Virtue Audio Tour Impression thread

eclein · « **Reply #40 on:** 28 Jun 2010, 10:57 pm »

sugbob21- When you get a chance put the sub up on a box or something just to raise it up off the floor..mine is like 9 inches off the ground so it doesn't take much height...it will be less boomy and more connected sounding...either way..Enjoy!!!

sugbob21 · « **Reply #41 on:** 29 Jun 2010, 12:03 am »

have it on an Auralex subwoofer platform along with a mapleshade 2" thick piece of maple. about 10 inches off ground . think i am set for now but always listening to new ideas. thanks

brother love · « **Reply #42 on:** 7 Jul 2010, 01:06 pm »

Quote from: brother love on 28 Jun 2010, 11:56 am

Virtue Audio One.2 review w/ 30v/80w power supply & (2) 12v x 5 amp battery power supply
... The One. 2 is truly a giant killer for what it does. I can easily see this as a permanent fixture in my 2 ch rig, unless I drop some more moolah to get the Sensation w/ tube buffer & Sonicaps upgrade …

In the 3 wks. I have burned-in & auditioned the One.2, I have grown so attached to this little dynamo w/ battery ps that I bought it!

Fantastic product for the money, high end performance for dirt cheap. The One.2 should be the poster child for Cheap & Cheerful HiFi.

Looking forward to Seth & Gary doing their mad scientst routines & offering a tube buffer for this little gem down the road (since the DIY version is a bit too much for my lazy a$$).

Thanks Seth & Mariusz. Tip of the hat to both of you!

eclein · « **Reply #43 on:** 7 Jul 2010, 01:36 pm »

brother love--CONGRATS!!!! My TWO.2 brings a smile to my face everyday..welcome to the fold!!

dburna · « **Reply #44 on:** 9 Jul 2010, 09:55 pm »

I have one of the Sensation 451 units currently out on tour. Not quite ready to provide a more thorough assessment, though I will say this -- it's an excellent amp and definitely punches well out of its weight class.

Just wanted to relate something about Virtue's customer service (and I'm not even a customer....yet). I called the "Virtue hot line" on Friday late morning to ask some technical questions about the Sensation. Left a message and didn't think anything more about it. Heard back from Seth a few hours later and he spent well over 30 minutes on the phone with me discussing the technical merits of various Sensation options. About 20 minutes in, he mentions to me that HE'S ON HIS VACATION...and then proceeds to continue the discussion for another 15 minutes. I never felt rushed or that I was taking up his time. He was utterly gracious and candid throughout.

I work in consulting (or at least I DID until recently). I rarely see this level of service and response from anyone regardless of industry. I just wanted to express my (public) thanks for Seth's help and highly professional level-of-service.

Kudos to you, Mr. Virtue Audio man (cue the cheesy Bud Light radio jingle singer)!!

virtue · « **Reply #45 on:** 9 Jul 2010, 10:21 pm »

David - it was a pleasure! I hope that I enjoy talking about my children (future god willing) as much as our amps. I do think that Melissa will be slightly more interested in the kids, but I'll keep tryin' to learn her. We had a great day in Pemberton by Whistler, British Columbia. Big Sky restaurant - high commendations and pretty gd value. Also the Monkido ropes course at Cougar Mountain. Wow!

dburna · « **Reply #46 on:** 9 Jul 2010, 10:26 pm »

Seth, freakin' get back to your vacation for 10 minutes, already!!! Enjoy your time off. I can "spread the gospel" quite nicely for the weekend (or until you return).

Next step: Seth is going to have Gary Dodd create an Internet implant (and cell phone voice chip) for him so he can answer e-mails and phone messages in his sleep.....

-dB (who barely returns HIS FAMILY'S calls while he is on vacation)

virtue · « **Reply #47 on:** 10 Jul 2010, 12:13 am »

Blackberry goodness. Melissa gets me 99%. Well maybe 97%.

dvenardos · « **Reply #48 on:** 11 Jul 2010, 04:42 am »

Now that sounds like fun.

Quote from: virtue on 9 Jul 2010, 10:21 pm

Also the Monkido ropes course at Cougar Mountain. Wow!

Gopher · « **Reply #49 on:** 12 Jul 2010, 10:56 pm »

I've got a TWO.2 in my system from the tour. It came with the battery packs in order to listen 'off the grid' and my understanding is that it has the upgraded Sonicaps. I first received it last week and was informed it had approximately 40 hours on it.

First impressions were pretty poor but I knew there had to be more to it from all the positive I had heard of the Virtue gear. I exchanged a few emails with Mariusz and Ed and at their prompting I ran in the sonicaps thoroughly. It has been in position playing from Thursday afternoon until present and I was out of the house all weekend, so the last hour has been my first real view of its progress and I've gotta say this is a darn impressive little kit.

Detailed sound on the warmer sound of neutral, very balanced and coherent--none of the sucked out midrange I've heard class D criticized for. I'm going to do some more listening before commenting much further but the burn in for these amps is VERY real. Give them time before forming opinions.

Gopher · « **Reply #50 on:** 20 Jul 2010, 12:51 am »

I've done a good bit more listening to the TWO.2 and I think its either burned in or nearly there at this point. The majority of the listening I've done thus far has been with the volume at around 80% being fed from the pre-outs of my Minimax preamp with upgraded psu.

I'm impressed with what the amp does. Its very quiet with my 101db efficiency speakers and just sounds warm, detailed and inviting in my system. My reference amplifier is a Firstwatt F1 and depending on the mood I can easily prefer one of the other. I'm not sure how many people out there have experienced the very specialized F1, but its my strongest reference so I'm going to offer my findings in contrast to it.

