Need some help - considering pre-order of One.2

alphaiii · « **Reply #20 on:** 21 Jan 2010, 01:49 am »

I got my order in late last night.

But now you guys are making me feel like I need an ungraded power supply to really get something out of this amp.... And my budget won't allow for that right now. Just the amp was a stretch for me.

About now is a good time for someone to reassure me that it's still a great amp with the stock 24V supply...

JohnR · « **Reply #21 on:** 21 Jan 2010, 03:03 am »

Quote from: alphaiii on 21 Jan 2010, 01:49 am

About now is a good time for someone to reassure me that it's still a great amp with the stock 24V supply...

FWIW mine will be coming with the stock supplies and I'm not losing any sleep over it, I expect they will be quite fine until such time as I feel like / get around to upgrading the supplies. I'd say be happy, you got a great deal

dvenardos · « **Reply #22 on:** 21 Jan 2010, 04:03 am »

Quote from: 9plus2 on 21 Jan 2010, 12:45 am

Since my previous most expensive amps have been around $150, I have little doubt that this lil' Virtue will make me quite happy.

You are going to be one happy camper, unless you realize that you now need better speakers.

droht · « **Reply #23 on:** 21 Jan 2010, 04:15 am »

Quote from: alphaiii on 21 Jan 2010, 01:49 am

I got my order in late last night.

But now you guys are making me feel like I need an ungraded power supply to really get something out of this amp.... And my budget won't allow for that right now. Just the amp was a stretch for me.

About now is a good time for someone to reassure me that it's still a great amp with the stock 24V supply...

The original ONE with the 60w PSU sounds great to me, so I'm sure you'll be loving this version. I have to say though, I was hot and heavy for Virtue until reading the constant hype about what batteries and/or better power supplies can do for you. I don't want to be constantly chasing that variable after finding a great amp. It got a bit frustrating, so I backed off to the base ONE and I am happy. For now at least.

9plus2 · « **Reply #24 on:** 21 Jan 2010, 10:05 am »

alphaiii, sorry if I my comments gave the impression that an upgraded power supply is needed. The upgrade is universally praised, but so is the amp before the upgrade. As a non-audiophile and as a former club, warehouse, and radio DJ, FWIW, I've found that EQ is reasonably effective in compensating for system weaknesses (my cheapo speakers sound quite punchy with bass boosted, even through my bass-lite $30 T-amp). My favorite home listening combos to date have had EQ involved.

dvenardos, you are wicked! Time for me to patiently wait for that day to arrive. And when it does, I'd be a fool to be anything other than happy about it.

PSB Guy · « **Reply #25 on:** 21 Jan 2010, 06:10 pm »

The little Virtue amps definitely ARE awesome with the stock 24v/65w power supply, and there are many glowing reviews that back up this opinion. I'm sorry if it seemed like I was saying they aren't. But it is one of the great "virtues" (sorry) of these amps that you can throw more power at them, up to a certain point, and they just get better. It's nice to have the option. Upgrade fever can be a b***h, I know because I'm waiting for power supply number FOUR, but I'm nuts...

virtue · « **Reply #26 on:** 21 Jan 2010, 06:29 pm »

Guys, I'm not going to back-track on my recommendation for an upgraded PSU. If you take our stock amp, run it on the stock 24v psu, and put crappy, power-hungry speakers in front of it, you won't be that impressed. It's like running your Ferrari on 70 octane gas (if that exists). It will still smoke the Prius but a guy with a Porsche might out-run you off the line.

Late in the development process - back in late 2007, early 2008 - we chucked around $10,000 worth of Amidon/American Core inductors that were specified by Tripath and I think used on competitive products. These inductors sounded AWESOME using the 24v supply but fully saturated at 3A and smoked the amp. Morover, with the 24v supply, we didn't need the heat-pipes at all. A bunch of solder on the board would have been sufficient.

So let it be known that the ability to handle 7+A was not an accidental consideration and I feel no need to defend the amp's excellent but not world-beating performance with the 24v supply. It's a great starter supply - we vetted nearly 10 supplies before choosing this one from Golden Profit - but it hardly gets our race car out of the parking lot.

