I have listened to both the D 100 and VMB amps. At $999 the VMB are well worth considering. They are quiet, clean, musical and do little wrong. However, due to the nature of the beast, the top end is rolled off -- like a tube amp -- and are not as transparent as better ss and tube amps. Do not get me wrong. In a starter, second or HT system these will do what you want them to. They are not meant to be paired with a $5000+ speaker system. You should listen to them if you are looking for an amp in the sub $1500 range. The reviews on them are accurate.
Now the D100 are a differnt animal and different story. There is even a D200 in the works. At first I was not sure what I was listening to. It was too quiet and to real to sound like a stereo amp. So I kept switching back and forth between the D 100s and my other amps. I even borrowed a third amp from a friend. I now had amps ranging from $1500 to $4500 in my living room. If it was winter, I could have saved a lot on heating.
After a week, the amps settled in and I was very familiar with them. My first impression as to their quietness was confirmed. These amps are dead quiet. You cannot hear anything coming out of the speakers when they are on. Dusty at CI said that they were "revealing." I think that specific and neutral are the more accurate adjectives.
So the starting point is a pitch black background. Then you layer in music that is "life-like" (and reflects the source). Soundstage is wide, deep and natural. It finally dawned on me that I was hearing analogue sound from my CDP with these amps.
The most interesting comment I heard from some of the others who were listening with me was "there is no halo around the music any more. Does that mean that these amps eliminate the distortion that you hear in other amps?" We called CI and were told that the input and output signals are identical except for amplitude and the amps are distortion free (I think I remembered and interpretted that correctly). So, that clarified the quietness and the, at first, eerie natural sound.
They are truly amps to have. Can they out perform the + $5000 amps? I am not sure, but I do not even care. They play music. I feel that I have found analogue again.
Now the D100 are a differnt animal and different story. There is even a D200 in the works. At first I was not sure what I was listening to. It was too quiet and to real to sound like a stereo amp. So I kept switching back and forth between the D 100s and my other amps. I even borrowed a third amp from a friend. I now had amps ranging from $1500 to $4500 in my living room. If it was winter, I could have saved a lot on heating.
After a week, the amps settled in and I was very familiar with them. My first impression as to their quietness was confirmed. These amps are dead quiet. You cannot hear anything coming out of the speakers when they are on. Dusty at CI said that they were "revealing." I think that specific and neutral are the more accurate adjectives.
So the starting point is a pitch black background. Then you layer in music that is "life-like" (and reflects the source). Soundstage is wide, deep and natural. It finally dawned on me that I was hearing analogue sound from my CDP with these amps.
The most interesting comment I heard from some of the others who were listening with me was "there is no halo around the music any more. Does that mean that these amps eliminate the distortion that you hear in other amps?" We called CI and were told that the input and output signals are identical except for amplitude and the amps are distortion free (I think I remembered and interpretted that correctly). So, that clarified the quietness and the, at first, eerie natural sound.
They are truly amps to have. Can they out perform the + $5000 amps? I am not sure, but I do not even care. They play music. I feel that I have found analogue again.