Vfet / SIT Amplifiers

The C-1 preamp is an institution on its own🙏

Has anyone compared a V-fet amp with a Luxman L-505ux or L-590ax ?

Well, I've played about with the Victor for couple of days now and I need to share my findings. Since it's a V-FET, it sounds very similar to Yamaha's B-3. Very detailed, perfect imaging, deep bass, but it's not exactly on par with the B-3. Something was a little bit off. I don't know how to describe it, but the Victor sounds a bit dry and not so "musical". Still better than almost anything on the market today, though.

Still better than almost anything on the market today, though.

Ha! Not buying that for a second. Not saying its not nice though.

@atmasphere 
maybe there is some enthusiasm in @kitr statement but it is not inaccurate. Most vfet amps will ride right along the top 1%-5% of the amps build new or old, in terms of sound finesse and detail.
True, none will win any races for driving difficult loads (much below 4 ohms), but for average to efficient speakers, they are extremely difficult to match by other SS amps and some of the vfet amps do just fine against vacuumed glass.

If you have the opportunity, you should try to pickup something like a B-3 or a B-2. For the B-2, I would send you something that would take care  of the "stuff" in the signal path, so that there is nothing between the rear input and the driver board.
B-2, B-3 are DC amps. Most of the ancillary circuitry is about protection, which actually works quite well, hence the high survival rate of these amps after 40+ years.

Don't worry too much about too many stages or other "old school" amp design. If you have the opportunity, try getting one and if it is still kickin' even in original condition the sound is extremely engaging. With some proper TLC, they are world-class amps.