There is a pretty big difference between the first version of the Veloce line
stage and the second, so-called "Lithio" version; the circuitry,
the tubes used, and in my trials of both versions in my system, the ultimate
sound of the product. I ultimately bought the Lithio version. It replaced a
Lamm L2 Reference, which was very lucid in the mids- organic, continuous,
non-grainy- all that good tube vernacular, but the Lamm is actually a solid
state device with a tube rectified power supply. The Veloce - which uses the
so-called 6H30 "supertube"- mine is loaded with real DRs-
gives me more bandwidth, is not as 'dark' as the Lamm (it is a Russian
thing, but I love his SET amps and use the Veloce with the Lamm ML2s);
has very deep, taut bass with great tone and gives me a lot more high
frequency information. Granted, the L2 has been around for a while, but it
was and remains a serious line stage. The Veloce version 2 takes it up
several notches without giving up anything on midrange ease and
naturalness. (I'm sure Vlad's current big dog line stage is a killer, but it is
,IIRC, more than twice the price of the Veloce).
Since my midrange horn uses no x-over at all, I can hear what the
upstream components are doing, particularly in the mids (I used Quad
electrostats for more than 30 years -57's and Crosbys- so I'm sort of
persnickety about the midrange being 'right.') And, since the speakers are
104db efficient, I can also hear noise within the system that a lot of less
efficient speaker systems would probably mask.
I'm not sure the phono module, which i think piggy-backed on the original
line stage, has any use beyond that, and am virtually positive it cannot be
connected to the current version.
Mark and Vytas, the guys behind Veloce, are genuinely good guys. I don't
shill for products, am not a dealer and rarely get on these sites to promote
what I choose to use. But, well worth a visit to these guys, just to hear what
they are doing, particularly if you've never heard the line stage or heard of
the company 'til now. I'm not going to suggest that this is some world beater
that will slay any other product and is cheap and will make your life better.
I can tell you the thing sounds very convincing in my system, which is pretty
ruthless in sounding bad if everything isn't just so. (Ask anybody that's
heard an Avantgarde Duo sound bad and you'll know what I'm talking
about).
Final note, given the whole battery thing. This thing is not lacking in
dynamics or 'cojones' and the battery system works with no hiccups
whatsoever.
I powered down my system when I was in Austin from January through
May this year. The batteries (which are 'standard' lithium batteries that you
can buy on the open market if and when you need to replace them- i think
they have a life of 5 years) charged to full in about an hour after 5 months
of non-use/no charge. And in normal use- say 6 -8 hour listening session,
the charger kicks in within about a minute after you've shut the line stage
down, and is usually up to full charge and in standby mode before I've
finished closing down the music room (say 5-10 minutes shutting stuff
down, putting records away, final clean of stylus, shutting off air supply to
arm compressor, and all my other rituals).
stage and the second, so-called "Lithio" version; the circuitry,
the tubes used, and in my trials of both versions in my system, the ultimate
sound of the product. I ultimately bought the Lithio version. It replaced a
Lamm L2 Reference, which was very lucid in the mids- organic, continuous,
non-grainy- all that good tube vernacular, but the Lamm is actually a solid
state device with a tube rectified power supply. The Veloce - which uses the
so-called 6H30 "supertube"- mine is loaded with real DRs-
gives me more bandwidth, is not as 'dark' as the Lamm (it is a Russian
thing, but I love his SET amps and use the Veloce with the Lamm ML2s);
has very deep, taut bass with great tone and gives me a lot more high
frequency information. Granted, the L2 has been around for a while, but it
was and remains a serious line stage. The Veloce version 2 takes it up
several notches without giving up anything on midrange ease and
naturalness. (I'm sure Vlad's current big dog line stage is a killer, but it is
,IIRC, more than twice the price of the Veloce).
Since my midrange horn uses no x-over at all, I can hear what the
upstream components are doing, particularly in the mids (I used Quad
electrostats for more than 30 years -57's and Crosbys- so I'm sort of
persnickety about the midrange being 'right.') And, since the speakers are
104db efficient, I can also hear noise within the system that a lot of less
efficient speaker systems would probably mask.
I'm not sure the phono module, which i think piggy-backed on the original
line stage, has any use beyond that, and am virtually positive it cannot be
connected to the current version.
Mark and Vytas, the guys behind Veloce, are genuinely good guys. I don't
shill for products, am not a dealer and rarely get on these sites to promote
what I choose to use. But, well worth a visit to these guys, just to hear what
they are doing, particularly if you've never heard the line stage or heard of
the company 'til now. I'm not going to suggest that this is some world beater
that will slay any other product and is cheap and will make your life better.
I can tell you the thing sounds very convincing in my system, which is pretty
ruthless in sounding bad if everything isn't just so. (Ask anybody that's
heard an Avantgarde Duo sound bad and you'll know what I'm talking
about).
Final note, given the whole battery thing. This thing is not lacking in
dynamics or 'cojones' and the battery system works with no hiccups
whatsoever.
I powered down my system when I was in Austin from January through
May this year. The batteries (which are 'standard' lithium batteries that you
can buy on the open market if and when you need to replace them- i think
they have a life of 5 years) charged to full in about an hour after 5 months
of non-use/no charge. And in normal use- say 6 -8 hour listening session,
the charger kicks in within about a minute after you've shut the line stage
down, and is usually up to full charge and in standby mode before I've
finished closing down the music room (say 5-10 minutes shutting stuff
down, putting records away, final clean of stylus, shutting off air supply to
arm compressor, and all my other rituals).