Preliminary Review of Vivid Chameleon by Bruce Schlein

How many times have you gone to a live (non-electronic) concert, come
home and listened to the same pieces of music? I have been doing that
for more years than I will tell. I have had many systems over the years,
all of which sounded good but none sounded as lively and real as the
concert.

Finally I found an integrated tube amplifier which  bridges the gap
between live and home reproduced music. It is the Chameleon from Vivid
Audio and available direct from Earthshaking Music in Atlanta, Georgia.

My system includes a Naim CDSII CD player and a pair of Cain and Cain
Abbeys. All cabling is Vivid Audio cabling.

The attributes of the Chameleon include timbral accuracy (trumpets sound
like trumpets, guitars like guitars, drums like drums and voices like
voices), spatial  accuracy (good representation of the space in which
the recording was made), proper depth and layering of the instruments
and vocalists( the singers are where you would expect them and
instrumentalists are where they really were at the recording), and micro
and macro dynamics are properly presented as is the frequency range from
treble to bass within the speaker's capabilities. There is complete
accuracy and clarity with no grittiness or other artifacts to the sound.

It is most striking to hear two sopranos singing a duet and both can be
clearly heard.

This system has gotten me closer to the live experience than any I have
heard or owned and at a rational price for the total system.

If you read or do other things while listening to your stereo, you will
find yourself putting down your book and listening. This amp brings not
only the sounds of the instruments but the intent of the musicians to
you.

What are the people like that sold me the equipment? Dave Strohauer and
Randy Cail are amongst the most honest and helpful people I have met in
the hi-fi arena. They made sure that the unit I bought suited my needs
(I needed 5 inputs) and Randy delivered the amp with additional tubes to
fine tune the sound to suit my tastes.

As if the sound was not enough the amp is a visual delight, unlike much
of what is out there.

These folks run a small business and I suggest you get in line for your
amplifier from them. Your musical listening will be well served.

Have fun, Bruce Schlein

And, a follow-up post a few days later-

Hi Dave,

My friend Al was truly amazed with the Chameleon. He was not sure
anything could be better than the first amp (a Vivid Si66T on loan while
they were building the Chameleon). I am trying to encourage him to
spring for one!

That's all for now, back to the music.

Bruce