Jwm:
The only "current VAC amp" that is point-to-point wired is the Statement 450. I remain skeptical that it is, overall, equal to or better than the Renaissance vintage of amps. It does not appear to be a triode circuit and it is not biased fully Class A. It's also a high-powered design (i.e., loss of transparency and delicacy) that almost certainly uses feedback (disaster), and the output tubes are pentodes. The Kevin Carter-designed Renaissance amps were all-out efforts from the late 90's, when the company was flush with cash from the great economy and its contract to make the Marantz Model 7 /8B /9 reissues. VAC is still a great tube gear manufacturer and it stands behind what it makes, but those days are gone, I'm afraid.
The only "current VAC amp" that is point-to-point wired is the Statement 450. I remain skeptical that it is, overall, equal to or better than the Renaissance vintage of amps. It does not appear to be a triode circuit and it is not biased fully Class A. It's also a high-powered design (i.e., loss of transparency and delicacy) that almost certainly uses feedback (disaster), and the output tubes are pentodes. The Kevin Carter-designed Renaissance amps were all-out efforts from the late 90's, when the company was flush with cash from the great economy and its contract to make the Marantz Model 7 /8B /9 reissues. VAC is still a great tube gear manufacturer and it stands behind what it makes, but those days are gone, I'm afraid.