[jtwrace]

(now that I'm packing and shipping them all myself).

[megabigeye]

Thanks for your interest!

No problem!  You guys really piqued my interest a few years ago with the One.2 and Two.2, but were out of my budget at the time.  I was always a bit disappointed when I'd go to your website and there was nothing there.  I was excited to see you're back.

I also find it very encouraging that you (personally!) replied to my post within minutes.  I'm also considering a NAD (though, now I'm considering it less and less), but I don't think they're even on these boards.
Very cool.

> The One.3 has a high pass filter for the speakers, but not a low pass for the sub, right?

Correct!

To activate the high-pass, a second set of caps need to be installed.  I will do this for you if you want -- free with your order (now that I'm packing and shipping them all myself).  If you want a "high-end" 0.1uF cap, send it to me to install (or install yourself).  There are empty solder holes and a jumper for the 2nd set of input jumpers.

This is potentially a dumb question, but do you think there would be a noticeable difference if I ran it with a sub but without the high pass engaged?  Basically, I don't want to limit myself if I ever want to upgrade my speakers to something that doesn't require a sub.

I created an upgrade manual for users who want to upgrade their ONE.2 to ONE.3 (one customer blew up his ONE.2).  I sell the ONE.3 replacement boards (2 pcs with wire harnesses) for $200 separately.  Email me at seth at virtueaudio.com and I'll reply with it.  Got lots of pics on the inside and goes through wiring, etc.

Seth

Interesting.  There is somebody on here that offered to sell me their old One.2, but I have a feeling this would end up being more expensive than just getting the One.3.  Also, my DIY skills are minimal.

[virtue]

Adding a second set of caps is not destructive and there is a jumper to choose between them.

That's the way it worked with the old amps too -- on these, I didn't have the money to buy the minimum quantity.



But I do have an extra pair of 0.1uf caps to throw in there for you.

[megabigeye]

That's awesome, thanks.

I'll discuss it with my girlfriend tonight and then hopefully I'll be a proud owner or a Virtue amp!

[jtwrace]

That's awesome, thanks.

I'll discuss it with my girlfriend tonight and then hopefully I'll be a proud owner or a Virtue amp!

Buy first, then ask.  Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.   

[ericlp151]

Aloha Megabigeye... Just curious.  What type of speakers will you be using?

Hope you get permission.   

I use to own some very nice sapphires XL speakers from ACI.   They were very nice speakers.  But they were just too big and I felt that I should sell them and buy something new when I got my house built in Hawaii.  So I sold em for around 800 bucks. Probably paid close to 1K for them. But, now I am using a pair of infinity P163's I got off Amazon shipped for 300 bucks.  I can really tell the build of infinity is not up to pare as the old RS-3.1 I have used in the past.  Probably the Xovers are crap as well. But what do you expect for 300 dollar speakers?    Funny the person that bought my sapphires told me I was a fool for selling them and he said he would never have sold them.  I guess he was satisfied with the sound.    Anyway.....  I guess my next journey is finding better speakers.   

[bardamu]

Hello,
When ever a girlfriend visits me i always tell her my bass bins are sandfilled ( yes they are) and are just to heavy to move. They were transported with 2 and a half person without the back side which contains the biggest part of the sand.
I never did connect my virtue to this system but maybe one day i will try. They are connected to tube amps with an output transformer so very difficult to '' fry '' the Tad drivers.
Right now in the proces of adding a second active subwoofer to my virtue system. In the end they will be connected wireless so could use the second transmitter for sending the signal necessary to use the subwoofer in the bigger set.
I think the elipson coaxial speakers are 90db but the big ones are 104db in the lower region and the horn on top is 109db so a big need to adjust the gain.
Sincere greetings, Edward

[megabigeye]

Aloha Megabigeye... Just curious.  What type of speakers will you be using?

Hope you get permission.   

I use to own some very nice sapphires XL speakers from ACI.   They were very nice speakers.  But they were just too big and I felt that I should sell them and buy something new when I got my house built in Hawaii.  So I sold em for around 800 bucks. Probably paid close to 1K for them. But, now I am using a pair of infinity P163's I got off Amazon shipped for 300 bucks.  I can really tell the build of infinity is not up to pare as the old RS-3.1 I have used in the past.  Probably the Xovers are crap as well. But what do you expect for 300 dollar speakers?    Funny the person that bought my sapphires told me I was a fool for selling them and he said he would never have sold them.  I guess he was satisfied with the sound.    Anyway.....  I guess my next journey is finding better speakers.

Aw, I wasn't really asking permission.  Mostly just "discussing" it with her so she feels included in the decision making.   Well, I mean she is helping to pay for it, so I wanted to make sure she's wasn't heart-set on having a remote or bluetooth.  Otherwise, I don't think she cares much if it's Virtue or virtueless.  So, yes, "permission was granted."

