I happen to be the person Elizabeth purchased her VAC Standard from.
I purchased the VAC based on their prior reputation of having the classic tube sound, which to me, means thick, round, full midrange, less dynamic.
I own a VAC DAC 2 Mk2 which I have had for over 10 years and have not found a reason to upgrade at its price point.
When i recd the Standard, I was very impressed over the build quality. As Elizabeth said, it was sent to me in need of repairs from shipping damages.
After going through a very rough battle to get it repaired and very challenging customer service, when I got it back, it did not have that classic tube sound I was expecting. That and the frustrating taste in my mouth with customer service, made me decide to sell the unit at a loss-
( I should add that Kevin was not around for about 75% of the time my unit was at VAC, as it was around CES. Once he did return, I was able to speak to him, but still things were missed, balls got dropped again, by his other employees)
But to answer your question, I think a lot of it has to do with their current line. I beleive most of the current products are more on the upper price scale end. In the past they had more sub $4000 retail pieces in their line. There is less advertising in audio in general, even if they do advertise, many audiophiles no longer order the audio mags to see the ads. I also under the belief that VAC does not change or come out with new products that often
Just my 2cents
I purchased the VAC based on their prior reputation of having the classic tube sound, which to me, means thick, round, full midrange, less dynamic.
I own a VAC DAC 2 Mk2 which I have had for over 10 years and have not found a reason to upgrade at its price point.
When i recd the Standard, I was very impressed over the build quality. As Elizabeth said, it was sent to me in need of repairs from shipping damages.
After going through a very rough battle to get it repaired and very challenging customer service, when I got it back, it did not have that classic tube sound I was expecting. That and the frustrating taste in my mouth with customer service, made me decide to sell the unit at a loss-
( I should add that Kevin was not around for about 75% of the time my unit was at VAC, as it was around CES. Once he did return, I was able to speak to him, but still things were missed, balls got dropped again, by his other employees)
But to answer your question, I think a lot of it has to do with their current line. I beleive most of the current products are more on the upper price scale end. In the past they had more sub $4000 retail pieces in their line. There is less advertising in audio in general, even if they do advertise, many audiophiles no longer order the audio mags to see the ads. I also under the belief that VAC does not change or come out with new products that often
Just my 2cents