IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE!!!

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megabigeye

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IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE!!!
« on: 8 May 2014, 01:18 am »
Just a quick update: I received my One.3 on Monday and since I set it up, there has hardly been an hour that I've been home and not in bed that I haven't been listening to it.  I was a bit afraid at first that I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between this and the Dayton DTA-100a, and that I would feel as though I'd overspent on this amp.  The DTA-100a is a decent sounding amp (personally, I enjoyed it more than my dad's NAD), but this is better. It's been a couple of weeks since the Dayton was working, but straight away I can tell that there's more (and better) treble, and boatloads more detail and texture.  There is also more of a sense of "realness" and immediacy, which I attribute to the amount of detail and texture.  I always kind of assumed that it was my JB3s that were the weakest link in my system, but the Virtue is proving me wrong. There is also scads more power from the Virtue; with my previous setup, I would keep the Dayton's pot at about 1:30-2:00, with my HDP set in a similar way, and this was generally enough to fill my apartment with music without annoying the neighbors (too much).  I'm achieving a similar volume with the One.3's pot at about 10:00 (compensating for the knob pointing the"wrong" way) and the HDP at 12:00.  I swear the extra power (and its delivery) is also affecting the dynamic range of my system.  I've never quite understood all the talk about dynamics, etc., but...  I think I understand!  The ability of the One.3 to go from a quiet passage to a loud one (and suddenly!) is a lot greater than the Dayton was capable of. Something I never even knew I was missing before! ( Now that I'm thinking about it, this is also something my dad's NAD is also capable of, but I always attributed it to how loud he listens to music and the number of Manhattans I had consumed.)

I should also mention that I also love the way this thing looks and feels.  I almost regret that it's not something I get to handle more.  It's not heavy, but it does have a nice heft to it.  The volume pot is smooth and the volume increases smoothly as well, unlike my HDP.  Seth actually called me to talk me out of the red and so I opted for the white; and I think it looks rather Dieter Ramsian in its simplicity.  Okay, well maybe not quite, but you get my idea.  It's slightly disappointing that the volume knob isn't pointing in the, uh, traditional direction, but I'm not getting my boxers into a bunch over it.  Same goes for the bright blue LED.  I wouldn't want to look at it in a darkened room... Actually, I don't want to look at it much at all.  Too bad.

... okay, I just realized that I said I was going to give a quick update and I've gone and slobbered all over this Circle.   I know I've only had this thing for a few days, but I just wanted everybody to know how pleased I am with this amp.  I'm looking forward to having it for a long time.

jtwrace

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Re: IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE!!!
« Reply #1 on: 8 May 2014, 01:35 am »
I'm pretty sure Seth can walk you through how to adjust the knob.  The LED should be able to be disconnected I'd think or at the very least put a different resistor in to dim it. 


Enjoy!

megabigeye

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Re: IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE!!!
« Reply #2 on: 8 May 2014, 01:53 am »
The volume knob I can totally live with.  It's really just a minor niggle.  I might fix it eventually.  I'd consider putting another resistor in there for the LED, though, if I could manage it without botching it up.  I wonder if I could put another one in series or if I'd have to replace the old one?

RDavidson

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Re: IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE!!!
« Reply #3 on: 8 May 2014, 02:03 am »
When I had my One.2, I just dismounted the LED from the case, and let the light shine inside the case. I think I may have attached it to the case with a little piece of scotch tape, just so it wasn't entirely loose. It looked pretty cool as it illuminated the area around the volume knob, and a little bit of light shows through the hole (where it is normally mounted). So rather than having that bright beaming light in your face, you have this nice ambient blue light. Give it a try. Much easier than messing with resistors or completely removing the light, or otherwise messing it all up somehow.

wsturner

Re: IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE!!!
« Reply #4 on: 8 May 2014, 11:45 pm »
Welcome to the Virtue family  :)

charmerci

Re: IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE!!!
« Reply #5 on: 9 May 2014, 01:20 am »
Glad you like the amp.  :thumb:

Just cut a small piece of black electrical tape and put it over the light.

Randy

Re: IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE!!!
« Reply #6 on: 9 May 2014, 02:28 am »
Begs the question of why wasn't that laser-like "on" light dispensed with? I used to put a band aid over it on my Two.2. It was practically blinding.

ericlp151

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Re: IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE!!!
« Reply #7 on: 9 May 2014, 01:54 pm »
I put a very small piece of electrical tape over mine.  But, I was thinking, it might look cooler if you swapped out the blue for a red or a green LED.  Blue for some reason is just really intense.  A red LED just doesn't put out that much light.  Probably a 3MM LED.

Nice impressions.  Next up is running this on batteries. :)

Rocket

Re: IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE!!!
« Reply #8 on: 9 May 2014, 02:04 pm »
Hi,

Happy listening with your new One.3.  I've had NAD products many years ago and they aren't in the same league AFAIK.  I'm hooking my Virtue One.3 up with my Nuforce s9's which are easier to drive tomorrow.

Cheers

virtue

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Re: IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE!!!
« Reply #9 on: 13 May 2014, 04:13 am »
Mr. Bigs -

Thank you so much for posting your impressions.  These little amps are like children to me and I'm glad you like yours!

I told my OEM many times to dim the LED and a few things like that, including the volume knob position, just fell through the cracks.

Big hugs to you and the missus.  Did she like the white also?  That sand-tex paint is pretty gorgeous isn't it?

Seth

megabigeye

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Re: IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE!!!
« Reply #10 on: 13 May 2014, 01:45 pm »
Yes, my GF likes the white a lot.  We actually spent a while looking at old pictures of the One and One.2, trying to decide which one we liked best.  It was really a tossup, but ultimately I'm glad you talked us out of the red.  The white is very nice looking.  Something that is not going to look dated (or even retro, probably) any time soon, or ever.  That's important to me.

As for the LED.  Maybe I made it sound like something I'm not willing to live with.  I am.  In fact, I've got the amp sitting on the shelf next to the TV, and, while I do notice it, I don't find it to be a horrible distraction.  I think my main point about it was that the LED and the knob detract from an otherwise outstanding presentation.  I think it takes it from being potentially gorgeous to being simply nice for the price.  It still looks 1000% better than my dad's NAD 314.

virtue

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Re: IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE!!!
« Reply #11 on: 13 May 2014, 02:41 pm »
Hehe... understood.   :P

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