Speaking of ~$300 speakers, I'll be using JohnBlue JB3 plus a BIC V1020.  I think I paid $370 for the JB3s a few years ago, though I don't think they're available in the States anymore.  Kinda too bad, in my opinion.  Probably not up to par with your old Sapphires, but pretty damn god for the price.  I used to have them hooked up to a Dayton DTA-100a (prior to that they were hooked up to a KingRex T20) and was constantly in awe of how awesome 3" drivers sound driven by a $90 amp...  Granted, I don't have a lot to compare them to (though my dad does have a NAD C 325BEE (I think) and some sort of Def Tech bipolar somethingorother, and personally, I prefer my setup), but I'm of the mind that if I don't know what I'm missing then...  I don't know what I'm missing.  And I'm okay with that.

And thanks for the nice welcome!

[ericlp151]

Interesting that you are going from a king-rex T2020 chip 20 watt to a tk250. 

I came from a trends using a T2024 old school 9 watts.     I still have my old sonic impact I bought from target for 20 bucks.  The T-amp that started it all.  What a crazy path.

I don't think you'll be disappointed with the sound of the three and it will be interesting to hear your listening impressions.  Just be careful I guess, those 3" drivers are 30w max.  Probably wouldn't want to push em too hard.  Interesting speakers too.  I remember whizzer cones!    One day the infinity's will become the new deck speakers.  Just like ACI, they no longer are in business.  Kinda sad as they not only made good speakers but subs as well.

Your welcome, enjoy the ride.

[virtue]

I didn't understand the JB3s until I heard them.  Friggin amazing.  Much more expensive today, right?

You should be in for a nice upgrade from the Dayton and Kingrex. 

The Dayton Tripath amp really sucks but they cleaned up their act with the TDA amps which sound pretty good.

Keep us updated!

Seth

[megabigeye]

Interesting that you are going from a king-rex T2020 chip 20 watt to a tk250.

Interesting how?  I actually preferred the DTA-100a (TK2050) to the KingRex, but that may have been because it was more power which mean more louder.  And more... sound stagier?  I also didn't get to use the KingRex nearly as much as the Dayton.  I had the KingRex when I had roommates and I mostly listened to headphones back then.

I came from a trends using a T2024 old school 9 watts.     I still have my old sonic impact I bought from target for 20 bucks.  The T-amp that started it all.  What a crazy path.

I don't think you'll be disappointed with the sound of the three and it will be interesting to hear your listening impressions.  Just be careful I guess, those 3" drivers are 30w max.  Probably wouldn't want to push em too hard.  Interesting speakers too.  I remember whizzer cones!    One day the infinity's will become the new deck speakers.  Just like ACI, they no longer are in business.  Kinda sad as they not only made good speakers but subs as well.

Your welcome, enjoy the ride.

Yeah, one of my concerns with buying an amp was not getting one with too much power.  I don't think this will have too much more than the Dayton (at least as it was advertized  "1000W at 100% THD and 100% explosion!"), plus I'll be using a Nuforce HDP as preamp/DAC, so if need be I'll just turn that down.

I hope my listening impressions aren't too much of a disappointment.  I've tried to do some cursory A/B testing in the past mostly with the result of "uh, I think they sound... different?"  Granted, it was mostly pretty faulty and not thorough or methodical.  This time I won't even be able to do that.  Anyway, I'm sure I'm going to like it.

I didn't understand the JB3s until I heard them.  Friggin amazing.  Much more expensive today, right?

You should be in for a nice upgrade from the Dayton and Kingrex. 

The Dayton Tripath amp really sucks but they cleaned up their act with the TDA amps which sound pretty good.

Keep us updated!

Seth

Are the JB3s still even available here?  I'd love to try out the JB3Fs?

Yeah.  I always thought I was pretty clever having such a good sounding amp for under $100.  After it died, though, I took it (partially) out of its case and  if you thought the old ones looked bad...  Yikes.  I think I figured out how they keep costs down.

I will keep you updated.  I had you deliver to my girlfriend's work...  However, they tried to deliver today and of course she wasn't there.  She was here.    Ah, well, patience is a Virtue.

[ericlp151]

http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/dayton_dta100_e.html  I almost bought one of these myself.  I think your review of the three will be even more interesting. 

I was hoping someone here would take some hires shots of the solder work of the three.

Yeah, it does look like they just started throwing solder at these amps. Tho I have to give credit where it's due, the 20 dollar Sonic Impact looks even worse than this, and it's still going strong.  I use to listen to it everyday!  Maybe sending those boards though a batch of solder gives the amp some color and characteristic sounds?   

http://www.michael.mardis.com/sonic/images/connect-S1.jpg  This was the high quality of the amp everyone loved so much! 

[virtue]

Guys -

Solder quality has nothing to do with it.

Here are some things I care about that you won't find in the super-cheap amps:

• Smart board layout
• 2 oz copper (heavy)
• X7R capacitors for decoupling
• Over-rated inductors
• Additional regulation where PSNR < 50 (ie. Tripath)
• High quality wiring
• Extra bulk capacitance
• Exotic film caps caps on outputs

Because we have so much capacitance, it requires a soft-start, which is additional expense.

One of the reasons I started Virtue was because it was clear that using high quality components didn't cost **that much** more.  Well, I was sort of wrong.  A high quality power supply and cases costs a **lot** more.  But high quality boards are 2x or 3x what a low quality board costs -- but not cost prohibitive.  There are some Chinese boards that are really good -- make no mistake.

