VINCENT SV-700/DAC-1

The Vincent SV-700 is a hybrid amplifier that combines a solid-state power stage with a vacuum tube preamplifier in one chassis, all fed by a 500VA toroid. The tube compartment hosts 1x12AX7 and 2x12AU7 per channel. By push of a button a user can select whether the SV-700 should run in Class A (consuming 350W at idle) or in more environmentally friendly Class AB. Sonically the AB is not an option – the Class A operation was audibly better in all parameters. The tax you pay is slightly less of power: in the Class A the SV-700 provides 2x 50W into 8 ohms, in the Class AB 2x100W, or 2x200W into 4 ohms respectively. All signal paths are strictly symmetrical from inputs to outputs. The SV-700 offers 4 analog inputs (3x RCA and 1x XLR) plus 2 digital inputs for a built-in DAC (optical and coaxial), 1 line output and 1 regulated preamplifier output.

Should your primary source of music is represented by a streamer or a NAS storage, the Vincent DAC-1 will be become your first choice upgrade. The SV-700’s built-in DAC (up to 24bit/192kHz) is a decent performer, the DAC-1 is a completely different league however. And the combination of the SV-700 and the standalone DAC-1 gives fantastic price to performance ratio leaving most competitors far behind. I loved the combination of the two so much that I had decided to review both devices as a pair.