Van Alstine products

Hello: I have a SuperPas 4i preamp. I have had a CJ PV10al and a Modulus 3a also. The AVA remains in my system and the other 2 are gone. The CJ was a close contender and I could have kept either but for the $$ the AVA is pretty hard to beat and with a tube phono included it is a hard pre to beat for the $$. I also have a Fet hc350 amp driving Maggie 2.7s. The AVA hc amps are a brute and are a great amp. As for service AVA is nearly unbeatable. If you mail AVA with a question you will likely get a reply very quickly, even on the weekend. The reply will probably come directly from Frank himself. That is pretty much non existant customer service from anyone else. My experience with AVA over the past 6 years has been great. A high end product that AVA and Frank VanAlstine believe in and excellent service. Super way to run a company .

Have you compared the fet valve amp to any similarly priced amps? Can you offer any comments on its tonal balance?

i have used a number of VanAlstine products over the years. The company service is excellent and comparable to Krell, Transparent, and any of the best. their products are the Best bang for your buck on the market. i compared their solid statee amps to Bryston, Classe, Adcom, Krell, B&K and a few more. The AVA clearly is a superior sound to all of these. Then when you factor in the price issue these products can not be beat. The owner is passionate about music and the price ripoffs in the high-end and has run his company with those values singing out of everything he does. The only downside to these products is aesthetics. They are plain vanilla. But if value outstanding audiophile sound on a smaller budget this the way to go. Check out their Biro speakers also, best speakers under $10,000 on the market today - BAR NONE!