Daddy Dee Posted May 1, 2009 Author Share Posted May 1, 2009 I want to express my thanks to Paul Mackenzie from P-macaudio.com for sending a refund on the HLLY T amp-90 I returned to him. I'd be happy to do business with him again anytime. This particular unit was an odd one, IMO. Paul did tell me he listens to every amp before shipping and this one was dead quiet on his speakers before shipping and when he got it back from he. I asked him what he was listening to, because this amp was not dead quiet on my Heresy's. He did tell me is was a Klipsch bookshelf speaker, but wasn't sure which model. The T amp-90 from Ebay, shipped from China was not trouble free, but it was dead quiet on Heresy's, as was the T amp-20 I got from Paul. Paul mentioned HLLY is putting a new board in the T amp-90's now, but he hasn't yet gotten one of the new ones. My guess is that the new board fixes whatever causes the white noise issue. I don't know where HLLY is in the review pipeline. It would be interesting to hear the take by some of the big boys. The sound is pretty darn good and bass is impressive, powerful and controlled to my ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 Just bought this for 202.50. I did a bit of research and the reviews were all glowing. However, like the Panny's and such, they seem to have failed commercially. One person had replaced the same Panny I have with this and said it sounded better. Hard for me to imagine as my Panny is accurate and smooth, however, that specific reference clenched the deal. Anybody know anything about this chip set? Seems like the Tripath is all that gets any respect, but what I've heard from my Panny is precisely what folks say they get from the Tripath...except I am getting it with a lot more watts and features. Looking forward to messing with the Ethernet connection. So the Panny migrates to the Frazier Eleven system, the Sony that is there now goes down to the master bedroom system, and the Denon that is there moves out to the patio system (it's ProLogic died and only two channel remains anyway). Citation goes back to the audio closet. KENWOOD VRS-N8100 7.1 Fineline™ Networking A/V Receiverli>Dolby® Digital EX, DTS-ES® & Dolby® Pro Logic® llx 7.1-channel Surround SoundDolby® headphone & Dolby® virtual speakerRigid chassis constructionSurround power: 100W x 6Plays audio, video & picture files from PCs via ethernet connectionPlays still picture files from media cards via a PCMCIA card slotPure Path Digital™ power amplifier & high-resolution digital volume controlSHARC® 32-bit floating-point DSP processingSilver AV Control Center with Network FunctionSilver Aluminum panel, hairline finish and slim designPure Path Digital Power amplifierDivX playback capabilityPlays DivX5, DivX4, DivX VOD video contentHD component pass throughDigital AM/FM tuner; 40 presetsFeatures & Specifications: Product Model VRS-N8100 Analog to Digital Converter 96kHz - 24bit Digital to Analog Converter 96kHz - 24bit Frequency Response 20Hz to 20kHz Processor ADI SHARC 32-bit - DSP Channel(s) 6.1 Channel(s) Output Power 6 x 100W RMS 1kHz) @ 6Ohm 0.5% THD - Surround2 x 100W RMS (20Hz to 20kHz) @ 6Ohm 0.7% THD - Stereo6 x 130W RMS 1kHz) @ 6Ohm 10% THD - Surround2 x 130W RMS 1kHz) @ 6Ohm 10% THD - Stereo2 x 70W RMS (20Hz to 20kHz) @ 8Ohm 0.7% THD - Stereo Impedance 6Ohm Sound System Dolby Digital EX EmbeddedDolby Pro Logic IIx EmbeddedDTS EmbeddedDTS-ES EmbeddedDTS Neo: 6 EmbeddedDTS 96/24 EmbeddedDolby Digital Embedded Frequency Band/Bandwidth AMFM Controls Front Panel :AV/Aux InputGame Video Inputs More Information:Ethernet ConnectionGUI Operation for Networking FeaturesQuartz PLL Synthesized Digital TuningActive EQ by DSP5 DSP listening ModesSupreme for MP3, WMA playbackMemory cards photo data reading capability by front panel PC card slot Dave, I've been browsing the internet looking for one of these. Best price I can find if $380. Not alot of them around. You scored a good one. definitely a sleeper, came market in 2004 http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=349879&seqNum=5 http://gizmodo.com/022233/kenwood-fineline-vrs+n8100-ships Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 >I've been browsing the internet looking for one of these. Best price I can find if $380. Not alot of them around. If the networking features works (and, from my experience, that is not to be assumed) 380 would be a bargain. Even if it doesn't, if the thing sounds as good as my Panny it would be a good price. I'll know by next weekend. I've ordered a wireless ethernet bridge (unit only has an ethernet connection and I don't have a hard connection handy) and both it and the unit are to be delivered Wednesday. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I got back from AKfest yesterday and after unpacking, decided to go ahead and set up my new 2-channel system. I had also ordered a Music Hall cd25.2 which showed up Friday -- but I had to leave for Michigan so there wasn't any time to try anything out. I hadn't done anything more than pull the Virtue 2 out of the box and take a look at it. The first thing I thought was that for a couple hundred more I could have bought a killer QSC PLXII or Emotiva RPA-2 when it's back in stock. Of course, I then would have had to pony up for a good preamp, and money is just too tight for that. One of the big appeals of the Virtue 2 is its convenience of operation and simplicity, and the fact that my shelf space is completely packed with the HT stuff means no room for anything bigger. So, I just plopped the Virtue 2 on the top shelf with my Plasma, and slid the cd25.2 on top of my Denon 2500 Blu-ray transport. I was alll wired up and ready to go in about 15 minutes. My speakers are homebrew using the Radian 5208C coaxial, and with a sensitivity of 96dB/w, a pretty good match for an amp like the Virtue 2. My previous experiences with Tripath revealed that they always sound a little edgy and grungy at startup, and the Virtue 2 was no exception. I put the player on repeat and left for a while, taking the time to get some other things done around the house. A couple hours later I went back upstairs and pulled out some of my better recordings to see what I had. The Virtue 2 is a pretty good sonic improvement on the Super-T I used to own. It's smoother, warmer, and throws a bigger soundstage. Still a little two dimensional, but the sound is so pristine in nature you don't notice it much once you're into the music. The amp has some good muscle, it gets plenty loud enough without falling apart, and maintains good control over the cones. It's impossible for me evaluate low bass performance because my speakers are a little bass shy -- I tuned the ports to 70Hz to keep the midrange clean -- they were really designed to be used with a good powered sub -- which I don't have yet. They go down close to 50 with boundary reinforcement, but it's all port at that point. Still, the bass lines are clean, tight, and easy to follow. Like most amps using only a pot to control the volume, the Virtue 2 gets incisive as you push the volume. However, I didn't choose this amp for high volume listening, but for low to moderate listening levels in semi-nearfield. It's a killer amp for that kind of thing, and I was real happy with what I was hearing last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Dean, thanks for the review. You mentioned this: "the Virtue 2 gets incisive as you push the volume". Could you elaborate on this further? Im very interested in this amp and how it might perform with horns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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