Tube Integrated for Von Schweikert VR4 Gen III HSE

yep, i figured it was the spectron. totally agree that the amp makes a big difference. i think if i was in your shoes, i'd probably consider the vac avatar super (one listed now), a vtl it 85 (only because i owned one for a while and was really blown away with how great it sounded), and maybe a cary sli 80 (maybe the f1 model). oh yeh, and another integrated that i'd love to try but that might not have enough power is that mastersound reference integrated w/ 845 tubes...

TVAD, you may want to check with Kevin at VAC, I saw that the VAC Avatar Super is temporarily out of production, I wonder if a different model is coming?

Pathos makes some beautiful amps; I'm using twin Classic One MkII units in bridged mode. Puts out 170wpc. Extremly pleasing sound. Something to consider, and definitely audition if you can; the use of integrateds as mono amps eliminates the extra preamp and IC's, which to my ears sounds extremely rich and clear.
I posted a review of the stereo as well as review of these in bridged/mono mode on audioasylum.com

I recently bought a good used pair of VAC Auricle Musicbloc to power my Reference 3A Dulcet mini-monitors. I e-mailed Kevin Hayes to see if he felt this would be a good match. Kevin said the Musicblocs would be a fine choice, but he said that his new Musicbloc 160 would be his ultimate recommendation. If you go to the VAC website, read through the info on the new Musicbloc 160's and you'll see that Kevin waxes very poetically over these. It's obvious that he's particularly proud of these new 160 Musicblocs. Kevin did welcome me to the VAC family.

Congratulations, Sherod, on the VAC Auricle Musicblocks. I was marvelling tonight at my VAC Phi 110, and wondering why the hell I want to sell it. There's very little that could replace the Phi 110 at it's used price, IMO.

The Musicblock 160s, at $8000/pair, ought to be good for that kind of money. The Phi 110 offers more, IMO, since it has triode and ultriode modes, and switchable feedback modes, among other things.

Of course, if Kevin says the Musicblock 160s are the new best thing, then I suppose they are, but they ain't cheap.