VINIUS AUDIO TVC-05 MAGNETIC VOLUME CONTROL REVIEW

The Vinius Audio TVC-05 Special Edition is quite a specialized product in that it has just one input (XLR in this case), one output, and a volume knob. It’s taking the minimal approach to audio to the extreme, but how does it sound in the HiFi PiG reference system.

In the 80s when I was first getting into HiFi there was a move away from tone controls and anything else in the signal path that may degrade the sound. It’s a philosophy that rang true with me and my first system that I could call a real HiFi system was made up, in part, of a Musical Fidelity The Preamp that had a volume knob and a couple of switches and that fed its signal into a Crimson Electric amplifier. It was pretty good sounding if I recall correctly and the whole “less is more” concept sort of followed me through my HiFi buying journey. The Vinius Audio TVC-05 from Poland takes this minimalist approach to the nth degree and the unit is stripped back to the max with only a volume knob, one input, and one output. Before I even start to review it I kind of like the whole idea behind this preamplifier, though its ultra pared-back approach doesn’t leave you much scope for anything other than one source! For those that do want more inputs then Vinius Audio does a couple more products to cater for three RCA or XLR inputs, but you cannot mix and match these. They also do units with remotes but having spoken to them at length, they do suggest that you forego a remote if absolute purity of sound is what is most important to you.

FEATURES AND BUILD OF VINIUS TVC-05 PREAMPLIFIER

The unit we had arrived triple-boxed and in a Vinius labeled black back. Taking it out of the bag you immediately get to appreciate that this preamplifier looks absolutely lovely and is beautifully finished. The highly polished wooden front panel with a slightly orange hue looks great and is adorned with a single, large volume knob – there is no source selector as there is only one input. You get all this for €7400 for the RCA version and a bit more for other versions.

Around the back of this relatively large box (360 x 400 x 125 (wdh)) and on a wooden panel finished to the same very high standard as the front panel, there is one input pair and one output pair of XLRs. There is no power inlet as this is a passive, or rather TVC design.

That large knob that dominates the front panel has 24 steps with each step equating to a 2db step. It has a very satisfying click to it.

The interesting stuff of this volume control (it can’t really be described 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!

There’s also a purity of tone to the music coming out of the speakers which is characterized by opening notes of Angie by the Stones and off Goats Head Soup. That first note on the guitar just rings and decays with such a natural sound that you do sit up and take notice immediately. This continues through the song with the tonal signatures of that guitar (and others) shining out. Strings come in, rise, and then envelop you. I know this tune pretty well and I can genuinely say that this is as natural sounding as I’ve heard it – you really can look into the mix and “see” the individual instruments laid out in front of you. As the song gets busier this natural (coherent?) performance continues and with instruments never feeling forced or embellished. Now, this sound of nothing sounding “embellished” is to be expected and I suppose could well be somewhat to do with my expectation of the Vinius and its minimalist philosophy and aesthetic – though I don’t think it is and I think I’m aware enough of this system to be able to actually hear what is going on when a piece of kit is. I ended up listening to a whole load of “acoustic” guitar music on this and every time it was a pleasure, with the natural timbre of this or that guitar coming through the speakers – Jorma Kaukonen’s Genesis was a treat…in fact, the whole Quah was a delight to listen to!

I listen to a lot of house and techno (broadly speaking electronic) music and this is often bass heavy and can be pretty demanding on a system from top to bottom of the sonic spectrum….none more so than Dusty Kid! I would suggest that there is a tendency for many active preamplifiers to overly push the bass (and tops) in a mix and that leads to a sonic presentation that can be all tizz and thud. Dusty Kid’s I Love Richie still has that deep and throbbing synth bass line underpinning the whole of the track, but it never seems to become overly saturated or too much, even when it breaks just after 3 minutes. I can’t say it sounds natural because it’s not a natural sound, but this bass element is in keeping with the rest of the track’s components and make-up and not pushed to the fore more than it should be. I push the volume on this track pretty hard and still all I get is a balanced sonic picture of the tune. Yes, this is very bass heavy, but the bass isn’t pushed…if that makes sense. The harsh electrical percussion sounds cut through the mix properly and the whole track is a coherent, if full on onslaught, of sonic enjoyment. There is still the physical kick of the music that hits you in the chest, but there’s also the ability to hear the tones and smaller elements of the mix like the sound of the synth drone on the same artist’s Cowboy track. Some may prefer their music to be artificially enhanced by their preamplifier, I know this, but into the Krell and in this system there’s absolutely no need for any enhancement in any part of the musical spectrum. For me there is more than ample dynamic oomph inherent on the actual recording without anything requiring a boost.

On older recordings like Popeye Does the Mashed Potato by The Buttons (CD rip) it is clear to hear that the recording process was limited in its scope way back in (I think) 1963. The sound is harsher and pretty unrefined, and the Vinius doesn’t hide this. Long story short in this respect is that this preamplifier is not going to make a silk purse out of a pig’s ear and if your recording is harsh or whatever then this preamplifier is going to show it for what it is…but that sort of goes without saying in a quality HiFi system, I’d say.

Epic tale reduced to a soundbite; you are hearing what is on the file with the Vinius! You are also hearing the character of the DAC too and this is a good thing in my book; why would you pay tens of thousands of pounds/dollars/euros/magic-beans on a DAC (or any other bit of kit) only for the preamplifier to stamp all over it with its own character. I’ve heard folk use the term “the preamplifier is the heart of a system” and whilst I agree with this pretty much wholly, the kind of preamplifier that appeals to me is one that adds as little flavour of its own to the final sound. Now, your mileage may well vary in this last respect and, indeed, the needs of your power amplifier might be that it prefers an active preamplifier to drive it.