But it so happens that with Tripath, part quality matters a lot.  Not so much with other chips we've tried.  A "budget" focus just doesn't work with Tripath.

Seth

[bardamu]

Hello Seth,
You are the one making money with selling these gems so people have great difficulty in believing you. I am not making any money just typing messages with one finger. lol please believe me. I really love my virtue sensation. It can be improved by using batteries using other caps can change its character. But i did like it from day one for sure.
The new virtue offspring isnt expensive for what is offering you.
Stop spending money on the big brands. Some of them started as small companies delivering nice goods but now most of them are makings the same stuff hyped with loads of marketing.
sincere greetings, Edward
This one of my other hobbies. It is about the same price as the little virtue. It is kind of limited edition. Same as your future virtue. Both did require big skills to make.

[virtue]

Trying to lose less money, you mean. 

But wow, do you blow glass?  Amazing! 

Got a website where we can see more of your work?

[bardamu]

http://www.kristal-glas.nl/gehele-collectie.html?dir=asc&limit=all&order=price
Hello Seth,
I wish i could!!!  I did visit the company where they make this kind of artwork. Sometimes the designer and the maker are different persons. You need lots of tools to make something. BUT the big thing you need is talent and loads of it.
After making you will have to let it cool down in a special room. If you dont do that cooling down is to quick and it will break. A bit like soldering lol
In real life they even look more impressive. The first thing is posted has a twisted shape and one side is sandblasted.
I used to be into tubes so that might explain my interest for this kind of objects.
The object in this post is if i am right made by the same person as the other one. Emil Kovac from Tjech republic but i think he lives in my country. I actually did see him at work when i did visit the city of leerdam. The link is the website of the shop where i did buy my 3 glass objects.
After some more investments in audio i wanna buy a fourth one. Usually if i am in the shop the things i like appear to be the expensive ones. Without reading glasses i cannot read the price. I just walk around and pick the one i like.
The last one i did buy was a promotion. It is what they called a ''unica'' means only one made. The owner of the shop said you are lucky because this one has a discounted price now only 495 euro ( 685 $) I have had it for a year and i still love the looks.
It is like cars. At first sight a hummer looks impressive but if you see a real jeep dating from vietnam war driving around in asia you will know that is the real thing.
Sincere greetings, Edward

[sDc]

No problem!  You guys really piqued my interest a few years ago with the One.2 and Two.2, but were out of my budget at the time.  I was always a bit disappointed when I'd go to your website and there was nothing there.  I was excited to see you're back.

I also find it very encouraging that you (personally!) replied to my post within minutes.  I'm also considering a NAD (though, now I'm considering it less and less), but I don't think they're even on these boards.
Very cool.
This is potentially a dumb question, but do you think there would be a noticeable difference if I ran it with a sub but without the high pass engaged?  Basically, I don't want to limit myself if I ever want to upgrade my speakers to something that doesn't require a sub.
Interesting.  There is somebody on here that offered to sell me their old One.2, but I have a feeling this would end up being more expensive than just getting the One.3.  Also, my DIY skills are minimal.

.   I'm a newb to audiophile and have been away from the forum for awhile, does an additional filter need to be added to run the ONE.3 with a subwoofer? 

[bardamu]

Hello,
In the old days the virue amps did have a switch inside so you can switch to a cap that will give the complete frequency range to your speakers and there was a second smaller value cap that will only give 80 hertz and higher to your speakers. And at the back there is a connector to have an interlink to you active subwoofer.
The new model has just the big cap and the switch if i am right but you can order it with a 100nf cap that will give you the smaller frequency range. It is way better. The excursion of yopur speaker will be much smaller, so is the distortion. Your amp will have an easier life.
Just buy the virtue with a battery, ask Seth to install the smaller caps and find a nice active subwoofer. I am using an SVS PC-12 nsd (749$) They have cheaper ones too. If you succeed in a good '' integration '' with your main speakers it can be very nice.
Sincere greetings, Edward

[virtue]

The switch is still there but stock, it does nothing because the second set of caps is not installed.

With the new heat sink configuration the just don't fit well together.  I did it once for someone but it was too tight. 

Upon order ask me to change your configuration.

[sDc]

Hello,
In the old days the virue amps did have a switch inside so you can switch to a cap that will give the complete frequency range to your speakers and there was a second smaller value cap that will only give 80 hertz and higher to your speakers. And at the back there is a connector to have an interlink to you active subwoofer.
The new model has just the big cap and the switch if i am right but you can order it with a 100nf cap that will give you the smaller frequency range. It is way better. The excursion of yopur speaker will be much smaller, so is the distortion. Your amp will have an easier life.
Just buy the virtue with a battery, ask Seth to install the smaller caps and find a nice active subwoofer. I am using an SVS PC-12 nsd (749$) They have cheaper ones too. If you succeed in a good '' integration '' with your main speakers it can be very nice.
Sincere greetings, Edward

. Thanks!  I really appreciate the clarification.