[Vinnie R.]

  Congrats Vinnie! How are the new modules and standalone amp coming along? Can you give us an indication on the time frame?

 
Hi dulty,
 
Thank you!
 
We have new modules coming out August 1st:
 
- AVC / Tubestage combo module
- BAL inputs (1 set XLR, 2 set RCA)
- BAL outputs (1 set XLR, 2 set RCA)
 
Pricing will be announced by end of this month.
 
The stand-alone power amp will be shown at this years RMAF (home audio room number TBD).
It will be the same approx. size as LIO, ultracapcitor powered via PURE-DC-4EVR supply, and
will output > 100wpc into 8-ohms, and > 200wpc into 4-ohms.  Name, more details and pricing
will be available this Summer!
 
Later this year we hope to have a wifi streaming module available as well.
 

All,
 
If you haven't already done so, please sign up on our email list.  It only takes a minute:

http://vinnierossi.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8732927ed821bd32f5f0fca4b&id=031c47d651

Why should you sign up?   

First - you are a Vinnie Rossi customer (or thinking of becoming one in the future) and want:

- The latest info on Vinnie Rossi LIO products modules, shows, news, reviews, etc. 
- To never miss anything important if you do not visit this forum often.

And...
 
- We only send out ~ 1 email per month, so it is not obtrusive or annoying.  I promise!   
- We would NEVER sell out your email to any 3rd party. 

  You have my word on this!
- You can very easily opt out if you change your mind

Here's the link again:

http://vinnierossi.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=8732927ed821bd32f5f0fca4b&id=031c47d651

Thank you,

Vinnie

 

[Vinnie R.]

Also beginning August 1st will be new pricing on LIO.  Link to details:
 
http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=8732927ed821bd32f5f0fca4b&id=197b4a52c4&e=c5c4952066
 
We will honor the original (current) pricing on all fully paid orders received before 24:00 (midnight US EDT), July 31, 2015.
 
Thank you,
 
Vinnie

 

[Vinnie R.]

http://www.cnet.com/news/redefining-the-state-of-the-art-vinnie-rossi-lio-integrated-amplifier/
 
Quote: Steve Guttenberg

The LIO headphone amp's clarity is beyond anything I've heard at home. The imaging is so big I sometimes had to take the headphones off just to make sure the sound wasn't also coming from the speakers, it was not. The headphones just sounded more spacious with the LIO.

 

 

Quote: Steve Guttenberg

Pairing LIO with my KEF LS50s was a synergistic match, the little speakers projected a gigantic, deep and wide soundstage with Kronos' "Early Music" album. The string quartet's tone was brilliant, clear and sweet. These speakers always amaze me, but never more than this. LIO also clicked with my Zu Druid V speakers, the sound was refined and natural, with tremendous clarity.
 

 

Many thanks to Steve "The Audiophiliac" for all his time and effort in reviewing LIO! 

Vinnie

 

[groovyd]

Here's an idea for an eventual module... has a single cat5 connector and plays streaming music, perhaps eventually supporting AppleMusic, Spotify, Pandora in some future sw upgrade.  Would require a complimentary desktop/mobile app to select it's station and login, change some parameters etc.  Could also perhaps be used as a network interface for players like JRiver and a general remote to control the entire unit.

 

[Vinnie R.]

  Here's an idea for an eventual module... has a single cat5 connector and plays streaming music, perhaps eventually supporting AppleMusic, Spotify, Pandora in some future sw upgrade.  Would require a complimentary desktop/mobile app to select it's station and login, change some parameters etc.  Could also perhaps be used as a network interface for players like JRiver and a general remote to control the entire unit.

 
Hi groovyd,
 
I'm working on that already!  Hoping for release Fall/Winter 2015.
 
