Vincent SV-236, my thoughts...

[brazil-nut]

I would like to share the wonderful first impressions of an amp that has been on my wish list for a long time.
The Vincent SV-236...

Saturday early afternoon I arrived home and a nice big box was waiting for me.
'Hello my friend, finally we meet!'
Like a boy on christmas morning i unpacked the amp and was impressed by the weight of it. Talking about a sturdy built piece of gear!
The cute little remote looks nice in brushed aluminum and I was spoiled by the person who sold me the amp with a nice upgrade, a Signal Cable power cord.

And now the fun part!
I took the amp upstairs to my office and connected it to the other gear that was ready to welcome out new friend.
The Juice is being cleaned by a Richard Gray 400S which is fed by another Signal Cable power cord. The amp got connected to the Richard Gray after being attached to a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 7.2 Anniversary speakers, an HRT Music Streamer II and my laptop.

Turned it on and let it sit overnight to be warm up and settle in.
I don't know if that really he,lps much, but you may call it an OCD.

Ok, it's Sunday and I am ready to play!
Opened Media Monkey and found a folder with Annie Lennox FLACS.
Before I started playing I turned on the orange light inside the looking glass with a tube on the front of the Vincent (a real feature for boys like me).

Clicked play and.....

WOW! I expected it to be good, but not THAT good!
This is the first amp that pushed those little Wharfedale further than I have heard.
The sound stage is very wide. Highs are clean, mids are very natural and bass goes deep!
Annie Lennox is in my room!
Let's push the 'Loud' button...
Ok, there we go! Another step up in performance!
I never thought my Primaluna Dialogue 2 would ever be in danger of getting replaced, but this Vincent is getting close!

This is the first hybrid amp I have ever had and I now understand the statement:
'The warmth of tubes and the speed and power of solid state.'

It is not as natural sounding as the Primaluna, but it does feel like it has less trouble keeping up with complex and fast parts.

I completely understand the praise it gets from people that own one.
Unfortunately I don't own a pair of hard(er) to drive floorstanding speakers. I think this amp will shine even harder when pushing a pair of tough speakers.

This amp is an input monster too, it has 6 inputs!
Besides the inputs it also has a Pre out, a Rec out and 2 sets of speaker terminals to truly bi-wire a set of speakers.
Another major plus that this amp has is the possibility to adjust the Treble and Bass.
This feature is perfect for the music lover that doesn't discriminate and plays anything with a melody. You can adjust the sound to how you like it.


I am not sure if I can call it a sleeper, but it definitely does not get the attention it deserves!

[jdandy]

Raymond.......You have a Vincent SV-236 listed for sale. Did you purchase another one in a different color? I'm confused.

[brazil-nut]

No, this is the same one.
When I bought it I knew I couldn't keep it.
But sometimes you just have to fulfill your curiosity.
Before I got the Primaluna Dialogue amp (which will definitely stay) the Vincent was in my top 3 of amps I would like to have.
The one reviewed and for sale came along and I just HAD to jump on it.
I've tried to keep it, but simply have no place to use it and I offered it to my dad, but he isn't really find of the looks.
It's too bad though, but I hope it gets a home where it will be appreciated.

[bart]

I once spent some time with Vincent electronics driving a pair of Monitor Audio PL300s.



Good finish, not so expensive, and sounding quite good (I even felt the speakers were the limiting factor).
The hybrid technology is interesting indeed.

[brazil-nut]

I found that the amp indeed outperformed the little wharfedales, the amp did push the little speakers deeper than I heard before.

[Higgens]

The ant's eye view of the Vincent gear makes them look like they are 30 feet high. Nice photography work.