Best Integrated, period.

I think I'm in love with the VAC Phi Beta. It is quite the stunning piece.

And that was before I saw the favorable comparisons with Halle Berry over at sixmoons.

I've heard other VAC amps recently and was similarly impressed.

Can somebody tell me how well the Phi Beta might fare driving a pair of Ohm Walsh 5s? These present a somewhat challenging load and love to suck amps and power from SS amps normally.

I notice the PB is rated at same power output into 2, 4 and 8 ohms, which sounds promising. Could damping factor be an issue?

Thanks.

TRL ST-225 is the best I have owned. No remote however. It absolutely opened up my music collection like no other high end piece of gear I have ever heard. An utter and complete step beyond anything I have heard regardless of price.

I cannot imagine a better sounding set-up. If so, I want it yesterday!

Bill

Can somebody tell me how well the Phi Beta might
fare driving a pair of Ohm Walsh 5s? These present a somewhat challenging
load and love to suck amps and power from SS amps normally.
Mapman (System | Reviews | Threads | Answers)

I
once owned a VAC Phi 110/110 stereo amplifier, and I used it with Von
Schweikert VR4 Gen III HSE loudspeakers. The VS loudspeakers do not present
as difficult a load as the Ohm loudspeakers.

I found the sound to be exceptional at times, with a liquid midrange,
especially if using the amp in Ultriode mode (not sure if the Phi Beta
integrated amp has ultriode/ultralinear modes).

However, bass response in the VS speakers improved substantially when I
replaced the VAC Phi 110/110 with a Moscode 401HR hybrid amplifier.

I suspect the VAC Phi Beta would not be an ideal match with the Ohm
loudspeakers, and would result in an unbalanced, tipped-up, bass-shy
sound.

Tvad,

That's my fear as well. I was hoping someone would convince me otherwise.

D___!

I have found Pass Labs XA-x.5 series to offer much of the benefits of tube amplification while driving difficult loads exceptionally well. Perhaps a 150wpc Pass Labs model would be very nice with the Ohm loudspeakers.