 
In other news, this may interest those looking for a near-field speaker system along with headphones.  I just spotted in the August 2015 Stereophile - Herb Reichert's review of the Falcon Acoustics LS3/5A speakers + Vinnie Rossi LIO:
 

A supersweet, unusually liquid-sounding class-AB MOSFET amp - such as the
25wpc Vinnie Rossi LIO integrated - could bring this antique design into the21st century.  The Falcon-Rossi combo
delivered lively, grainless magic, and showed me just how neutral and "invisible" these minimonitors could be.

 
Just for background info:

- Falcon LS3/5A are spec'd at 15-ohm, 83dB sensitivity

Finally - the official Stereophile LIO review (Herb Reichert) *should* be out next issue / next month, and I was told that headphone listening will be added to the review as well!

-Vinnie

 

[Vinnie R.]

All,

A new email went out today to all subscribers as a reminder about the Aug. 1st price increase:

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=8732927ed821bd32f5f0fca4b&id=67aad55fee&e=516989e03a

I just want to make sure everyone is given a heads-up, because now is the "sale" price (prices only go up from here).

Thank you,

Vinnie

 

[Vinnie R.]

Here are some quotes from Steven Stone's LIO review in the September 2015 issue of The Absolute Sound:

Regarding LIO's Ultracapacitor Power Supply:
 
 

 

“…LIO proved to be completely insensitive to AC power vagaries.”

“…LIO has pushed power supply design to the outer limits.”

 

 

Regarding LIO's modular design approach:
 
 

“LIO solves a lot of problems elegantly with one simple box.”

“LIO is a clever way to save space while retaining superb sound quality and upgradability.”

Regarding LIO's sound quality (using AVC, no tubestage):
 

“I was impressed by the LIO’s overall level of finesse and transparency.”

“Sonically I found the LIO to be a highly transparent and extremely low-noise component that allowed the music to pass through it unscathed.

“The LIO consistentlydelivered music in a way that focused on the music.”

 


A big THANK YOU to Steven / TAS for this excellent review - our very first in TAS!  

Also - I sent Steven a LIO Phonostage because he mentioned that he wants to review it and other phonotages in a future issue!

Cheers!

Vinnie

 

[olegausany]

Just want everyone to know that LIO's DAC works without problems under Windows 10 using existing driver

 

[Vinnie R.]

Just want everyone to know that LIO's DAC works without problems under Windows 10 using existing driver

 
Hi olegausany,
 
thank you for confirming!
 
Vinnie

 

[Vinnie R.]

I just received the September 2015 issue of Stereophile - the LIO received an astonishingly favorable review by Herb Reichert! 

I really want to take this time to thank Herb for his very thorough and thoughtful review of LIO.  Given the option-rich nature of his fully configured review sample (fully-loaded ‘LIO Deluxe’), I greatly appreciate the amount of time and effort that he put forward in describing how it communicated the music to his ears.  I am thrilled to read how well he captured what makes LIO so unique, both functionally and sonically, for our first review in Stereophile!  It might very well be Stereophile's longest review yet! 

Here are some fantastic quotes from the review that I am very proud, flattered, and grateful to share:
 
 

“In any configuration, the LIO is… the most attractive, well-crafted integrated amp I’ve seen.”

 

“All I can say is, when you replace amps like the Pass XA100.5s with any moderately priced integrated, you’re supposed to feel grave disappointment. That afternoon, I felt shock and wonder. Right out of the box, the Vinnie Rossi LIO played music that flowed smoothly and silkily—and was noticeably more quiet and grainless than the venerable Passes.”

 

“The LIO was extremely good at getting out of the way and letting this music have its way with me."

 
Quote:

“Timbres and textures were always-enjoyable constants, no matter which recording I played. The LIO showed me that grainlessness and high-relief textures are in no way mutually exclusive. Detail, drive, and forward momentum were as good as they get.”

 
Quote:

“I have rarely in my life heard a piano sound this real and corporeal in my room.”

 

“Record after record, I bathed in the almost fragrant beauty of the LIO… as I played all genres of music.”

