CH Precision A1 VS Viva Aurora mono

[jep123]

It all comes down to speaker/amp matching and personal taste. Nothing is better or worse. I just went from a hybrid tube/ss design to my current Rowland integrated which is switch mode/ class D! A superb match with my Kaiser speakers with a natural tone and lots of power. And totally silent as well.

 

[gian60]

At the end my friend bought all 2 A1 and everyday send message to me to thanks.He is the happiest man in the world now.
Sound is very very good,really no comparison with Viva or Krell Evo one he had before and also with D'Agostino mono he tried at home very well.

 

[Ron Resnick]

While I initially liked the SM 011's once i started to compare them the weaknesses were easily revealed and as you state. If you want to stick with Vitus, the SS-103 is waaaay better and same money.
Away from Vitus, I can recommend Berning Quadrature Z's at the same money. It is the most transparent, natural-sounding amp I demo'd so I bought a pair. Otherwise I'd agree that Constellation gets closest of the stuff I've heard.

Hello heihei, Are you saying that you find the sound of the Berning Quad-Z to be very similar to the sound of the Constellation?

Does the Quad-Z, to your ears, not have the sound (or even a sense of the sound) of a tube amp?

Does the Quad-Z sound to you more like solid-state than tube?

 

[Sablon Audio]

I have had Quad Z in my system for @18 months and feel they straddle mainstream conceptions of tube and sand amps. They are neutral, linear and extended across the full frequency range whilst retaining a delicate tonal texture. They are neither thick in mids / rolled off nor sterile sounding. Best of both worlds imo.

 

[bonzo75]

Hello heihei, Are you saying that you find the sound of the Berning Quad-Z to be very similar to the sound of the Constellation?

Does the Quad-Z, to your ears, not have the sound (or even a sense of the sound) of a tube amp?

Does the Quad-Z sound to you more like solid-state than tube?

Your questions are leading

 

[Ron Resnick]

Very interesting! Thank you, Mark!

 

[heihei]

I'd agree with everything Mark says. To me, the Bernings have two major strengths: accurate tonal palette, and speed.

Tonally, they give width to trumpets and violins rather than the thin sound that can often be heard, whilst cellos, trombones, tenor saxophones etc. have a resonant "woody" texture to them. You could classify this as typically valve-like, but this accuracy extends deep into the bass.
Speed-wise, the Bernings are lightening-quick and in that sense more SS-like. Listening to something like Rodrigo y Gabriella gives you huge insight into just how technically strong they are. This speed isn't driven by an emphasis on the leading edge of notes, and so isn't tiring to listen to. There is also plenty of air / space around instrumentation which helps too.

As such, it's hard to pigeon-hole them between SS and valve.

My comparison to Constellation was perhaps confusing - they sound quite different. They lack the speed of the Bernings but have a bit better solidity in the bass. Tonally they get quite close. I compared them back-to-back and chose the Bernings.

One amp I have heard since is the 5-series Soulution. I found the pre worked v well with the Bernings, but the power also impressed. It is the first amp I've heard that matches the Bernings for speed, and the bass is better defined with a bit more punch. Tonally they are also accurate but the Soulution has an overall darker tonality to it which I liked. The Bernings have a lighter touch to them and more air. This was the first time I've listened to the Bernings vs something else and came to the conclusion they were different but not necessarily better / worse.

I'm hoping to demo the CH A1 again along with the L1 at some stage soon.

 

[awsmone]

Great feedback

What speakers were you comparing?

 

[heihei]

I now own a pair of Wilson Benesch Resolutions, so the comparison to the Soulutions was done with these. The WBs help get the best from the Bernings as their simple cross-over doesn't rob the music of any dynamics - despite their 200W rating they are not a "powerhouse" amp in any sense. The suggestion of trying WB speakers was from Roy Gregory who runs a pair of Bernings as part of his reference set-up.

I've also tried them with other speakers as part of my broader demos, including Vivid Giya, YG Hailey, Magico Q5 / S3, Wilson Alexia.

 

[Sablon Audio]

I, too, have Benesch albeit the ACT model with upgraded tweeter caps. There is much to like about them.

 

[gian60]

WB are very good speaker and has a big reputations in Italy
WB is the UK distributor of CH Precision,so it means very good match together
I listen WB and CH in Munchen and many time in Italy from WB distributor
A very good match together

 

[Ron Resnick]

I'd agree with everything Mark says. To me, the Bernings have two major strengths: accurate tonal palette, and speed.

Tonally, they give width to trumpets and violins rather than the thin sound that can often be heard, whilst cellos, trombones, tenor saxophones etc. have a resonant "woody" texture to them. You could classify this as typically valve-like, but this accuracy extends deep into the bass.
Speed-wise, the Bernings are lightening-quick and in that sense more SS-like. Listening to something like Rodrigo y Gabriella gives you huge insight into just how technically strong they are. This speed isn't driven by an emphasis on the leading edge of notes, and so isn't tiring to listen to. There is also plenty of air / space around instrumentation which helps too.

As such, it's hard to pigeon-hole them between SS and valve.

My comparison to Constellation was perhaps confusing - they sound quite different. They lack the speed of the Bernings but have a bit better solidity in the bass. Tonally they get quite close. I compared them back-to-back and chose the Bernings.

One amp I have heard since is the 5-series Soulution. I found the pre worked v well with the Bernings, but the power also impressed. It is the first amp I've heard that matches the Bernings for speed, and the bass is better defined with a bit more punch. Tonally they are also accurate but the Soulution has an overall darker tonality to it which I liked. The Bernings have a lighter touch to them and more air. This was the first time I've listened to the Bernings vs something else and came to the conclusion they were different but not necessarily better / worse.

I'm hoping to demo the CH A1 again along with the L1 at some stage soon.

Very interesting information! Thank you, heihei!

 

[Ron Resnick]

+1!

But learning from other people individual opinions on sound quality of equipment can prepare us for a better evaluation and even trigger our curiosity on products that we would never try otherwise.

+1

I think this is especially true when we know enough about the reporter’s subjective preferences and owned components that we can triangulate on the kind of sound he likes.

 

[johndoe21ro]

I've read many interesting things in this thread... Nice comparisons! Thank you!