VAC Owners:Outboard Phono Stage?

Oh no! Say it's not true... not yet!

As I wait patiently for my Signature 2a with Phono stage to arrive (read: pacing back and forth in my listening room mumbling to myself), and looking forward to once, just once in this crazy ultra-expensive ridiculously wonderful hobby of ours to allow myself to indulge unapologetically in the audio geek nirvana of knowing that I am enjoying the best preamp Kevin has ever made... I see this:

A full page VAC ad in TAS inviting us to CES to see and experience new components in VAC's "Statement" line! Gulp. So what's missing in the Statement line? A preamp. Crap. It has to be a Statement preamp. And it won't be cheap. And, it will be so amazing that all the reviewers will say "anything before it pales by comparison!"

Arrrrrgh. All my gloating plans crushed. Maybe, if the stars align and I can get my Signature before CES, I may get a few days of gloat time, but nothing like the months of euphoria I was expecting, knowing this is the best VAC preamp ever made and I actually have one! Now, all my audio friends, who I expected to display slack-jawed gear-envy will listen and say, 'yeah, it sounds good, but I heard the 'Statement Preamp' at CES and it is on another level altogether!" Ack.

Request for audio therapy: Any of you relate to this or is it just me? I know the industry (and Kevin) need to move forward with new innovations and ever-better music reproduction... but did you ever feel you wished they could've waited a year?

I know it's all about my Audio Ego, that part of our delicate audiophile psyche that is validated by enjoying and indulging in something which we researched, obsessed over, tested, and ultimately believe is the best there is... something we could never have in our messed-up childhood. Something just for us that we didn't need to ask permission to spend a bunch of money on. Something we keep shiny and clean because on some deep level, we're actually proud of owning, even if there are people in our lives who may not understand...

Tell me I'm not alone out here. Share your story. Get it off your chest. I certainly feel much better. Thanks for reading.

You know its going to be a phono stage and probably a preamp. I hope Kevin listened to me last year to come out with a totally dual mono preamp including dual mono power supplies. I just will have to see for myself at CES 2013.

Ears over ego. I could have bought the signature preamp to match my vac 450 but was too happy with my vac renaissance Mkiii preamp to bother. Sometimes less than the flagship is more than enough. In my case I love the renaissance so much i would be nervous even trading up. Ears over ego! Congrats on your purchase. Enjoy!!

Alonski, contact Kevin and change your order to the Statement.

I think it was Pierre Laval, a pretty famous judge, who said "It's nice to be on the cutting edge as long as you're not the salami." I'm glad you have a sense of humor about all this Alonski, because this kind of issue - model changes and new 'ultimate' products-typical of some manufacturers (not VAC as far as I know) - make some hobbyists nuts.
Since in many cases, I haven't bought the 'latest' model, but have taken advantage of such changes in a manfacturer's line-up to buy the superceded model, used, this has not driven me to distraction. And, I think some manufacturers- not all- offer upgrade programs for loyal customers.
In your case, I doubt this new Statement preamp will be available soon anyway, even if that's what you wanted. (Perhaps I'm wrong, but the time lag from first announcement to actual delivery can sometimes be considerable).
So, enjoy your new preamp. When you are ready, upgrade if that's what you want.
In my experience, though I'm not suggesting that it will be the case here, sometimes the newer product isn't necessarily better or more musical anyway.