With plenty of connection options and two pairs of vacuum tubes, this is a high-end stereo preamp from Vincent.
A combination of warm valve and transparent solid-state processing will add musicality and naturalness to your source material.
"Catering to this brave new hi-fi world is Vincent, a company whose stock-in-trade is hybrid tube/transistor amplifiers. It makes conventional-looking two-channel separates hi-fi of the sort you'd see in the seventies, but the use of tubes gives them an interesting twist. The SA-32 stereo preamplifier is a case in point. It offers the wide variety of inputs that you'd expect from a modern product, in an attractive looking case that has shades of late eighties Copland, in stylistic terms. Yet it runs four 6N16 tubes inside, located directly in front of the output."
Bigger, more powerful and sporting more features than it's predecessor, the SA-31 has been completely overhauled to create a quality hybrid stereo preamplifier worthy of including in your 2-channel Hi-Fi setup.
Key Features:
- Discrete Tube Processing
- High-Fidelity natural sound
- Tone & Gain Control
- Total of 6 inputs (5x RCA, 1x XLR)
- Total of 2 x RCA Pre-Outs, 2x Outputs
- Included remote control for easy input selection & volume control
- Match with the Vincent SP-332 Stereo Power Amp
User Manual (PDF, 3MB)
"The essence of this Vincent combination is refined musicality. It goes about its music-making business in a subtle yet involving way that's really quite charming on its own terms. The brand has acquired a cult following among cash-strapped audiophiles, and listening to the SA-32/SP-332 you can see – or indeed hear – why. Tonally it's pretty smooth and even, with just a touch of silk up top and warmth down below. In the midband things aren't too in your face, but there's still a good degree of detail. It conjures up a nicely capacious soundstage and has a good reserve of power allied to decent dynamic headroom. The overall impression is of an affordable pre-power that does a lot of things really rather well."
"Vincent has become something of a cult amongst cash-strapped hi-fi enthusiasts, who can't stretch to true high end but still insist on serious sound. That's precisely what this SA-32/SP-332 combo offers. After you've realised this, you can forgive its slightly whimsical ergonomics and not especially great finish – that's all by-the-by. Indeed, this is a quintessential 'affordable audiophile' combination, the sort of thing that there's always been a market for, and always will be. The hi-fi world continues to morph around us, but as that old expression goes, 'plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose…'"
Read the full Applause Award review on StereoNET
In comparison to its predecessor, four type-6N16 tubes are used in the SA-32 instead of two. The first two tubes are in the input section. Two more tubes sit in front of the output after the tone control. This results in the entire sound characteristic being more natural and precise. The relaunched switch provides better dynamics and more musicality to your source material.
Valve amplification is used in addition to transistor solid-state amplification to result in a pre-amp that sounds stupendously clear and is efficient in terms of power consumption.
The SA-32 has gain and tone-control options that allow you to make fine adjustments to the sound of your source material before it even hits the main amplifier. Control the amount of treble and bass with the dials on the front of the unit. Deactivating the Tone switch on the front of the unit bypasses the Bass & Treble EQ control, so you can choose to hear your source material with or without adjustments.
The loudness function on the SA-31 has been replaced by a gain attenuator. By pressing the switch, the preamp gain is decreased by 8dB. This makes the SA-32 compatible with power amps with a higher amplification factor without any issues.
The SA-32 features a huge amount of options when connecting Hi-Fi devices. With a total of 6 inputs and 4 outputs, this preamp enables almost endless connectivity options.
For your source devices, the SA-32 features 5 Stereo RCA inputs and a stereo set of balanced XLR inputs. That's up to 5 different source material devices you can connect, and with the XLR in, you can bring in audio from the Pre-Out of a separate unit if you wish.
With a stereo RCA and XLR out, you can connect the preamp straight into a power amplifier. Alternatively, by using either of the 2 stereo pre-outs on the device, you can connect to a separate unit and bypass the processing of this preamp completely.
What's in the Box?
- 1x SA-32 Preamplifier Unit
- 1x VRC-1 Remote Control
- 1x Power Cable
- 1x Stereo RCA Cable
- User Manual
Vincent is a German brand and manufacturer of Class-A Hi-Fi equipment. SInce 1995, Vincent has stood for continual development to 2-channel stereo in the high-end class.
| Model Number | SA-32 |
|---|---|
| RRP | 1,599.00 |
| Specs | Frequency Response: 20 Hz - 20 kHz ±0.5 dB Inputs: Dimensions: 430 x 77 x 360 mm |