As I’m writing up my notes I’ve got the Vinius in the system and there’s Let It Be by the Beatles playing. And it sounds as big a tune as I ever recall it being and that overdriven guitar that cuts through the mix at around 2  minutes sounds absolutely natural  – well, as natural as an affected and amplified electric guitar can sound. What I’m saying (again is that there seems to be no embellishment or addition to the sonic character of the file.

Look, I can play a hundred and one tunes and the outcome is going to be pretty much the same whichever tune I drag out or from whatever genre I drag it out from – this is as transparent a preamplifier as I have heard and is, I would say, at least the equal sonically of our Music First preamp…and that is very high praise, indeed.

NIGGLES

One input may not be enough for some BUT Vinius do offer units with three RCA or three XLR inputs. However, these units do not offer the ultra-minimalism and purity of signal path that this unit uses. The other units are not mix and match with regards inputs and outputs as our Music First is and with the other Vinius pres you must choose RCA or XLR on both inouts and outputs.

The packaging is not in-keeping with the lovely finish on the unit itself and is a little disappointing, though I know full well that such friperie is superfluous and little more than window dressing and pandering to the luxury element, but, given the finish and beautiful build of this product, I do think better packaging would be in order.

No remote, but then this continues the whole path of least resistance and I fully understand the reasons for not including one. This is a product by its very nature is about purity of signal and with no superfluous additions.

CONCLUSION

Like the advert I mentioned that talks about Product X being better with nowt taken out, the Vinius adds little to nothing of its own sonic character to the music you are playing. In true high-fidelity terms I would say that this is getting close to the holy grail of what the purist audiophile is searching for. Yes, other preamplifiers that use similar technology achieve somewhat similar results and the final decision on which you would choose will be down to your personal preferences and to the miniscule tonal differences that you may or may not perceive. However, and as mentioned, some people and some power amplifiers will prefer to have a boosted signal before them and thereafter we are getting into the whole personal taste arena.

Can I recommend the Vinius? Yes, I can and I do so wholeheartedly!!! I absolutely loved it in our system.

It is a very good-looking product (thought I actually prefer the look of our Music First…YMMV) that, taking into account that it’s not endured any ins and outs to our system to really test its robustness, looks very nicely constructed and has the air of a product that people will buy and stick with forever. Like myself with our Music First preamplifier, I have (up to now) seen no need to contemplate any kind of upgrade or change since the day it got put in the system…I think the same would be true with the Vinius.

I am giving this product the Editors Choice award, but that comes with caveats and the main one is that this is a very specialised bit of kit with its one input and one output. Essentially, what you have is an expensive volume knob…if it were only that simple!

The main takeaways for me with the Vinius in this review system have been that wonderfully engaging and realistic soundstaging and a seemingly untarnished movement of the signal from the DAC to the amplifier.

If you are looking for a no-frills but truly immaculate-sounding preamplifier, then I would suggest that this should be on your radar! I am surprised that these haven’t been picked up by distribution in the States, the UK, and particularly in Asia where I think they would be very much appreciated.

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality:

A simple-looking unit that is very well finished and very nice to look at

A very limited set of features that boil down to a single set of inputs and outputs and a volume knob, though other versions are available with more inputs and remote

Sound Quality:

This is a very good sounding unit. Or should that be “this unit doesn’t really have a sound”?

Crap recordings still sound crap but that is only because there is no gilding of the lily with this preamp

Soundstaging was an interesting thing for me to have picked up, I thought. The preamp should not really have an influence on this and I don’t know if it’s because the pre is absolutely silent that I perceived this aspect of its “performance” but there is something very interesting and positive happening with the soundstaging with the Vinius in our system

I found the sound of instruments and sounds in the mix seemed (to me) to be true to life and very textured in their presentation using the Vinius

Value For Money:

If you look at this as a one input volume pot then it is expensive. But it’s not quite so easy to put a pot in a box and get this level of realism

We Loved:

The perceived soundstage

Being able to hear very clearly the tonal and timbral characteristics of instruments

We Didn’t Love So Much:

There’s not much to dislike at all with this preamplifier. It is what it is and what it is is pretty limited given its one input. People that buy this will be well aware of its feature limitations and will be happy to listen to their one source and how it was meant to sound

Elevator Pitch Review: The Polish Vinius preamplifier is a single input and output device that eschews features for a purity of reproduction that is uncommon. It neither adds nor takes away from the signal that it is fed and your music remains truthful to the file you are playing and the effects the DAC, the power amplifier and the speakers have upon it. If you can live with its limitations then this is an excellent product.

Price: Around €7500

Stuart Smith

SUPPLIED BY VINIUS

Specification:
– 24-level volume adjustment (every 2dB)
– Galvanic chassis ground separation, cut-off of potential chassis ground loop and resulting disruptions
– Optimal directivity of the elements designed for minimizing sound quality loss
– State-of-the-art EI 105 transformers coiled in accordance with our patent
– Input: 1x XLR
– Output: 1x XLR
– Amplification: 1:1
– Maximal input signal: 2,5V
– Product dimensions: width 360mm, depth 400mm, height 125mm
– Weight: 15kg