2. amps-preamps
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VAC Ren II, VAC Phi, or ARC Ref 3?

Finally, the two cold solder joints in one of my Rowland 7M amplifiers have been fixed. Just a simple 2 minutes soldering job at home, thanks to a kind live phone consult by Jeff himself. Now the system is back purring like a kitten.
Great say you, but. . . the problem is that now I have fallen totally prey to Upgraditis Furiosa, the most pernicious and 'wife threatening' form of Audiophilia Nervosa.
I listen mostly to classical--lots of chamber, vocal, Early Music, Baroque, Romantic, some large orchestra, lots of cello and other strings--on a system that I have lovingly put together over the last 20 years: EAD T1000, AT&T glass C-core glass wire, EAD D7000 Mk. 3, AudioQuest Quartz RCA, Audio Research LS2B, Gutwire XLR, Jeff Rowland 7M monoblocks, Cardas Golden Ref PCs on 7M, Cardas Golden Ref speakerwires, MagnePan 3A speakers.
The sound is sweet, lush, with a large if slightly unfocused soundstage, sometimes slightly veiled, somewhat soft at the bottom, can sound glorious in the midrange, good if not spectacular at the top. Much better at small ensembles than at full orchestra, where the sound stage can collapse and full strings and brass often display signs of brittleness and two-dimensionality. But, so much for self-criticism. Now what to do?
I intend to migrate towards a fully balanced system, with redbook and SACD capability and a tube linestage. I will start upgrading at the source and linestage points. The source will be an Esoteric X-01 or an upcoming APL NWO-1. But in this thread I'd like to discuss options for a new linestage. My requirements are an open and detailed, sweet sound, accurate with minimal coloration, with very good but not necessarily overwhelming macro-dynamics, an excellent three-dimensional and accurate soundstage, superior microdynamics and subtle nuance. The linestage must sound great out of the box--after breakin of course: not only after going through many cycles of NOS tubes musical chairs. All of this from a company with a stellar track record and reputation in quality, dependability and pre/post sale support. I listened to the VTL 7.5 and found it to be too soft. The BAT VK51SE sounded too dark. Then I listened at length to the VAC Ren II, which seems to embody all of my requirements. I have not heard the VAC Phi as yet, but it is in the running by inference. Nor I have listened to the ARC Ref 3, although I intend to: Ref 3 is in the running by reputation.
Suggestions? Opinions? It's your turn guys and girls!
guidocorona
guidocorona OP
4,114 posts
 
Very intriguing info Bhauser! I have heard three pres with 6H30 this far:
. Bat Vk51SE -- too dark for me. Sound it cold, uninvolving.
. ARC LS25 II -- Unemotional, bland, uninvolving.
. ARC Ref 2 Mk. 2 -- interesting by only half a cigar. Much more dynamic than LS2 II with much larger soundstage. Once I heard it driven by ARC CD3 Mk. 2 and driving Rowland 302. Found it to be bloomy in a funny way with almost a silvery sheen at the top. On the same system a Boulder 1012 was much more convincing.. Another time it was still driven by CD3 Mk. 2, but it was driving ARC VT200 into Magnepan 3.6. Sounded much better, but the huge soundstage was still slightly unfocused.
. Ref 3 -- not heard yet, but I understand some of the 6H30P tubes have been swapped for 6550 in the new revision. Has ARC fallen out of love with 6H30? OneObGin will let us know more as they break in. I need to give this newest baby at least the benefit of doubt.

Could share any info or personal experiences about the sonic differences between Phi and Ren II?

Keep these post coming my friends. This has been wonderful so far!
guidocorona OP
4,114 posts
 
Thanks Hifimaniac, what's the waiting time on a new Phi? As I asked Frank, would you be able to offer some comparison with Ren II?
DGAD, Id be very interested in hearing any findings of your 7.5 after you apply NOS tubes.
guidocorona OP
4,114 posts
 
Sorry john, but I have taken the liberty of copy/pasting here some of the very insightful comments you just posted on the LS25 vs Calypso thread. They are most useful in the context of this very high end linestage thread:

". . . Two years later, enter the Aesthetix Callisto Signature. It's a very different experience here. Never had I heard a line stage impress me so greatly across the board. I remembered how the 31SE did the bass. The Callisto takes this to another level. And unlike the BAT, the Callisto renders a mulitude of low-level detail in the highest frequencies. The LS5 never came close to this. And the LS25 did not steal the show vs. the LS5 in this regard either. The Callisto and Calypso are very very similar except for one most important attribute: portrayal of space. I am so impressed when I hear the neutrality and resolution of the Calypso at a local audiophile's (Jadem6) home. But a changeover to the Callisto and that awesome 3-dimensionality is there like you hear from a real performance. The stage exceeds far beyond the boundaries, images are not 1-foot wide - they are so lifelike. A return back to the Calypso and that awesome openness is significantly diminshed. This is one area where I would have trouble going for the Calypso. Even with the BAT's soft top end and lower level resolution, it was far more lifelike in its portrayal of the harmonics, decays, images and space and this alone brought on the emotional connection. The LS5 did the same for me but not at well as the BAT or Callisto."

Thank you again John for your patience!
fsarc
148 posts
 
22K ohm would be nothing for the 2.0 Kevin told me it would drive a 600ohm load with no problems. If case you want them, the 2.0 does not offer a balance control nor a phase swtich. Design wise, the 2.0 does not invert polarity at the inputs or outputs.

I'm sorry I can't offer any comparisons to the Ren II or the ARC Ref 3. The wait time is painfully long. I ordered mine in early April and received it mid July. I just spoke to Kevin the other day and they are pretty busy- which is a good thing. I think sometimes if you get your order in during a build "run", you may have a substantially less wait time.

Kevin is very pround of his products and will not rush them until they met VAC's exacting standards. I'm not sure if you are aware of this- VAC does all the chassis work in house- right down to the smallest knobs. Pretty impressive.
fsarc
148 posts
 
From the 2.0 manual-

"The Phi Preamplifier is the world's finest audio preamplifier and an absolutely unique component. Its unusual topology, premium parts, and flexibility make it a pleasure to hear and operate. The line stage is, in effect, a small Class A1 power amplifier, capable of driving loads as low as a few hundred ohms. This is a stark contrast to normal preamplifiers, which claim a low output impedance but completely collapse when asked to deliver current.

The Phi circuit is loafing with a normal load in the 10,000 to 200,000 ohm range, delivering an effortless, musical performance. There is no loop feedback and no coupling capacitors in the line section. All active elements are triode tubes, the purest, most linear amplifying devices yet invented. Output matching is accomplished by way of superb output transformers. As a side benefit, different output grounding configurations are possible, optimizing performance into either balanced or single-ended loads, and allowing ground loops to be broken.

The optional phono stage uses triode tubes operating without loop feedback. Gain is moderately high, with a very low noise floor. Low output MC cartridges are accommodated by means of high quality matching transformers, which contribute voltage gain without noise,
resulting in detail that emerges from a remarkably dark and neutral background.

Remote volume control is implemented via a motorized mechanical device. This provides two major advantages. First, the control is completely intuitive to use. Second, we avoid the sound degradation attendant with VCAs, transistor switches, and switched resistor arrays.

The main chassis is machined from thick aluminum. The separate power supply allows e.m.f. fields, switching transients, and mechanical vibration to be isolated from the audio circuits. The high voltage supply dual choke pi filtering for extremely low noise.

The Phi 2.0 is designed not to the latest fad but to substance, for the highest possible sound quality. Time spent familiarizing yourself with this manual will be well rewarded."
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