PSB Guy · « **Reply #27 on:** 22 Jan 2010, 12:10 am »

Even with the $150 or so it costs to upgrade to a better power supply, these amps are still a steal and are world-beaters. My One replaced a Yamaha amp that cost about the same as the amp + upgraded power supply, and the comparison in sound quality isn't even close, even in my small office environment. Plus, you always have the option of starting with the small supply, then upgrading at your convenience. The smaller supply is offered as the default to keep the cost to the customer down and to offer choices. What other amps out there can be improved upon as easily by just plugging in a different power supply? IMO having such an easy upgrade path in a product (amps) that usually have NO upgrade path is a huge plus. (And I still think the One is awesome with the stock supply)

dvenardos · « **Reply #28 on:** 22 Jan 2010, 03:50 am »

The Two is even better than the One.

Quote from: PSB Guy on 22 Jan 2010, 12:10 am

Even with the $150 or so it costs to upgrade to a better power supply, these amps are still a steal and are world-beaters. My One replaced a Yamaha amp that cost about the same as the amp + upgraded power supply, and the comparison in sound quality isn't even close, even in my small office environment. Plus, you always have the option of starting with the small supply, then upgrading at your convenience. The smaller supply is offered as the default to keep the cost to the customer down and to offer choices. What other amps out there can be improved upon as easily by just plugging in a different power supply? IMO having such an easy upgrade path in a product (amps) that usually have NO upgrade path is a huge plus. (And I still think the One is awesome with the stock supply)

virtue · « **Reply #29 on:** 22 Jan 2010, 04:15 am »

shut up now, donny!!!

hehe... the ONE.2 is nearly as good as the TWO

dvenardos · « **Reply #30 on:** 23 Jan 2010, 02:13 am »

I know, I am incorrigible.

Quote from: virtue on 22 Jan 2010, 04:15 am

shut up now, donny!!!

Light-Echo · « **Reply #31 on:** 23 Jan 2010, 05:04 am »

oh but if If I had money to burn. I have (2) 1.2 amps on the way. And because I deal in fire alarm panels and the batteries are easily accessible, I ordered the 24v power supply / charger less the batteries from Gary. This is an investment of less than $800.00 all told. If I get any where near the satisfaction I am expecting, this will be the deal of the century for me. There are so many variables, including speaker choice, room set up and front end.... But you have to start somewhere. I don't have money to burn. But I turn 50 this year (sept 11 ... go figure) and I haven't been this pumped to set up my system in forever. I have a couple of smaller simpler systems that tickle my fancy. But this audiophile thing is like a drug. I keep wanting just a little more, a little better. To take my favorite songs, put my listening chair in 'the zone' ... and kick back ... this is a kind reward for a hard day for me.

So. I have (2) 1.2's coming. I bought a pair of the quad speaker cables from Seth also. I'm building (or rather my father in law is building) a pair of N3's. Sean is building the network for me. I have a MusicPC computer for a server running through a 24/96 DAC. I am so totally expecting bliss and I will post my thoughts on the matter as I put the system together and run it through it's break in.

But I've always had a certain notion; that great music played through shitty equipment still sounds better, and brings out the emotion better, than shitty music played through great equipment.

Of course, great music played through great equipment...

I have many songs / tunes that I always play when auditioning anything or when I go over to a friends place. Here is a small list. I would really love to hear what you people have for this kind of list.

Roger Waters Perfect Sense Pt1 Awesome female vocals
Dire Straights Private Investigations
Sarah Brightman Gothica into Fleurs du Mal and Canto della Terra
Tool Lateralus (Danny Cary is Stupid good)
Rush La Villa Strangiato (the band is stupid brilliant here)
Sarah McLachlin .... Stupid (It's the song)
Hiromi Time Difference
Dave Mathews All along the Watch Tower (Listener Supported Version EEEEEE!!!)
And if you are in to heavier stuff ... Dream Theatres Sacrificed Sons

I've been getting into Umphries Mcgee alot lately also. WHEW!!!

