This is a system that brings plenty of detail, speed and energy without loosing any musicality and truth of timbre - I have tried SET, SS, Planars, Ribbons, sealed baffles, ported designs and - IMO this is pretty close to my ideal setup.
Congrats with the WLM speakers.In what ways are they better then your former guarneries? You seem to like those so i am really excitet to hear the differense Regards
Kops - I bought this amp from a gentleman who was using it with your same speakers. He told me that he had no issues driving the Hansens and his previous Avalons with the Solista. Drop me a mail if you want me to share with you his contact information.
This Solista has many of the mk II upgrades, such as the new transformers and caps, it sounds fabulous on my Sonus Faber which, by the way, are power hungry.
Fernando congrats on Viva Solista it's one of the best amplifiers ever heard the new mk2 version sounds lifelike. I only wish it could drive very loud my hansen prince v2 but I guess this the job of New Auroras and since I have the viva linea xp is a future wish/passion.
Enjoy tour system and have fun it seems that Vicenza Italy brings great stuff (Sonus Faber, VivA)
Vinyl19 - I bought the Viva without even listening to it at my system, I think I did it for the same time since for me component synergy is far more important the its individual ¨pedigree¨.
I had a pair of Avantgarde UNOs some years back, and had a great time with them, I reached a great match with a Jadis DA50 and an Acoustic Plan SItar integrateds to drive them, at the end I preferred the easiness, tonality and musicality of the Guarneris above the dynamics, speed and vividness of the Avantgardes.
I have never heard the Radia´s, but I understand they are great speakers based on the internet content about them.
Dave - as happy as I am with my Viva amp, I respect and liked a lot my time with both the Gryphon Anthileon and the Rowland 8 I had some years back with my Avalon speakers. I am not that familiar with the ARC line but some friends down here are advocates to the company and have been there for tears. Quite honestly I find hard to imagine the ARC sounding as good as your 8, be sure to listen it for more time and record your findings, please share them in the long run.
The Viva is terrific, if I could pick a word to descripe it would be ENERGETIC, it fills the Guarneris with music to the level where the musical intention is perfectly rendered, of course it has it flaws, but are minimal so as the Guarneris, the march as you said is fantastic.
Sad to see the US eliminated from the Soccer World Cup.
I've heard pretty much all of Viva's amps including the awesome Aurora-T monos 37wpc driving the mbl 101e of all speakers! The Solista is a great amp, you should hear what it sounds like with Avantgarde Duo Omegas!
I have the Jolida jd3000a monos another great 211 amp. 200 watts, I was going to use them with the Maggie 3.6 but I jut don't have the room size. I ended up with the BG Radia Z92 planar hybrid. Mine are modded with a supertweeter and internal wire. This little known speaker I've seen here on the Gon for $1,500 per pair or less. Beat the snot out of the SF Elipsa in every way! An inexpensive speaker to check out in the future for kicks as they work quite well in a small room. Have fun listening, Viva amps rock with 2 ways! Wish I had the big bucks for them. If you get the chance, audition the Viva Linea XP preamp It's one of the worlds best.
Hi Fernando, Your Viva amp looks great! I think that the Italians are really great at bringing style to everything and that includes of course audio equip. I'm sure that the GH's love the Solista as they seem to adore tubes. I inserted the ARC D70mk2 amp into my system and I can see why so many people say that the GH's work best with tubes ( see my review of the ARC amp in the audio review section). Anyway, great selection for the GH's..enjoy
The Solista is a SET integrated amp - has a pair of 211 as rectifiers and a pair of 845 in the output section. Pure Class A, zero feedback and 27 Watts/ch design.
It throws a very organic, energetic and much more detailed and resolution sound than the Lamm/MR combination (that I still have around), which was already a great setup, but some steps below the Solista, not just to my ears, but for many listeners that know my system quite well and have heard it this past weeks.
It is incredible how with just 27 watts, the Solista drives the Guarneris with aplomb, authority and easyness, the room fills more with music and one is more within the sonic event, lyrics are cleaner, harmonics float and decay of instruments creat a very unique atmosphere.
