[carboncopy]

Well, if you do not hear from me ever again, you know what happened


It is a single ended amplifier internally, but offers XLRs ins and outs for convienence.

Thanks! I just never saw one with XLR before.

 

[mammal]

Thanks! I just never saw one with XLR before.

It’s their MKII version, not sure why they never bothered with updating their website, I guess as it looks “less clean”.

 

[Gadget67]

Viva Egoista 845 has finally landed, let's see if it sounds better than Bartók directly.

OMG!!! That thing is huge!!! Very cool looking though; hope it works out

 

[Gadget67]

@mammal I played with the picture to tease out more front panel detail.

 

[mammal]

@mammal I played with the picture to tease out more front panel detail.

Oh, I am so sorry that I did not include better pics. Here is one from when I was putting it together.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Viva Egoista 845 has finally landed, let's see if it sounds better than Bartók directly.

This amp just looks so amazing. I'll be eager to see your impressions. Considering their STX version for Stax potentially. Congrats!

 

[mammal]

Considering their STX version for Stax potentially. Congrats!

I don't know where I read it, but someone said that STX with Shangri-la Sr was the best combo said person ever heard (and Vivaldi was their source).

 

[Gadget67]

Oh, I am so sorry that I did not include better pics. Here is one from when I was putting it together.

Ha! No need to be sorry! I was just playing around to see more of it. Very impressive; did the white gloves come with it?

 

[mammal]

Ha! No need to be sorry! I was just playing around to see more of it. Very impressive; did the white gloves come with it?

Actually yes, they are even Viva branded. The pain on the amp is really something special. The pictures do not do it justice, this particular colour is Porsche Blue and it really is the same metallic colour they use on those cars. I will try to take some better pictures.

 

[Stereolab42]

Viva Egoista 845 has finally landed, let's see if it sounds better than Bartók directly.

One of the amps I strongly considered as a WA234 alternative, but not to the point of demoing one. From what I understand there is no gain control. I imagine you get plenty of volume knob play with a TC or Susvara, but have you tried it with much more sensitive headphones yet? What is that like in terms of noise floor and volume control?

 

[mammal]

One of the amps I strongly considered as a WA234 alternative, but not to the point of demoing one. From what I understand there is no gain control. I imagine you get plenty of volume knob play with a TC or Susvara, but have you tried it with much more sensitive headphones yet? What is that like in terms of noise floor and volume control?

Very easy for me to do gain, as with Bartok you can configure line out to be 0.2, 0.6, 2.0 or 6.0 V. This way, I can always ensure I get a good play in volume control. For example, with Spirit Torino Valkyria or Focal Utopia, I set it to 0.6 and I play around 9 to 12 o'clock. For Susvara and TC, I set Bartok to 2.0 and I get the same volume range. if I wanted to play from 10 to 14, I would just go one tier lower.

 

[SalR406]

Actually yes, they are even Viva branded. The pain on the amp is really something special. The pictures do not do it justice, this particular colour is Porsche Blue and it really is the same metallic colour they use on those cars. I will try to take some better pictures.

Great color choice. Looks fantastic.

 

[Stereolab42]

Very easy for me to do gain, as with Bartok you can configure line out to be 0.2, 0.6, 2.0 or 6.0 V. This way, I can always ensure I get a good play in volume control. For example, with Spirit Torino Valkyria or Focal Utopia, I set it to 0.6 and I play around 9 to 12 o'clock. For Susvara and TC, I set Bartok to 2.0 and I get the same volume range. if I wanted to play from 10 to 14, I would just go one tier lower.

Do you get a proper black background though on the more sensitive headphones with that method or is there noticeable hiss/hum?

 

[mammal]

Do you get a proper black background though on the more sensitive headphones with that method or is there noticeable hiss/hum?

Totally black background, equal to what Bartok solid state amp brings to the table. When I first powered Viva, I heard some crackling / pop sounds (very quietly, but with no music playing, it was there) so I contacted Viva and they told me to give the amp (mainly tubes) a couple of hours. It went away completely after 20-30 minute, and has not reocurred even after I turned the amp off (and let it cool down) and then turned it on again. But to answer your question, now I tried setting Bartok to 6 V (its max) and the background is still pitch black, no sounds whatsoever, neither with Utopia or Valkyria.

 

[Stereolab42]

Totally black background, equal to what Bartok solid state amp brings to the table. When I first powered Viva, I heard some crackling / pop sounds (very quietly, but with no music playing, it was there) so I contacted Viva and they told me to give the amp (mainly tubes) a couple of hours. It went away completely after 20-30 minute, and has not reocurred even after I turned the amp off (and let it cool down) and then turned it on again. But to answer your question, now I tried setting Bartok to 6 V (its max) and the background is still pitch black, no sounds whatsoever, neither with Utopia or Valkyria.

Well that is super-impressive for an amp with such powerful tubes. If I had known this earlier I might have gone through the effort of demo'ing it. I really hope the WA234 can match this performance. (The WA5 comes close to black on sensitive headphones on passages with no music but isn't quite there.) I guess we shall see.