Regards

Dave

Xcalibur · « **Reply #32 on:** 23 Jan 2010, 10:40 am »

Thought I'd chime in here with another supporting opinion.

What the 130w PSU brought to the game, for me at least, was a more "grown up" character to the amp. In other words, control and refinement. Emphasis on the former, which changes the character of music a lot in a deceptive way that takes time to realize. While I thought the stock supply was toe tapping fun, the 130w unit completely removes the sense of listening to a recording or reproduction. It sounds utterly real now, in a way that is almost surreal at times. It takes a lot of speed and control to break through this barrier I've found. Like Seth said, the amp is fun and very satisfying on the stock supply, but once you give the amp better power your reaction will go from "fun" to "wow."

Oh, and the 130w unit has a fan? Who knew...... I've never heard it once.

alphaiii · « **Reply #33 on:** 23 Jan 2010, 02:07 pm »

Seth,

I was hoping you could give me a little more clarification on the bass management feature in the One.2, just so I'm sure I'm understanding.

In an AVR, bass management is handled in the digital domain, and signal is "crossed-over" to the speakers (high-pass) and sub (low-pass).

In the One.2, it's not actually a crossover when using the alternative caps with jumper setting, but a passive high-pass filter (so analog bass management), with a -3db point of roughly 80Hz, correct? And the sub is still receiving a full range mono signal from the sub out, right?

And lastly, what is the slope for the rolloff? 12dB/octave?

virtue · « **Reply #34 on:** 24 Jan 2010, 03:47 am »

In the One.2, it's not actually a crossover when using the alternative caps with jumper setting, but a passive high-pass filter (so analog bass management), with a -3db point of roughly 80Hz, correct? And the sub is still receiving a full range mono signal from the sub out, right?

This is absolutely correct. I believe that it's a 6db/octave, first-order, high-pass filter. The sub out is full-range.

jtsnead · « **Reply #35 on:** 5 Feb 2010, 04:12 pm »

Hey Seth, One.2 still coming in around the 10th, have one on order, can I pay the difference for the 130watt supply before it ships, thanks

virtue · « **Reply #36 on:** 5 Feb 2010, 04:24 pm »

Sensation is at the HK port now and will sail by sea. ONE.2 leaves Taiwan by air on 10/Feb. Of course we can mod your order - just email me at seth@virtu...

Nuuk · « **Reply #37 on:** 5 Feb 2010, 10:33 pm »

Quote

And because I deal in fire alarm panels and the batteries are easily accessible, I ordered the 24v power supply / charger less the batteries from Gary.

If those are the smaller type (we use 2.8 ah in the UK for alarms) they will run the V1/V2 but you really do need larger batteries in my experience to get the best out of power amps when using a battery supply! The 2.8's sound a little undynamic.

I'm another one who has never heard a fan in the 30v power supply! It looks to me like it must be a very small fan too!

I use fairly efficient speakers here and the V1/V2 definitely sound better with 30v rather than 24!

Light-Echo · « **Reply #38 on:** 6 Feb 2010, 12:51 am »

Hello Nuuk!

We do all sorts of panels including release panels. The batteries I chose for this are two 12v 26ah units. Also, Seth has managed to wiggle me into a M901. EEEEEE!! (giddy sound). Ninja san will be building me a set of outboard cross-overs with enclosures for my N3's. I'm waiting for Gary to send me the 24v battery kit. Now really .... Danny, Seth, Sean, and Gary. I couldn't have asked to deal with four nicer folks. What a great brag sheet I'll have when it's all put together!

And actually, I would be totally remiss to not include my father in law John in here also as he is building the N3 cabinets for me. You gotta love Newfies, and he's one of the finest!

KFD (ask Sean)

Showing off my build here http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=76385.msg730411#msg730411

Xcalibur · « **Reply #39 on:** 6 Feb 2010, 02:31 am »

Looks great. Man, seeing all these great new systems is bad for me.....

My "big plan" for the future is to do an M901 with Focus LS4's (the smallest model of the new Dannie Richie designed line source speakers being sold by AV123), with a NuForce edition Oppo BDP83 as source. This is a 2011 thing for me at best though, so all I can do is dream for now.......