New Vincent Hybrid Integrated Amp

Just unboxed and hooked up my first new amp in more than 10 years. It is a Vincent Audio SV 237MK. Rated at 150 watts into 8 ohms with the first 10 watts being Class A. I had ordered it in black and after tearing down my old setup, when I opened the box to my surprise, the one that was sent was silver not black. I bought from Audioadvisor through Amazon. When I called Amazon, I asked if I could get some compensation for the wrong color being shipped as it would be a big hassle to box up, send back and wait for a replacement. They offered $200 back and I was happy with that.

Initial impressions is that it just sounds different, not in bad way...just different. It is going to take some time to really evaluate since I have been listening to the same 2 amps for more than 10 years. There is also the possibility of rolling the Chines 12Ax7 in the preamp but will wait for that. I am using Blue Jean Low Capacitance cables for the interconnects and Blue Jeans speaker cables as well.

 

Nice unit.

Please keep us posted with your continued listening thoughts.

 

I saw this in their catalog.. interested in hearing your thoughts!

 

Initially I was going to go with a Mac MA252 or MA5300 but I wanted to have actual tone control knobs, not something controlled through the remote which is what the Macs have. Also in reviewing the manual for the MA5300, it seemed like a lot of work to set it up. Not to mention, this was half the price of the 2 Macs.

 

I'm a longtime Vincent fan. Once the big guy settles in, definitely spend some time with it before rolling tubes. That's the only way you'll fully appreciate how well it responds to quality valves.

 

Have the 236mkII for almost 8 years. All 3 tubes are 12ax7(ecc83) and when I rolled to any of my big three vintage Telefunken, Mullard, or Amperex from 1956-64 this intergrated is amazing. I direct compared it in my system with some big named amps and the Vincent sounded so smooth. If speakers are efficient 90 db higher it will sing. Enjoy, John M.

 

Looks like I will no longer have a need for my Schiit Lyr 2 headphone amp. The headphone output on the Vincent blows away the Schiit. Getting amazing tight bass with my HD600's. I wish this amp had a USB input to the DAC so that I could also do away with the Bifrost DAC. It only has Toslink and Coaxial and need USB for my iMac. I may even be tempted to hook up the turntable which I put into storage a few months ago.

 

Looks like no turntable for now as a phono preamp is required with this amp.

 

I was able to connect the Mac to the Vincent via mini Toslink out on the Mac to Toslink in on the Vincent. Now I have no need for the headphone amp and DAC. Ordered a phono stage for my TT with the $200 credit I got back from Amazon. Will most likely list the Schiit headphone amp here later today with the proceeds to possibly fund a TT upgrade.

 

Having spent just over a week now with the new Vincent integrated amp, I can say this is a game changer for me. The sound quality is light years above the Onkyo and my old Mac. Incredibly tight bass, with very smooth highs. I am basically running with the tone controls mostly in neutral position with maybe backing off on the treble just a bit. With the other 2 amps I had to crank both bass and treble to get something close to acceptable.

I had put my Rega RP1 in storage because for the nearly 2 years I had it, I could never be happy with the sound from it. I decided to take a chance again and since this amp has no phono stage, I ordered a Parasound Zphono preamp and hooked it all up. It was sounding pretty decent but I wondered if I could do better. The RP1 always had a low level mechanical noise I could hear when the motor was spinning and a low level hum when the tonearm moved closer to the spindle. So I decided to order a new turntable...Got the Audio Technica AT-LP7 with VM520EB cartridge. Now I am in vinyl heaven. My analog setup is now outperforming the digital side. I was also able to remove all the Schiit gear from my setup as the DAC and headphone section on the Vincent is far superior to the Schiit gear.

 

Nice amp, may I ask what speakers it is driving?

 

IMHO I think the silver looks better.

 

Bic America RTR-EV15 15-Inch 3-Way Eviction Series, all of my gear is listed in my profile page.

 

It stands out against all the black gear, starting to really like it.

 

So glad to know this Vincent is a winner. I was a bit fixated on it ladt year and thought long and hard about buying it. Ultimately it was the unexpected opportunity to get a great deal on a Fisher 800c here in the classifieds that put an end to that.

I did use a Vincent Pho 8 stage for a while and enjoyed it. I’ve just sold it to a friend who’s very happy with it.

And I must say I love this amp in silver, enjoy and keep us posted!

 

Late to the party but congrats on the Vincent. I just scored a new SV-237 in silver. Looking forward to getting it!

 

I love those cosmetics! It looks like a cross between Parsound and Cello gear. Simply beautiful!

 

Got a black one in August and it is a lot of amp for the money- the tone controls are a Godsend in my room from hell.

 

Just a little update on the 237MK, l have had the amp from about August 2018 and l have to say what a great amp it is, sound quality is top notch and very musical, and l actually think it has got better, have been mucking about with mains cables, interconnects etc and this has definitely paid dividends, as ; mentioned the tone controls really do a good job.

May l ask what other 237MK owners use cable and speakers etc with their Vinny?

 

Initially when I had everything hooked up to the SV237, I was using Blue Jeans low capacitance cables. Currently I only have a CD player hooked up using Blue Jeans coaxial cable and turntable hooked up with Pangea Premier SE turntable cable. I connect my iMac directly with a Toslink to Mini Toslink cable. Also eliminated my Schiit external DAC and headphone amp as the internal ones in the SV237 were actually better sounding. I am using Blue Jeans speaker cables for the speakers.

I am still very impressed with this amp after several months of using it.

 

How do you guys find the bass? Can it be overpowering? And is there any noise from the tubes ?

 

Bass is very clean and tight, not overpowering at all. Has a lot to do with your speakers as well. My speakers have 15" woofers and it is not a problem at all.

Mine did develop some tube noise in one channel but was due to a faulty tube. Once I replaced it, all was good again.

 

Can be overpowering, however l just turned the bass down and voila! Also found the treble a bit bright... then done the same with the treble control again Bingo!, l found no tube noise what so ever with the stock valves or the upgraded valves that were installed, this even going Audionote ANK LX.... n fact the 237MK/ANK LX sounds very high end indeed, comfortably the best sound l have had in my room.... l alternate speakers between the Audionotes and ProAc Tablette 10.... this combo is also amazing- the quality of bass in weight, control is laughable in fact the imaging of the Vinny/ProAc is outstanding and incredibly musical, l have a Gold Lion 12AX7 in the window part of the amp and this was a big upgrade in every area, for the money this valve is well worth the money, however am still thinking of a silly priced NOS …… l would say this amp with sympathetic partnering equipment could easily compete in a higher priced sector.

l am now thinking of home demoing the Vincent CD player.

 

Are they Tannoys as the combo of Vinny/Tannoy is supposed to be a good one.

 

Speakers are BIC America RTR EV15's.