Well, I came home from Axpona with this bad boy in my trunk! I have been looking forward to reviewing Vincent gear. I was always impressed when I heard it at dealers or shows. It did not disappoint at all. Wonderful smooth sound with a glorious soundstage. Recommended highly.

I have enjoyed tubed audiophile preamplifiers for decades, but had never spent any time with gear from Vincent Audio until just recently, when my publisher asked me if I would be interested in reviewing a tubed preamplifier from Vincent Audio. I quickly agreed, and the Vincent Audio SA-T7 Diamond arrived shortly thereafter.

The “Diamond” in the SA-T7 Diamond edition comes from the diamond-shaped logo melted into the four New Old Stock (“NOS”) Telefunken PCF803 tubes utilized in this stereo preamplifier. This Telefunken tube is somewhat unusual in design, as it contains one pentode and one triode. The tube was developed in the 1960s, and someone affiliated with Vincent Audio recently came across a few crates of these tubes, thus creating this unique audiophile design opportunity. We checked and they have enough tubes on hand to support a large number of users especially as these tubes don’t tend to fail for a very, very long time.

A hybrid amp featuring two 6N1 tubes and one 12AX7 tube in the input stage and Toshiba-made transistors in the output stage, the SV-500MK attempts to reach the always-elusive goal of offering the virtues of tube and solid-state design in one compact package. If this description chaps your hide because you don’t buy into the tube/clean and harmonic vs transistor/powerful and dynamic trope, I’m right there with you.

… But I must admit, I wish I’d listened to the people who told me that there’s simply no substitute for a good wet-cleaning system. It doesn’t necessarily have to be something like the Record Doctor X ($599.95, all prices USD). But it has to be something.

. . . Dennis Burger

“I genuinely cannot think of a better rack option for the money”

“The Record Doctor VI is so good for the money that I can’t imagine spending more for another option when the results are this good.”

“Of all the amps I’ve listened to in the sub-$3,000 range, the SV-500 is my favorite”

The new Record Doctor VI Record Cleaning Machine is the first major upgrade to the original Record Doctor V in the last ten years. The new machine is quieter and cleans better than any other entry-level unit which offers vacuum cleaning.

Good things come to those who wait. The Record Doctor X is one of those good things! To say it’s a quantum leap in design isn’t doing it justice.

“Smartly designed, the Vincent SV-200 fits today’s digital and analog sources seamlessly.”

“Well done, Vincent. Well done.”

“Even if you’re Ikea-phobic, putting this stand together is a snap. The whole process took less than half an hour from start to finish.”