[virtue]

Dear Customers and Friends,

This is a particularly joyous Christmas for the Virtue family because we’ve opened pre-orders for the ONE.2 and Sensation amplifiers with the sale of the century.

The ONE.2 includes our most requested upgrades: stepped attenuator, dual input caps supporting bass management, more sensitive subwoofer output (+5db), no subwoofer pop, lower noise floor, and an internal soft-start circuit. You can run the amp with any 30v supply you want including batteries and linear PSUs. Several PSU options are now available at check-out and I expect that our AudioCircle forum will be alive with more discussions about PSUs. Whether you prefer batteries or linear supplies, we’re passing along huge value from Red Wine Audio, GR Research, Antek and Astron. Did I mention that we’re also offering a special price on the ONE.2 amplifier? Through pre-order, you can have the ONE.2 at the price of the non-upgraded “classic” model: $299. This is a mind-blowing offer and we have limited it to 5 per person.

Many of you have waited a long time for Sensation and it’s finally here. As you will find in commentaries from early reviewers on our forums, Sensation has everything you loved about the ONE/TWO models, and more. It sounds even better and includes 3 inputs and a remote control and as with the ICEBlock and Piano models, is built on the customizable “Melissa” platform. We build each unit for you based on choices you make at check-out. If you want to order a matching Piano CD-player with your Sensation amplifier, provide the code PIANOMATCH at checkout to receive $50 off in addition to a $50 Sensation pre-order discount which you will find on the site.

For those of you waiting for even higher-power Tripath amplifiers and our forthcoming Mardis DAC, thank you for your patience. When we have more definitive ship dates, we will send notice. To follow our progress more closely, please follow our ongoing discussions on Audio Circle.

Pre-order amplifiers will ship from New Jersey between February 15th and March 15th, 2010 on a first-come, first-served basis. The first ONE.2s will be come in by air from Asia and will ship out before Sensation.

Have a wonderful holiday season with your family and lots of love from ours.

Sincerely,
Seth

[dvenardos]

Just happened to be at my computer.
From the website:
Preorder price on Sensation $649.
Regular price on Sensation $699.

[Cheerwino]

 
I helped out at RMAF and got to hear a lot of the Sensation and it is very sweet and would really crank no matter what speaker was selected. The case alone looks better than anything I've owned.

Congrats on the new products! Lookin' forward to those DACs, too!

[classicjt2]

I'm standing in line for a Sensation M451 and the bad boy Antek power supply.

James

[wilsynet]

In original Q&A posts about the Sensation, it was going to be a dual mono design.  Is that still true?

There are so many products in the pipeline (One.2, Two.2, DuMo, two different Sensation models), that I find myself unable to figure out what I want and whether I should wait for something else to come out.

Ok, I get that the Two.2 is better than the One.2.  And the Sensation is better than the Two.2.  Is there a sonic difference between the two Sensation models, or is the difference in watts?  Is the Sensation better than the soon to be released DuMo, or are they not comparable?

There are seemingly a bewildering number of power supply options.  For the Sensation, there is the expensive linear, the expensive switching, the cheaper audiophile option (which sounds like it should be more expensive) and finally Vinnie's battery.  If it's more expensive, is it better?  Or is there more nuance in the decision?

   

[gcos]

I agree with Wilsynet....so many options and so little info re the diff between the options !!!! HELP !!!!

[classicjt2]

Re: Sensation, earlier quote from Seth- "Sensation is also circulating.  Not the unit we showed at RMAF but an updated version of the original units, safe for batteries.  It sounds great - awesome in fact, even at 30v.  Sensation will be packaged much like it was originally with a slight $$ uplift due to all of the additional R&D and battery support; but still very affordable - around $699 (M451) and $899 (M901) is current thinking."

Also quoted from Seth Re: Differences between the Sensation M901 and M451- "Per the prior inquiry, the M901 would have:

1) Auricaps
2) T-Copper binding posts
3) 130w/30v PSU"
(quotes dated 12/8/09)

I believe the Sensation II dual mono with 36v capability shown at RMAF 2009 was projected at approx. $1200 or so with a single 130w psu, if I remember correctly.

