best amps for vivid audio Giya G2

caesar

Well-Known Member
May 30, 2010
4,290
767
1,698
I've got a pair a Vivid Spirit's on order to match with CAT Statements/ CAT Legend preamp to go in a dedicated room that is almost done. I'll report back in a couple of months when the speakers arrive and I've had a chance to dial in the system. Should sound pretty good.

F*ck'n A!!!!! Congratulations! Apparently, a few years ago they hooked up the CAT statements to the Vivids at Axpona after hours, and a couple lucky individuals who happened to have been there reported the sound was so sublime, they almost crapped in their pants.

Please share more when it all comes together.
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
I know right? In person CH amps always make me feel like the air in the room just to cleaner. Fast but very sweet. 2a3 like as I always say. Funny coincidence how later when Gian joined WBF he had actually replaced 2a3 amps with CH A1s.
 

tedtag

New Member
Jul 19, 2016
59
8
0
Georgia
F*ck'n A!!!!! Congratulations! Apparently, a few years ago they hooked up the CAT statements to the Vivids at Axpona after hours, and a couple lucky individuals who happened to have been there reported the sound was so sublime, they almost crapped in their pants.

Please share more when it all comes together.

Thanks for sharing your enthusiastic comments about my new, soon to be, system caesar! This will be my last big effort to build a world class room and system. I spent about a year going to shows, doing research, talking to manufacturers, and running around the Eastern half of the USA demoing systems, and ended up with CAT and Vivid.

I've always been a tube guy and CAT was a pretty easy choice. In my current system, I have a pair of their relatively new JL7's, that are sort of like mini-Statements, and they are spectacular. Right now I'm running these with PK Custom Quads and the sound is absolutely fantastic and very emotionally involving. The JL7's also worked great with my Maggie 3.7i's, but with those Quads, its hard to imagine anything much better. I bought the JL7's last year at Axpona after hearing them with the Martens and then hearing a pair of Statements with Magico S5's. I was gonna use the JL7's with the Vivids but could not force myself to separate them from the Quads so I'm keeping my "Planar System" as is and ordered the Statements to go with the Vivids.

Once I settled on CATs for the new system, it was a really tough choice with speakers. I started out in the $60K range and there are a lot of really good speaker options in that price range. I looked into the Avantegardes, the S7's, the Vandersteens, Avalons, Rockports, etc., but what grabbed me about the Vivids was their almost Planar-like sound that I think comes from their amazing speed and retrieval of all the delicate nuances embedded in the music. And that was with the G1's. I haven't even heard the Spirits, but when the Spirits were introduced, my G1's were on order and my dealer, George at Kyomi Audio, let me upgrade for the difference in price. So, I'll have these incredibly powerful but very pure sounding tube amps feeding the Spirits, and hopefully finally find Audio Nirvana, peace, love, and happiness........ I'll let you know in about 2 more months when it all comes together.

PS; Front end for the new system is a TechDas 3 with Graham Elite and Koetsu Blue Lace or the new TechDas cartridge (have both), Artesania rack, CAT Legend preamp, Stealth cables.
 
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LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
1,448
I've got a pair a Vivid Spirit's on order to match with CAT Statements/ CAT Legend preamp to go in a dedicated room that is almost done. I'll report back in a couple of months when the speakers arrive and I've had a chance to dial in the system. Should sound pretty good.

Congrats...sounds like an amazing combination.
 

dan31

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2010
1,016
365
1,153
SF Bay
Ted you have a great sounding system coming together. I will wait to hear the end of the journey and completion. Enjoy!
 

caesar

Well-Known Member
May 30, 2010
4,290
767
1,698
Thanks for sharing your enthusiastic comments about my new, soon to be, system caesar! This will be my last big effort to build a world class room and system. I spent about a year going to shows, doing research, talking to manufacturers, and running around the Eastern half of the USA demoing systems, and ended up with CAT and Vivid.

I've always been a tube guy and CAT was a pretty easy choice. In my current system, I have a pair of their relatively new JL7's, that are sort of like mini-Statements, and they are spectacular. Right now I'm running these with PK Custom Quads and the sound is absolutely fantastic and very emotionally involving. The JL7's also worked great with my Maggie 3.7i's, but with those Quads, its hard to imagine anything much better. I bought the JL7's last year at Axpona after hearing them with the Martens and then hearing a pair of Statements with Magico S5's. I was gonna use the JL7's with the Vivids but could not force myself to separate them from the Quads so I'm keeping my "Planar System" as is and ordered the Statements to go with the Vivids.

Once I settled on CATs for the new system, it was a really tough choice with speakers. I started out in the $60K range and there are a lot of really good speaker options in that price range. I looked into the Avantegardes, the S7's, the Vandersteens, Avalons, Rockports, etc., but what grabbed me about the Vivids was their almost Planar-like sound that I think comes from their amazing speed and retrieval of all the delicate nuances embedded in the music. And that was with the G1's. I haven't even heard the Spirits, but when the Spirits were introduced, my G1's were on order and my dealer, George at Kyomi Audio, let me upgrade for the difference in price. So, I'll have these incredibly powerful but very pure sounding tube amps feeding the Spirits, and hopefully finally find Audio Nirvana, peace, love, and happiness........ I'll let you know in about 2 more months when it all comes together.

