring back an analogue warmth often missing from purely digital media in combination with purely transistor amplification. But every amplifier circuit-design approach has different areas that they do well... assuming the circuit is designed well.

Tube amplification alone has obvious drawbacks that have been well documented in audio magazines and chat forums... Deborah is very sensitive to transistor amplification... she finds it very uncomfortable to listen to a transistor amplifier for more than a few minutes... however, she loves Vinnie's Signature 70.2... even without any tube preamplification... which is how we listened to it for several months when we first began to use it.

I only purchased the Mapletree tube preamplifier to actively boost the signal for a 2 watt SET 45 tube amplifier that had volume limitations using a "passive" preamplifier.

I never even tried the Mapletree with my Signature 70.2 monoblocks until a fellow member of AC whose insights I highly regard began to rave about how well his Signature 30.2 sounded with an active tube preamplifier... I attached the Mapletree to the Sig's and was immediately struck by the added sense of dimension and the warmth it brought to the sonics of the 70.2.

As things go in the world of audio, I have since sold the 45 tube amplifier but I continue to use the Mapletree with the Signature 70.2 monoblocks. I am not convinced that the Mapletree is the best preamplifier for the Signature 70.2... but my audio budget is currently non-existent... so I have no plans in the immediate future to begin a careful search for alternative tube preamplifiers, including the Isabellina, which knowing Vinnies search for perfection, must be a perfect match for the Signature 70.2 sound.

Vinnie does offer an in-home audition of his products for 30 days... so everyone can get a chance to hear how the new Isabellina preamplifier sounds with their own wonderful Signature amplifiers.

Warmest Regards  ~ Richard