I gave one of 2L’s high res files a spin to see how the G3
would cope with a really serious recording. As soon as Mozart’s Violin Concerto
in D major [Marianne Thorsen with TrondheimSolistene, 2L 24/192] started
playing, the vitality and expressive qualities of the musicians took over.
Again, the speakers slipped from aural view and I had the ensemble in front of
me in such spectacular fashion as to render visual cues unnecessary. That 2L
recording is renowned for being excellent, but rarely has it sounded so
convincing, engaging, and real. By way of contrast, I also gave Infected
Mushroom a blast. The level was a little high on account of the previous piece,
but the G3s rolled with it and delivered such taut, muscular, and
neighbour-crunching bass that I didn’t leap for the volume control immediately.
Instead, I bathed in the electronic waters, drifting out into the sonic swells.
Which is all very well, but it doesn’t get the job done; it did, however,
inspire me to put on James Blake’s ‘Retrograde’ [Overgrown, Polydor], which the
Vivids renderered in a heartbreakingly beautiful, totally uplifitng, and
alarmingly dark manner.
G3s delivered such
taut, muscular, and neighbour-crunching bass
I decided to turn up the heat by using a turntable, and not
any turn table either, but a Rega RP10 with Apheta MC and Trilogy 907 phono
stage.Now the system was completely absent from the presentation, and all I could
hear was the way that musicians were playing and what they were trying to
convey with the music. I have been absorbed by computer audio of late, but the
Vivids reveal that an analogue source is still king of the hill when it comes
to communication and musical integrity.
The timely arrival of better digital components did narrow
the gap. The first was Antelope’s Platinum DSD DAC, which was initially paired
with my Macbook Air and the latest incarnation of Audirivana Plus. These showed
just how much transparency the G3 offers by digging out so much of the nuance
and timbre of John Lurie’s voice and then blowing me away with the emotional
power of Adele’s ‘Rolling in the Deep’ [21, XL]. It’s a melodramatic song, but
I rarely get past the first chorus because the compression is so savage; here
it avoided the pain, presumably because neither speaker nor source were struggling
with the sudden increase in density. Listening to the whole thing turned me
into a bit of a wreck and I had to calm down with Dylan’s ‘Visions of Johanna’
[Blonde on Blonde, Columbia] before a semblance of normality was restored.
Vivid Giya G3 in a sound
test
The next breakthrough occurred when I hooked up the digital
output of a Naim NDS to the Plantinum DSD. This proved more focused than the
Macbook with better leading-edge definition and stronger timing. You could hear
more hardware character, but the result was no less engaging. Then along came
the final element in what was to prove a formidable digital source. This was
the Computer Audio Design CAT, which CAD has built to show off its 1543 USB
DAC. However, as well as having a USB output, the CAT is a NAS drive, but not
in the usual sense. In fact, this is the most thoroughly thought out variation
on that theme I have encountered. It has a 256GB SSD for music storage, linear
power supplies for every part, and it makes even dedicated audio RIP/NAS devices
look lightweight. With the NDS taking its signal from the CAT, the speakers
jumped into another league all together, proving once again that source is
still king. To be honest, I couldn’t believe how low the noise floor became and
how much there is going on down where most of us can’t hear it. Some of that
low level sound you don’t need to hear, but much of it being the final few
milliseconds of delay or the end of the reverb tail. It’s uncanny really and
all this via an affordable power amplifier.
I did put the Consonance Cyber-100 valve amp in the system
for a while to see how it would fare, and it showed a little bit more of the
magic in the signal. I realised that the power amp is the limitation in this
system, but didn’t have a Constellation Audio to hand! The Consonance, however,
showed just how quicksilver fast the G3 is. It has so little character that
every change to the system is obvious and by default every nuance that the
musician puts into the recording is plain to hear as well, if the system lets
it through. And this system let it through with a vengeance. In essence, it did
what I think any high-end system should be capable of; it stopped me from
thinking about anything else and allowed the music to transport me to the time
and place of its making. It makes you close your eyes and immerse yourself in
its dynamic, tonal, and emotional range. In short, it carries you away and
leaves your cares behind.
It makes you close
your eyes and immerse yourself in its dynamic, tonal, and emotional range
Given that I achieved most of this with a $3,300 power amp
suggests that the G3 can give more, but it does require decent power to deliver
a convincing wide-band result. In fairness, most speakers do, but most speakers
are more coloured and less ultimately resolute than this. The Vivid Giya G3 is
not inexpensive, but few alternatives come close to this degree of perfectly
timed transparency. It would seem that the pace of improvement available from
source and amplification have allowed the G3 to exceed the results I got with
G2 and G1, and that can’t be bad for a ‘little’ speaker.
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Technical Specifications
·
Configuration: 4-way 5-driver system ·
Cabinet: Glass reinforced balsa cored sandwich composite ·
Drive Unit Configuration: D26 26mm tweeter and D50 50mm midrange
with tapered tube loading, and catenary dome profile. C125S 125mm midbass
with tapered tube loading, short-coil long-gap motor design, 50mm copper
ribbon coil. Two C135 135mm bass units with short-coil long-gap motor design,
75mm copper ribbon coil ·
Bass loading: Exponentially tapered tube enhanced bass reflex ·
Sensitivity: 87dB @ 2.83Vrms and 1.0 meter on axis ·
Impedance (Ohm): 6 nominal, 4 minimum, low reactance ·
Frequency range - 6 dB points: 33 - 36,000 Hz ·
First D26 Break Up mode: 44,000 Hz ·
Frequency response (Hz): 36 – 33,000 +/- 2 dB on reference axis ·
Harmonic distortion: (2nd and 3rd) < 0.5% over frequency
range ·
Crossover frequencies (Hz): 220, 880, 3500 ·
Power handling (music program) watts rms: 800 ·
Dimensions (H, W, D): 116x34x 58cm ·
Net weight: 41kg ·
Standard finishes: piano black, pearl white ·
Optional finishes: Multi component high gloss automotive ·
Price: $42,400 per pair
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