Vivid Si66 stereo integrated Ultra-Fi amplifier

Vivid Si66 Stereo Direct-coupled KT66 integrated amplifier

The Vivid Audio Si66 is the first in an original range of visionary
hi-fi amps to be designed and built under the Vivid Audio brand by
resident designer Randy Cail. This amp is the culmination of 40+
years of hi-fi listening, electronic experimenting, and empirical
development. It is, in every way, a truly radical amplifier, ready to
fulfill your desire for something far, far beyond typical 300B SET or
EL34 push-pull amplifiers. Vivid Si66- it's represents audio
thinking- outside the box.

About the Si66: The Si66 is an original, 10+ w.p.c. direct-coupled,
single-ended, Ultra Linear, tube rectified, two channel audio amp
using 7044 as input and KT66 output tubes. It is conceptually very
different from all other tube or solid state amp circuits that
precede it. Specifically, it is a direct-coupled two-stage amp. That
means there is no coupling cap, choke or interstage transformer
between the voltage gain section and the power section. This has
significant sonic implications, i.e. you no longer are listening to
capacitors or ITs between stages. In our experience, no cap or IT
sounds as good as no cap or IT!

The Si66 "sound" can be described as neither warm nor cool, but fast
and super real- with more realistic bass than any of the amps we've
compared it to. It has a see-through realism that must be heard, and
startling, life-like dynamics (assuming the recording has them to
begin with).

If you subscribe to the simpler is better school of amplifier design,
it can't get much better than this. With only three components in the
signal circuit per channel (that's right, only an input tube, output
tube and output transformer are in the signal circuit. No caps, no
resistors, no transistors, no interstage transformers, no chips and
no chokes), the Si66 achieves new heights of ultra- realism through
ultra-minimalism.

Nothing more is needed, nothing less will work.

The Si66 power supply features custom wound, US made transformers and
chokes and high quality film capacitors (no electrolytic caps) for
decades of reliable service (see our warranty, below). The Si66 is
tube rectified and can accept a wide range of rectifiers. The
revealing nature of this circuit makes rectifier "rolling" rewarding.
The Si66 is available as a stereo amp (no volume control) for use
with your passive or active line stage (or, better yet, a Vivid
T:dac), or with a volume control installed for direct connection to
your CD player or phono preamp. It has one pair of input jacks and a
pair of 8-ohm speaker outputs which can be wired to 4-ohm secondaries
on request.

Vivid Audio Design Guidelines-

Our goals for Vivid Audio amplifiers are, well, simple...

1. elite, world-class sound quality, far beyond their price. 2.
innovative appearance and, an honest use of materials that support
goal #1. 3. innovative, original circuits designed around some of the
best vacuum tubes ever made, optimized to extract the maximum sonic
"juice" from your recordings 4. amps that can be built in-house, by
us, for complete quality control to support goal #1. 5. compactness,
low parts count, hand wired for reliability and ease of use

Vivid Audio amps are perfect for the music lover who has little need
for high power. Our amps have been designed for use with medium to
high-sensitivity loudspeakers in the 90 dB/W/m or greater range, such
as our own forthcoming Vivid Audio T-line designs.

Circuits, and more... There is an almost infinite number of ways to
design an amplifier circuit. Even after decades of tube amp design,
by engineers the world over, we are designing and building circuits
that are radically different from anything seen before. We have an
underlying quest for circuit simplicity and feel this is a crucial
factor in an amplifiers' ability to convey the emotional content of
music.

A note on finishes, tubes, power, etc. All Vivid Audio amps are made
one at a time, by hand, by us, in our shop in Atlanta, GA. This means
we can accommodate your special requests. Please contact us if you
are interested in a custom finish, or want to learn more about the
tubes we use, or to discuss options such as: input selection and tube
choices, or to explore the suitability of Vivid Audio amps for use
with your existing equipment.

Construction: The Vivid Si66 is hand-built on round, maple wood
shells (15" in diameter) with an aluminum top plate and a solid wood
base. Standard construction is point-to- point wiring, using premium
Wonder-brand solder throughout, with no p.c. boards in our amps- even
for our entry-level products. We do not cut corners on parts quality.
Key to our amps sonic success are custom-wound, US-made transformers
and chokes, proprietary Vivid Audio internal wire, some
current-production but mostly NOS state-of-the-art vacuum tubes, and
of course, Vivid Audio know-how. Nothing more is needed, nothing less
will work.

Warranty: We proudly offer a 10-year parts and labor transferable
warranty on all materials and components, excluding tubes.

Introductory Pricing $2495

Shipping Weight: 50 lbs.

Suggested Retail Price: $ 2500.00

Our Price: $ 2500.00

Number of units currently In Stock: 1