James

[virtue]

Hey Guys,

Sorry for the confusion on models, etc.  Yip, I get low marks for market positioning. 

The dual mono configuration will appear first in the Virtue THREE and then the du|mo, a lower voltage version of it.  We took the higher voltage, dual mono, Sensation II back to the woodshop because we were concerned about launching something that expensive in this economy without a bigger hook. 

What we're launching is a very upgraded Sensation I in standard and upgraded editions, that plays wonderfully on a single supply.  Our first new small amp is a "back to the basics" amp that reflects everything we learned during the first production and got rolled back in.  For the next 3+ months, expect only 2 models (standard and upgraded) from us:

- Sensation M451/M901 (updgraded Sensation I)
- ONE "classic"/ONE.2 (upgraded Virtue ONE)

The ONE.2 compares favorably with the original Virtue TWO.  When the "TWO" comes back as the TWO.2, it will be higher voltage.

Seth

[gcos]

Thanks Seth,
That clears it up for me. The V3 is for me..I will wait...

[virtue]

We've got a prototype of the THREE and it's technically "all-clear" however "many a drop has been spilled between cup and lip" as they say.  Many things need to happen and succeed before THREE can be built and I got myself into trouble talking about it too much in October.  i've been mugged by reality a few times on this project and now think that it could be 4-6 months before we see it in New Jersey.

[Gabone]

I have the same problem with the models.
Moreover, my English is weak ! HELP !

[virtue]

What a beautiful setup!  If you're an original ONE or TWO owner, the best way to get more out of your amp is to wait for the soft-start upgrade (+ shipping) and then buy a high-current 24v - 30v power supply.  I've posted 4 on my website, 2 using batteries and 2 using torroid transformers.  They will all provide more than 10A on demand which will destroy the switch on the 2009 models (unless the soft-start is used) but allow you to get even more bass and dynamics from the amp you have.

If you use a subwoofer and don't like soldering, the ONE.2 gives you a jumper that cuts off highs to the mains, below 80hz.  Also, the stepped attenuator has a wonderful feel and removes any concerns you may have about distortion from the POT, which I personally find imperceptible but others have noticed.

If you want 3 inputs and a slightly more refined sound, go for Sensation.  They are priced affordably and will bring a lifetime of happiness and beauty.  We build every unit custom and they are stunning.

In the future, we will offer higher voltage and dual-mono versions of all products.  Materially, they will be more expensive and the current products will continue to hold their value very well.

Hope this helps!

Seth

[Vinnie R.]

I've posted 4 on my website, 2 using batteries and 2 using torroid transformers.  They will all provide more than 10A on demand which will destroy the switch on the 2009 models (unless the soft-start is used) but allow you to get even more bass and dynamics from the amp you have.

All,

Seth listed our Black Lightning with special pricing for Virtue Audio customers on the Virtue website (thanks, Seth!).

Please note that Black Lightning already features in-rush current limiting ("soft start") which is built-into the SMART module.  So you simply leave your older Virtue amp model switch ON all the time, and turn ON/OFF the power via Black Lightning.

Seth, please correct me if I am wrong, but in this case, they will not need the external soft-start for their older Virtue models. 

Thank you,

Vinnie

[virtue]

Vinnie,
Thanks for the clarification.  Uniquely with your exceptional power supply only (it includes a soft-start on-board and SMART board), customers could buy the Black lightening and be off and running safely.  However, if they screw up the turn-on sequence, their switches will be fried quickly.  We certainly never made enough money on these amps (burp) to repair switches that customers blew up themselves, so they'll be on their own if they do!
Seth

[Vinnie R.]

Hi Seth,

Good point!  I outline the proper turn-ON procedure in the Black Lighting owner's manual, but accidents happen and not everyone reads the manual (or they read it after the fact  ).

Best regards,

Vinnie