My wife likes a lot of vocals, I played Jaimie Collum the other day and she could not beleive the realism of his voice at my dedicated room, the guy was there!, singing for us, floating, full chest and throat vividness, one could tell when he opened or closed his mouth and when he filled his lungs with air, strings were vibrating with a level of reality that was scary.
Fernando, please compare the Solista to the lamm/mr combo when you have listened more. I would think that the Solista must be far more of 'one cloth' so to speak. What tubes are in the Solista at present? I am in the process of rolling in Tubes into my ARC D-70 mk2. Experimenting with NOS GE 6FQ7's and SED 6550 C's. I also found a quad set of GE 6550 A's which I had forgotten I owned, I will try these as well. BTW, I am curious as to how you bias the Solista as well.. The ARC is a major pain to bias.. I have to have a tech do it..:0(
Hi Dave - I will follow your advice on the Nordost speaker cable, actually I need to figure out my next step there since I am currently using a pair of Siltech SG180 but in a single-wire configuration.
Regarding my system - I have just bought a Viva Solista amp after an extensive search and investigation. It has "just" 22 watts, but it has a lot of current and looks very promising. I will report my findings once it clears customs this week.
Hi Fernando, I am currently using a bi-wire pair of Nordost Red Dawn Rev 11 speaker cables with the GH's. These cables are lightning fast and VERY detailed, I am hearing things that I hadn't noticed before. Slightly bright at the moment, as they aren't broken in yet. If you can get a chance, see if you can audition a pair of these or other Nordost products.( Not anything below Red Dawn Rev 11 though, as Blue Heaven etc are way too bright). I am amazed at how well the Nordost works with the GH's. I tried Cardas, Siltech Analysis Plus and Harmonic Tech cables as well as my standard Highwire before the Red Dawns; the Nordost is more revealing than all of these ! Still waiting for the ARC D70 to come on-line.. Just replaced the full tube set and will have to have my tech set up bias, etc. Will report back once the amp is up and running, should be interesting
Dave - it is aprox 4.5 mts wide - 6.5 mts deep and top ceiling that averages 3 mts hight. not the ideal ratios but enough room for my system, LP collection and Jazz (My Schnauzzeer) and audio-buddy ;)
Dave - The JA50's had more reslution and "light" than the RM200, it had a deeper soundstage as well. The RM200 on the contrary has more dynamic impact on music, better bass control (could be the difference in power output or its hybrid design) and a more silent operation (at idle the Jadis buzzes a little - like all Jadis amps). Given the price difference between both, I consider the RM200 a real bargain.
I would love to try the Lamm 1.1 amps if I got the chance prior deciding, I see that as my natural next step - but I am not in a hurry since it is sounding great as-it-is.
Fernando, The RM 200's seem to be a great choice for the SF's. I will be very interested to see what you think of the Lamm 1's when you have a choice to listen to that combo. My only concern with the Lamm's is if they have enough drive for the SF GH's. How do the RM 200's compare to the Jadis JA 50's...which BTW I really like as well.
System edited: I replaced the Jadis DA50S for a pre/power combination - a LAMM LL2 and MR RM200 power amp - this amp is driving my SF much better than the Jadis, and the LAMM brought more resolution and a noise-free reproduction. I had the opportunity to listen the LAMM with a pair of Jadis JA50 amps and the combination was incredible but at a price, the RM200 came really close and looks like a keeper.
Lloyd - I am glad you are enjoying your Gryphon amps, they are terrific units, even the older ones like the DM100 or the S100. I might take that route again!
I am very happy now with Jadis again (yes, it is my third tie with Jadis gear) - not better but just different "personality" compared to the Gryphon line.
I found the same thing on my DD-18. I used them with my Guarneris (CJ MV60) and found it really, really helped in controlling the frequency response in a challenging room. Now i have SF Strads and Gryphon (you actually provided me with great advice on that score on my other post...thanks!). And i still use the Velodyne DD-18...though i have obviously reset many of the settings to match the upgraded system. I still think the DD-18 is amazing and when i feel the deep, controlled and pitch perfect bass, i enjoy it every time! And so should you!!!
System edited: Velodyne DD18 sub added - after trying many options, I ended up picking a DD18 sub. Yes, it is a monster, but the electronics within this piece helped to keep coherence and detail of my Guarneri's. Now I have more body, dynamics and low freq extension that were lacking with the monitors.
