Any fellow VAC Phi 220 owners out there? Thoughts?
I have the Vac Phi 110/110 and I share your enthusiasm. A fellow Audiogoner recently told me mine was the most transparent system he had ever heard. I have just auditioned Revelation Audio Paradise interconnects, and it's the first time the musicians have actually "been in my room". Mind blowing. FWIW, I have done some tube rolling with the KT88 tubes with some highly regarded tubes, and I've gone back to the stock Vac tubes. Substantially more extension and realism. Enjoy! |
Fsarc, I am currently using a TG Audio 688 on the Vac 110/110. It's the best I've found thus far. I was very close to trying the Precept, but my audiophile dollars are being allocated elsewhere at the moment. I'd give the Precept a try, though. With the MBG you have nothing to lose. Please report back with your impressions if you do try it. |
Fsarc, you might try some Revelation ICs just for kicks. They really opened up my system. Something tells me I don't have my set-up quite right with my VAC 110/110 because it sounds distorted when running zero feedback, and I know this is what Kevin recommends. I'm also running Ultra Linear and using the 4 ohm speaker taps. |
In this article from the VAC website, Kevin Hayes discusses his design philosophy and specifically mentions that the Renaissance series of VAC amps are class A1. Now, I don't know if that applies to the Phi series. That would be a question for Kevin. But, I'd be willing to bet the Phi series amps are based on the same basic design theory. |
Well, interesting experiment tonight. I went direct to the VAC Phi 110/ 110 with the APL Denon 3910 and tried Zero Negative Feedback on the VAC. Eureka! No distortion. Even though I had tried going direct to the VAC with the APL, I hadn't tried it with Negative Feedback switched off. I'm bittersweet though, because it tells me there is a mis match between my First Sound Presence Deluxe II and the VAC, although the system sounds terrific with the First Sound in the chain and with the VAC's Negative Feedback enabled. Now, I need to devote some listening to both variations to decide which is better. |
Scotty333, thanks for your thoughts. Alex informs me the problem has to do with the 35dB gain of the VAC phi 110/110 when going direct to the amp, and with the amp in the zero global feedback mode. Alex is fashioning a pair of adapters to correct this problem. Besides the mismatch issue with the APL, there are sonic differences between running the amp with and without negative feedback, which are inherent in all tube amps. As you mention, with zero global feedback the soundstage expands and the air increases, however one gives up some bass punch. I like bass punch, so I often find myself listening to the amp with negative feedback. When the system is run this way, the addition of a preamp makes a profound difference in dynamics. It would be nice to be able to "dial in" varying amounts of negative feedback, but I'm guessing Kevin Hayes has determined this is somehow detrimental to his design. It'd be interesting to know his reason. |
Scotty, I've been using TG Audio 688 power cords, and just recently purchased two VH Audio AirSine cords to try on the VAC Phi 110/110 and my Hydra 4. I've had the Vh Audio cords only a week, so it's too early to provide any feedback. I'm going to leave them in for a month and then swap the TG Audio cord back in to listen for audible differences. |
