Vincent Audio’s updated SV‑500MK hybrid integrated amplifier (US$1699.95) took a circuitous route to my reference two-channel system, originally arriving at a time when I had a pretty big backlog of review gear on hand, only to take a quick side quest to Chicago for AXPONA before being shipped back my way. But to be fair, you’d never know any of that from looking at the outer shipping carton.
Crack that case, though, and would you look at that?
At least I know now which room Pangea Audio, Vincent Audio’s US distributor, was exhibiting in at AXPONA, as I unfortunately wasn’t able to attend the show. That would have been weird, though, seeing this amp that had been in my possession and would soon again be sitting on some swanky Vulcan racks in a strange hotel. (Note to self, as an aside: look into buying a Vulcan five-shelf rosenut rack at some point when money allows. Those things are sexy and seem very well-built.)
Enough of that, though. Let’s get to the good stuff. There weren’t a lot of surprises for me when unboxing the SV‑500MK, as I’d already done the same with its predecessor, the SV‑500, about five years ago. The closed-cell foam padding is gray now instead of white. But given that the meaningful differences between the SV‑500 and SV‑500MK are largely a function of I/O, I wasn’t expecting much else in the way of differences at all in terms of packaging and presentation.
I have to say: I love the fact that the manual for the SV‑500MK is just a stack of letter-sized paper stapled together at the top corner like an old-school book report. I’m not being even slightly ironic when I say that. It gives the amp a less corporate, more personal vibe that’s in keeping with its retro ethos—namely, its reliance on tubes (two 6N1s and one 12AX7) in its preamp stage and its lack of integrated circuits, opting instead for discrete circuitry throughout. If you’re going to go that route, why not hand-staple your instruction manual? It’s a consistent vibe, if nothing else, and I’m here for it.
Pull the amp out of the box and you’ll find some pack-in accessories underneath, including a Bluetooth antenna that could be used as a weapon in a street brawl, a TosLink cable, and a 3.5mm stereo cable.
The manual says there’s supposed to be an HDMI cable in the box, too, so I’m guessing that got left behind at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel. No worries, though—I have oodles of my own.
The SV‑500MK itself is wrapped in a cloth bag that gives it some extra protection, which is always a nice touch. The less plastic involved in packaging, the better, in my opinion.
With the amp out of the bag, and the included remote unboxed (its box tucks into a carve-out in the foam, by the way), you can see that the latter is largely similar to that of the SV‑500, but the former looks quite a bit different from behind. Compared with the original, the SV‑500MK loses two stereo line-level inputs, but it gains the HDMI and Bluetooth inputs, as you already figured out from context clues above.
I’m a little torn about that, to be honest. I think HDMI is an essential bit of I/O in this day and age, and if we’re going to hook more young’uns into the hobby, we’re not going to do it without HDMI. They just don’t understand why you’d have a sound system that can’t easily connect to a TV.
Then again, I get so many emails these days from readers looking for buying advice who find the number of analog inputs in today’s affordable gear wholly frustrating. So while it’s the same overall number of inputs on the balance sheet, I do wish Vincent Audio had found a way to add HDMI and Bluetooth without losing two analog ins. Maybe just one as a compromise?
Those of you who know me well know that this shot is pure pornography. I simply love good five-way binding posts, and Vincent Audio continues to provide excellent-feeling ones with its gear. I also like that the posts aren’t plugged out of the box, because why would you use any connector other than bananas unless you just weren’t raised right? Plus, I’m tired of having to find and reinsert those stupid little plugs when I return gear.
Being a reviewer is weird, y’all.
Here’s a closer look at the I/O, including the nice little caps that Vincent puts on its line-level RCA connections. They’re a little frustrating to get off, but not as much as binding-post plugs are. You could also argue that they provide some sort of RFI/EMI protection for unused inputs and outputs.
I wouldn’t, but you could.
Here’s a closer look at the remote control, which is machined from billet aluminum. Still weird to me that it lacks a standby/power button, but we all need a little more encouragement to get our steps in these days, don’t we? Honestly, I tend to walk right by my stereo rack when I’m ready to listen anyway, so it’s not that much effort to boop the power button on my way to my listening seat.
And here we get our first good look at the SV‑500MK’s façade. The SV‑500 I reviewed way back when came clad in silver, so it’s nice to see Vincent’s take on basic black. Turns out, it’s very shiny. Incredibly shiny.
But you can see here the overall layout, which includes tone controls (as well as a tone-control defeat button), source select, volume control, power, and a ¼″ headphone jack.
I mention the gloss because when I zoomed in to get a closer look at the source-select knob, I legitimately struggled to take a snapshot that wasn’t wrecked by glare and the reflection of the knobs in the faceplate of the amp itself. In day-to-day use, mind you—and out of the glare of studio lighting—that of course isn’t a problem.
So the Vincent SV‑500MK looks very similar to the SV‑500, with most differences centered on the shuffled input configuration. It still relies on the same hybrid design and much of the same circuitry. Does it sound the same?
I mean, probably, yeah. But the definitive answer to that question will have to wait for my full evaluation. Keep your eyes peeled for that in the coming weeks.
. . . Dennis Burger
dennisb@soundstagenetwork.com
