Founded in 1995 by Uwe Bartel, Vincent Audio is owned by Sintron Distribution GmbH. Vincent launched its LS-1 preamplifier and D-150 hybrid stereo power amplifier the year the company was founded.
Vincent “offers two ‘electrical concepts,’” states the Vincent website. “One side is solid state transistor products. The other is a hybrid technology featuring vacuum tubes on the input stages combined with solid state transistors in the output stage.”
The Vincent Audio SV-737 integrated amplifier ($3499.95) is on the hybrid side. It has a “class-A/AB” output stage—biased to deliver 10W in class-A—said to be capable of 180Wpc into 8 ohms (10Wpc of that in class-A) or 300Wpc into 4 ohms. The SV-737 does digital, with a Burr-Brown PCM5102 DAC chip capable of PCM playback up to 24-bit/192kHz via TosLink or coaxial S/PDIF connections. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are also included. There is no USB input.
“All [Vincent] products are designed and engineered in Germany,” Frank Blöhbaum, engineering consultant to Vincent and a leading member of the design team, told me in an email. “Product manufacturing takes place in China, Germany, or a combination of the two. We have no unit which is 100% produced in Germany. Only the SA-T7, the SP-T700, and the new KHV-200 have final assembly in Germany.” The SV-737 is manufactured in China.
The SV-737 is big. It weighs 47lb. Its casework is aluminum. The exterior is imposing, like a newly christened battleship. I found the matte black finish, thick faceplate, and hefty control knobs impressive, and I liked the little porthole that reveals a tube inside.
An Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft tube
This story is from the July 2021 edition of Stereophile.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 2021 edition of Stereophile.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
AURAL ROBERT
Another \"outlaw\" country artist
Nina Simone: Wild Is the Wind
By all accounts, Eunice Kathleen Waymon, aka Nina Simone, who passed in 2003, was a troubled person and a brilliant artist. Why she was not more acclaimed during her lifetime is a question several recent film projects have tried to answer. Did her fierce stand on civil rights lose her fans?
Vintage hi-fi, old and new
Many audiophiles and serious music lovers are passionate about vintage. Vintage has become a popular \"way in\" to the hobby, especially popular among younger folks.
Tekton Moab Be
LOUDSPEAKER
ARCAM Radia A25
INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
Wharfedale Heritage Series 90th Anniversary Dovedale
LOUDSPEAKER
Technics Grand Class SL-1200/1210GR2
RECORD PLAYER
Thrax Audio Siren
Based in Bulgaria, European audio company Thrax has been active since 2009.
EMM Labs MTRS
STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER
SPIN DOCTOR
Alternative phono cartridge technologies and the DS Audio DS-W3 optical cartridge system