 
Quote:

“The LIO has the Tesla’s [referring to the Telsa Model S electric car] type of quiet power: its massive torque is applied smoothly and equally at all rpms. I experienced unprecedented naturalness of bass.”

 

“The LIO phono stage was nearly faultless. Its DAC was exceptional, and enjoyably nonmechanical in sound.”

 
Quote:

“To my ears, it delivered the best of tubes (color, vividness, liquidity) and the best of solid-state (quietness, control). Its highly adaptable modular design combines a fashionable Italianate aesthetic with near-state-of-the-art sound.”

 

“If there is a more innovative and musically satisfying integrated amplifier than the Vinnie Rossi LIO, I have yet to experience it.”

 
Quote:

 "Amazingly, the LIO's best feature might be its headphone amp."

 

Wow - I could not dream of better praise than what Herb bestowed onto LIO!
 
 

 
 
Thank you,
 
Vinnie

 

[artur9]

  I just received the September 2015 issue of Stereophile - the LIO received an astonishingly favorable review by Herb Reichert! 

Congrats!  Listening to the LIO is on my bucket list

 

[Vinnie R.]

  Congrats!  Listening to the LIO is on my bucket list

 
Cheers, artur9! 

 
 
All,
 
I am also excited to report that a fully-configured LIO is now in the hands of Headphone Guru reviewer, Aaron Kovics (aka: immtbiker, moderator here on Headfi)!
 
http://headphone.guru/author/aaron-kovics/
 
 
I'll be sure to post a link when the review goes live.
 
All the best,
 
Vinnie

 

[immtbiker]

I feel so fortunate to be able to spend some quality time with this splendid, innovative piece of equipment! 
 
The sound is sincere and appealing, and flows fluently, with no harshness or digital glare. I have ran it through it's paces it in every mode through my headphones, and I'm also using them through my Harbeth monitors.
It's going to be a great month! I'm going to spend most of my free time, listening and writing about the Lio. It will be a sad day when I have to return it to it's creator. 

 
Better than a good day at work!
 
Thanks, Vinnie 

 

 

[olegausany]

I feel so fortunate to be able to spend some quality time with this splendid, innovative piece of equipment! 
 
The sound is sincere and appealing, and flows fluently, with no harshness or digital glare. I have ran it through it's paces it in every mode through my headphones, and I'm also using them through my Harbeth monitors.
It's going to be a great month! I'm going to spend most of my free time, listening and writing about the Lio. It will be a sad day when I have to return it to it's creator. 

 
Better than a good day at work!
 
Thanks, Vinnie 

 

Buy it then, it should be able to replace many different things you have and a lot of space too and you can use it with and without tubes depending on your mode or preference especially since you can have only modules you want

 

[Vinnie R.]

  I feel so fortunate to be able to spend some quality time with this splendid, innovative piece of equipment! 
 
The sound is sincere and appealing, and flows fluently, with no harshness or digital glare. I have ran it through it's paces it in every mode through my headphones, and I'm also using them through my Harbeth monitors.
It's going to be a great month! I'm going to spend most of my free time, listening and writing about the Lio. It will be a sad day when I have to return it to it's creator. 

 
Better than a good day at work!
 
Thanks, Vinnie 

 

 
Hi immtbiker,
 
Thanks for the post here - glad everything is working out for you.  Looking forward to the review in due time, and love the fact that you'll also be doing some near-field listening
with the speaker amp into the Harbeths!
 
 

 Buy it then, it should be able to replace many different things you have and a lot of space too and you can use it with and without tubes depending on your mode or preference especially since you can have only modules you want

 
Hi Oleg,
 
It's true, and I have a few dedicated home audio customers of LIO who fully funded their LIO purchase after selling off expensive power conditioners, power cables, and misc. interconnects
that added up to thousands of dollars (and the power was still not as clean as with LIO's isolated ultracapacitor power supply). 
 
Cheers!
 
Vinnie