The Firstwatt is what I'd consider a very PRaT oriented piece. It is fast, a little lean harmonically but punchy and full on the bottom. The TWO.2 on the other hand is very nimble in its own right a bit more harmonically developed, but not as impactful and full in the bass region. That isn't to say its wimpy sounding but even at 10wpc the transconductance amp just takes control of my drivers better.

Both pieces are very detailed with the F1 being a little more in your face about it and the Virtue amp being a little more laid back, which is not to say it isn't lively and engaging. Its got a natural albeit refined quality to it whereas the F1 strikes me as more ‘raw’ and live sounding—more neutral perhaps. It presents a certain energy that appeals to me.

The Virtue amplifier throws a bigger, more enveloping sound stage and is quite impressive in that regard. Its more enveloping which is fun… Imaging is similar—the F1 may even get the nod there, but the boundaries with the Virtue are just more expansive.
I like the Virtue amp a lot. I don’t quite prefer it to my F1 and would sum it up as the Firstwatt being very good solid state while the Virtue , albeit very good, is not quite SS and not quite tube. Its got more of a harmonic foundation than my F1, but is not as dense as I’ve heard some tube amplifiers sound (even the inexpensive ST-70) I recently picked up. That said, I am chewing on buying the tour unit with the 20% discount. I love that it runs cool (can fry an egg on the f1) and off the grid and the size and cool factor are definitely there. Add very good sonics to that and it’s a slam dunk product. I am going to try dropping a quad of Semisouth R100s in my F1 to convert it to an F1j and then decide what to do.

Gopher · « **Reply #51 on:** 22 Jul 2010, 01:46 am »

After reading a post by Ed today I decided to open this thing up and swap the jumpers to use it as a power amp. I've gotta say this thin is really singing without the pot in the mix!

The presentation is ballsier being fed from my Minimax Pre. Fast, dynamic and a lot more powerful sounding. Bass is near or as good as my F1 now and detail seems to be kicked up another notch. Very impressive.

I just hope I can get my F1 modified to and F1J (Jfets in mail) before my turn is over as I'm very strongly entertaining buying this.

Mariusz · « **Reply #52 on:** 22 Jul 2010, 01:53 am »

No worries - no rush.

Gopher · « **Reply #53 on:** 26 Jul 2010, 12:43 am »

I brought the TWO.2 to my parents house today and gave it a listen on my dads Counterpoint Clearfield Continentals and his brand new speakers whose name escapes me. This thing kicked some serious butt in those rigs.

Plainly outclassed his emotiva amp in every way and brought the magic back to his Clearfields which had been missing (he was getting ready to sell them). Soundstage, tone, detail, pace, it was all there driving these speakers.

I didn't get a chance to try it in with his bedroom warfdales, but I lef it at his house and am sure he'll let me know how that went tomorrow (assuming he was able to bring himself to remove it from his big rigs).

dvenardos · « **Reply #54 on:** 26 Jul 2010, 03:04 am »

Sounds like he might be the one using the 20% discount.

Quote from: Gopher on 26 Jul 2010, 12:43 am

I brought the TWO.2 to my parents house today and gave it a listen on my dads Counterpoint Clearfield Continentals and his brand new speakers whose name escapes me. This thing kicked some serious butt in those rigs.

Plainly outclassed his emotiva amp in every way and brought the magic back to his Clearfields which had been missing (he was getting ready to sell them). Soundstage, tone, detail, pace, it was all there with these speakers.

I didn't get a chance to try it in with his bedroom warfdales, but I lef it at his house and am sure he'll let me know how that went tomorrow (assuming he was able to bring himself to remove it from his big rigs).

Mariusz · « **Reply #55 on:** 29 Jul 2010, 08:53 am »

Quote from: Gopher on 26 Jul 2010, 12:43 am

I brought the TWO.2 to my parents house today and gave it a listen on my dads Counterpoint Clearfield Continentals and his brand new speakers whose name escapes me. This thing kicked some serious butt in those rigs.

Plainly outclassed his emotiva amp in every way and brought the magic back to his Clearfields which had been missing (he was getting ready to sell them). Soundstage, tone, detail, pace, it was all there driving these speakers.

I didn't get a chance to try it in with his bedroom warfdales, but I lef it at his house and am sure he'll let me know how that went tomorrow (assuming he was able to bring himself to remove it from his big rigs).

Cool !
I hope that your father will enjoy it in his setup.

P.S
I just swap the buffer tube to another Amperex and Sensation sounds just awesome.
It is somewhat scary and confusing because I keep hearing things directly to the side of my listening spot and sometimes behind me as well. Very nice amp!!! Surprisingly, it feels like it gets better and better.

Cheers
Mariusz

eclein · « **Reply #56 on:** 29 Jul 2010, 08:56 am »

Mariusz...isn't that wild how they just seem to get better and better!! I find myself checking from time to time if I don't have my home theater speakers on by mistake because the sound is everywhere.

Mariusz · « **Reply #57 on:** 29 Jul 2010, 09:04 am »

Yes it is........ but in a good way.
If you like to drive yourself nuts with tube-rolling..... Sensation responds well to such a fetish and it is very revealing as far as tube characteristics are concern. Many feel that it is a good thing......, I must agree.

Gopher · « **Reply #58 on:** 11 Aug 2010, 09:18 pm »

I'm getting ready to pay the TWO.2 the highest compliment I can give it--that is buying the tour unit.

But I'm coming up on technical difficulties. Does anyone know how I go about purchasing the unit from the site with the tour code but NOT having shipping and handling assessed? I don't really want to pay $23 extra for the unit sitting in my house, but I'd like to settle up as I've had this for a while.

No one answered at Virtue when I rang them today.

CSI · « **Reply #59 on:** 11 Aug 2010, 09:22 pm »

Keep trying. I'm sure Seth will figure it out for you if it can be done legally.