2. amps-preamps
  3. 1290885537

ARC VSi60 vs Ayon Spirit II/III

My experiment is over, and I officially miss the valve (no offense to friends of Solid State. Most of the rest of my world is SS).

Currently have a Krell S-300i, and am looking to move into a Tube Integrated. Used to have a McCormack DNA-50 & ARC SP9 MKII, then decided to save space, and moved to an SS integrated. Space saving remains in play. No capital outlay until January, but am doing the research now, and am soliciting opinions here, at the "Oracle".

And so the quandary: ARC VSi60 vs Ayon Spirit II/III.
A show of hands...please.
Here's my rig:
http://cgim.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/vs_user.pl?vopin&1262375142

As always, any and all opinions/suggestions/rants are appreciated.

neutron
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
6,996 posts
 
Neutron,
You`re realistic and logical,this will serve you well. Patience is a virtrue and you`ll definitely get what you want. I`ve yet to be disappointed in audio when I follow my gut instincts.
erikminer
433 posts
 
I've always like the ARC house sound. What I really don't like though is that afaik ARC still does not fuse the output tubes. So when, and it is a when not an if, a tube blows on the ARC amps the tube will usually take out the biasing resistors. So unless one is a really handy diy'er this will involve either shipping the amp back to ARC (at the users expense) or finding a local repair shop to replace the resistors... Now the VSi60 may be different, but I don't think so. Ayon does fuse the tubes and avoids this problem.
reynolds853
367 posts
 
Neutron,

I'm glad that my comments are helpful, though I sure don't think of myself as an Ayon subject matter expert. It has been fun playing with that little Spirit-1 though, I like it a lot.

There's a Spirit-2 listed now on Audiogon at what I think is a very fair price, but the seller requires pickup in New York City.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
6,996 posts
 
The Ayon Spirit at that price is a prayer answered LOL.
reynolds853
367 posts
 
Charles1dad,

It sure is! My friend got his Spirit-1 with Gold Lion KT88 tubes for a few hundred less than that, but I think it's a great price for a Spirit-2 with Gold Lion KT88s. I'd drive a couple of days to get it.
More to discover