PS; Front end for the new system is a TechDas 3 with Graham Elite and Koetsu Blue Lace or the new TechDas cartridge (have both), Artesania rack, CAT Legend preamp, Stealth cables.

Very Sweet! Can't imagine too many systems on earth that would be better. Different, but not better.
 

Rodney Gold

Member
Jan 29, 2014
983
11
18
Cape Town South Africa
Tedtag , congrats , I too have a set of spirits arriving in a week or so .
I am running then along with my G1s for a month to decide if I keep them or stay with the G1's so will be able to give you a heads up as to the differences between the 2 models.
 

caesar

Well-Known Member
May 30, 2010
4,290
767
1,698
Tedtag , congrats , I too have a set of spirits arriving in a week or so .
I am running then along with my G1s for a month to decide if I keep them or stay with the G1's so will be able to give you a heads up as to the differences between the 2 models.

Hi Rodney,
Congrats! Out of curiosity, will you be upgrading your amps or will you be sticking with Devialet?
 

tedtag

New Member
Jul 19, 2016
59
8
0
Georgia
Tedtag , congrats , I too have a set of spirits arriving in a week or so .
I am running then along with my G1s for a month to decide if I keep them or stay with the G1's so will be able to give you a heads up as to the differences between the 2 models.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks Rodney!
 

Rodney Gold

Member
Jan 29, 2014
983
11
18
Cape Town South Africa
I plan to upgrade my Devialet d premiers to a 1000 pro system
The problem with changing from a devialet to something else is that I have to get a whole lot of other boxes to replace it with ,deal with cables etc and start on a whole new journey.
 

heihei

VIP/Donor
Jul 24, 2017
466
538
283
To refresh this discussion, I've had G1's on home demo over the weekend, along with a couple of other speakers, and a Vitus SS-103 and Berning Quadrature Z's. To my mind (and that of my friend who travelled to Munich with me, along with the Vitus dealer), the Vivid / Vitus combination is not as good as we'd hoped. Vitus are not particularly "quick" amps, and the very slightly laid-back nature of the Vivids lays this bare, resulting in a loss of detail, particularly around the leading edge of notes.
Vivid / Berning, however, is a different matter. These amps are lightening quick, and so the detail is all there. As well as this, they have plenty of drive and depth to them, as well as a very natural timbre. A stunning combination.
 

Sablon Audio

Industry Expert, VIP Donor
May 22, 2015
1,611
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553
?..... and the very slightly laid-back nature of the Vivids lays this bare, resulting in a loss of detail, particularly around the leading edge of notes. Vivid / Berning, however, is a different matter. These amps are lightening quick, and so the detail is all there. As well as this, they have plenty of drive and depth to them, as well as a very natural timbre. A stunning combination.

My speakers, lightly modded Benesch ACT, have a similar character and the Quadratures work like a charm on them. Hopefully you are using the xlr input on them as I found this to sound much better than the rca one, though this may also be down to the output of my dac preferring this also.
 

heihei

VIP/Donor
Jul 24, 2017
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538
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My speakers, lightly modded Benesch ACT, have a similar character and the Quadratures work like a charm on them. Hopefully you are using the xlr input on them as I found this to sound much better than the rca one, though this may also be down to the output of my dac preferring this also.
Interesting as I also have a pair of Wilson Benesch Endeavours on demo, coupled with a Torus sub. I don't like the Endeavour + Sub combination - once you hear the split between them it is hard to ignore. The upper frequencies are very good, so hope to try them with the new Resolution speakers.
Yes am using XLR.
 

Sablon Audio

Industry Expert, VIP Donor
May 22, 2015
1,611
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553
Oh that is often the case with adding subs! We used the Giya G1 in a very large auditorium in Munich last year and it energised the room well. There is much to like about this speaker and I suspect the extra harmonic structure from a tube amp would work well with the metal drivers.
 

kleinbje

Well-Known Member
Dec 20, 2012
181
24
923
CT
I'm looking for some updates on these setups. The CAT/Spirit combo? Any one ever hear naim and vivid together, looking hard at the G3's? Using Revel/Joseph now.

Thanks,
jeff
 

heihei

VIP/Donor
Jul 24, 2017
466
538
283
I'm over at Vivid tomorrow to heard the Spirit again, and perhaps G1 / G2. I'll ask if they have any experience of matching with Naim amps.
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,437
13,467
2,710
London
I will be listening to G3 with CAT this Sunday. Have heard with Luxman, Ypsilon, Spectral so far, Luxman the best. Have also heard a MCH which was better than the stereo.
 

felix01

Well-Known Member
Feb 5, 2017
10
2
108
Have found my matching amp with my vivid giya G2;it has become the luxman M900 poweramp and i am quit happy with it.My next upgrade will be to change my accuphase c2410 pre amp to the luxman C900 u pre amp
 
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