Admin edit: thread edited to include all Riviera products
If you enjoy it’s signature/voicing, this amp really can be a do it all, it can handle basically all of my favorite headphones sans estats with equally good synergy and performance, and doesn’t seem to sacrifice anything to get there either. Honestly really impressive. Impressions generalized with multiple tubes
Some jump out things to me are:
Grip and control, man does this thing have it, has complete command over everything going on, and it leads to a sense of speed and texture presented in a very organic manner that is hard to achieve. It can turn on a dime with a ton of intensity and weight, you typically don’t get both this speed and weight combined. Everything has authority without being overbearing. Addictive for sure
Dynamics, it can handle extreme swings with ease, while letting microdynamics show in full force, really impressive overall but still a bit of a macro focus. Generally extremely lively because of this even with it’s slightly relaxed nature
Spatial recreation is grand, good width while having solid depth as well, leads to a slightly more relaxed and wide presentation but with sharp placement accuracy and a very black background that’s pretty damn vacant, sounds pretty natural overall
Texture, it offers so much, ends up leading toward something extremely tactile experience, addicting
Tonal density is surprising, it has lots of weight to toss around, but never enough to overwhelm, and doesn’t hamper any sense of speed and separation or clarity. Can adjust it’s density to the source. Slightly wetter/more thick than neutral here, which honestly works in it’s favor given what it goes for.
Impact and slam, it has it. Kicks hard with only a slight bit of bloom leading to a very pleasing punch. Not much to say here besides that, fantastic for this aspect
Timbre, very organic, very natural. Maintains this throughout the range.
Bass extension, digs very deep without losing control or intensity
For detail and resolution, it’s definitely got a ton of it, but never in your face and never taking a backseat either, if you want it you can easily have it, if you don’t that’s fine too. It’s not the most resolving in the price range, but it doesn’t have to be either given what else it can accomplish. It’s presented very organically, and to me that’s where it counts lol
Now moving onto some things that are less impressive:
Treble extension, now it’s good enough but it does lack air at times that can lead to a sense of darkness, but in reality when paired with the right dac I didn’t find it to be that big of an issue. But for treble heads, upper treble is likely it’s weakest aspect (bass and midrange are phenomenal, lower treble is very good, upper treble is only ok)
Transparency, this could be good or bad depending on the person. It doesn’t fully reveal/adapt to the dac it’s being given compared to other options at the price point. This can lead to it being slightly forgiving on pairings, but I also feel that this could potentially be leaving some performance on the table, but no real way of knowing
Onto a functional annoyance:
Specifically for the susvara and 1266, they do sound better right out of the speaker taps compared to the headphone out. This is a bit inconvenient but can be worked around easily enough. The speaker outs just feel like they have more of a good thing personally. But I didn’t notice this to be worthwhile with less demanding headphones. I think this is because there’s still a resistor in path even in high mode. But with things like a utopia or mysphere for example I did like low mode better and found it to be too much on speaker taps and a bit too much on high
A few pairings for headphones:
Susvara (on taps): basically takes everything amazing about the susvara and amplifies it, honestly no gripes whatsoever, does exactly what one would want
1266 (on taps): This tends to change the 1266 to lean it warmer and more relaxed specifically in the treble, but also at the same time elevates the 1266s already fantastic slam and impact, width and space, and macro focus. Basically a shift while elevating
Utopia (on low): while I really like it, it could be a weaker pairing than the above, mainly because depending on the person the shift could be a slight bit undesirable. This shifts the utopia toward a macro focus and tilts warmer and more relaxed, which traditionally doesn’t go well from my experience, BUT, for me it brings a different yet equally worthwhile experience. I have not heard the utopia so macrodynamic, and it pushes the stage out really wide while keeping the spherical presentation and accuracy, and sweetens things up to make it pretty fun. I do think it loses a bit of overall accuracy, clarity, and tightness compared to other preferred pairings, but it’s very fun nonetheless and worth listening to.
Mysphere (on low): liveliness, largeness, and organicness. It creates such an involving listen with stand out dynamics, timbre, richness, and overall immersiveness. It could use more treble liveliness perhaps, but with how much control it can convey coupled with the above, really enjoyable
For some tube rolling notes:
Brimar CV4003, so far to me the most balanced tube to me, offers the best balance of technical performance and organicness and sweetness, and solid treble extension, most organic stage with equal dynamic focus.
Mullard ECC82, leans farther more toward warm, thick, and rich, but does feel a bit more technically lacking and does kinda lack some treble extension and clarity, could be good depending on the pairing though, more macro focus. Wide stage but more vague in placement
Philips Miniwatt ECC82, really adds back treble air and clarity, focuses on upper midrange and treble, but does dip down below that after. Generally lots of depth but smaller stage, more micro focused and forward, could be good with some but upsets balance to me.
A few dac pairing notes:
Totaldac d1-direct w/ d1-driver (volume bypass), Wow does this sound fun, immersive, and organic. Super dynamic, super huge yet accurate stage, super control and command, and super timbre and organicness. A bit of a macro focus lean. Weakest aspect is the treble, but both hella technical and hella fun
Lampizator pacific (volume bypass), Very natural, nuanced, and realistic/convincing, while being pretty fun too. Extremely convincing stage, adapts depending on recording, nuance king, slightly micro focused, tons of resolution. Very neutral pairing imo, basically extreme balance
Nagra hd dac, smooth and liquid, easygoing, very technical while being very relaxing, big micro focus, smaller but very deep and accurate stage, very organic timbre, pretty dense overall tol. But could get a bit too rich and relaxed on some pairings
Berkeley alpha reference 3, tightness, aggressiveness, bite, forwardness, and precision. Very neutral forward pairing that can be unforgiving, tends to focus on clarity and accuracy, but does lose some emotion slightly
Basically if you enjoy a warmer, organic, thicker, and slightly relaxed sound while being very technical and emotional at the same time, this amp is likely for you, it can handle basically whatever I can throw at it with impressiveness, really worth considering if you are looking for an amp in this range
