REVIEW

accurately as a preamplifier) are EI 105 transformers that Vinius say have been specially wound in accordance with their own patent. The chassis is galvanically isolated which is designed to eliminate the possibility of an groundloops. In this latter respect other TVC-based preamplifiers, including our own Music first, tend to rely on ground-lift switches.

Vinius say that every single aspect and part of this unit has been meticulously chosen to give the best sound possible – this attention to detail goes right down to listening to the sheet metal that is used in the enclosure and even the screws used. Whether or not all this makes any difference to the overall sound is possibly debatable, but I’m not here to discuss that and will only comment on the final sound that this unit achieves in the systems in which I use it!

Other than it weighs a substantial 15Kg there is little more to say about the Vinius given its stripped-back and ultra-minimalist design.

Overall this is a beautifully finished and beautifully put-together bit of kit that has all the qualities of taking delivery of an expensive watch other than I would have liked there to have been nicer packaging – a flight case, perhaps, that would have added to the Christmas morning effect of opening up this unit. This is a small detail, of course, and what counts here is the sonic performance of the unit.

Sound Quality

First of all, and as I have mentioned earlier, I am a fan of the TVC approach and have used such a unit in our main system for sometime - actually, I’ve used one on and off for years. To me, the overall benefit of this approach to volume control is that it offers the purest and most truthful signal which you can feed to your chosen amplifier. They offer no extra drive that an active preamplifier will give and they do away with complicated resistor ladders and potentiometers that can affect the sound of a preamplifier. Of course, in the modern digital age there are digital versions of volume controls with the one that I have used being the excellent option by Gilles Milot at Leedh Processing and his Lossless Digital Volume control.

For the duration of this review process, I had the Vinius hooked up to the Lampizator DAC for digital duties and I chose to remain with the digital side of things for the duration to avoid having to get behind the rack and change cables to the analogue front end – remember, this is just one input and one output. I’ll be streaming files from our hard drive and Qobuz through ROON using our Stack Audio streamer and with all network-attached bits of kit going through the Ansuz D3 Power Switch.

I have to moan about there being no remote but the truth is the volume control knob on this unit is a delight to use and has a very satisfying click to it. Having spoken to Zdzisław at Vinius about this, he reckons that the inclusion of a remote will adversely affect the sound, though accepts that some people will be willing to sacrifice overall sound quality for more convenience. Personally, I’m with Zdzislaw, and if and when I order one of their products (hope I’m not giving too much away with that) it would be one that is without a remote!

There was an advert years ago on English television and though I can’t recall what product it was for, the slogan was “It’s better with nowt taken out!” and this is what you are obviously getting with the Vinius in the chain. There’s just such a purity and cleanness to the sound that is coming out of the speakers. There’s no boost of this or that frequency and just a straightforward (to my ears anyway) transition of the information coming out of the Lampizator DAC going into the power amplifier (a Krell KSA 100 in this case) though you can now change the volume… obviously. One of the effects of this is the soundstage, though I am fully aware (thanks for asking) that the majority of this effect is created by the loudspeakers. There’s a full and enveloping sound coming out of the speakers that plants the listener halfway back in the stalls…perhaps a little further forward. Now I would suggest that this soundstaging effect is going to be one of the standout features you will hear when you get to listen to the Vinius unit. It’s an effect that really does create a very believable and natural soundscape in which you listen to your tunes. It doesn’t feel (or sound) artificially enhanced or overblown, but it is definitely “pronounced” and noticeable in that it is different to what I’m used to. To me this is a very interesting facet of the Vinius and one that really did make me consider my options on the preamplifier front. I have no idea why a preamplifier should have such a positive and dramatic effect on the soundstaging but it does!