Van Alstine?

I don't change amps much. For many years I had a very nice amp that had great smoothness and musicality. Over this time (about 17 years) I had tried many other amps, including a Krell of the time (which doesn't sound like the Krells of today), Moscode, Bryston, Muse, and some others. Saw no reason to change. With some changes in my system I had to look for a new amp - my old one could not be driven with long ICs. My friend owns an older FetValve and I always thought it sounded very nice. So I was able to find a FetValve EXR5, which in my system was a great step up from my older amp. More transparent, even more musical, and just overall a better sense of pace and invlovement. I upgraded it to an Ultra, and got all that plus much better articulation in the low end and improved extension in the high end. The EXR5 was great but the Ultra was that much better. I have been as happy as a clam with it and was actually not looking to do the upgrade to the current Ultra Double +, but in private discussions with owners who've already done it I was convinced to take the step. I should have it back from AVA in a couple of weeks.

If you were interested in a FetValve then some tube rolling may help optimize the match to the rest of your system. Once done you should find an amp that has excellent natural sound, great extension in both directions, a beautiful midrange and very good space. When well matched with the rest of a system it sounds like real msuic with no mushiness or cloudiness. IMO it punches way above its weight.

I've also heard the OmegaStar series on different speakers and they sounded very nice. A good choice maybe for someone with a tube front end.

Tonyptony,

Very insightful. Thank you.

There are very few recent posts concerning AVA so any additional information would be appreciated. There is also the Odyssey Audio Stratos and I am leaning towards these companies because they are designed and manufactured in the USA. If the quality is the same and the design is sound it is my preference. I am using Bel Canto M300 monoblocks which are also designed and built domestically and am thinking of a change. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

If you haven't done so already you should check out AudioCircle.com. Both AVA and Odyssey users are well represented there.

A few years back, I was running a Pioneer AVR in my combo HT/2-channel system, and had a Rotel RMB-1066 amp, run bridged, for the front three channels. With my old speakers (Vandersteen 1C), this was a bright-sounding combination. I decided to upgrade to a new three channel amp, but limited myself to brands I could try at home. It came down to the Omegastar three channel amp and the Odyssey Audio HT3. The Van Alstine was somewheat less money, so I had high hopes, but was dissappointed. I found the V.A. sounded even brighter than the the Rotel. It was especially highlighted in the brightness range (~4-8kHz). I returned it to Van Alstine. Frank was gracious, but somewhat miffed that I did not like his amp (he really tries to make a high-value product that pleases customers). The Odyssey Audio HT3 (with cap upgrade) was completely different. It is super smooth throughout the audio band, including that crucial brightness range. Even so, it offers up plenty of fine detail and decay. Good dynamics, soundstage width (less so on depth, IME). I did have a cap go bad a few months in. Other than the hefty shipping fees, the repair was painless and it has been fine in the five years since. Note also that ground hum was an issue at first. Klaus of Odyssey had me remove an internal ground wire, which helped a lot. A later addition of a PS Audio Quintet made yet another improvement, and I no longer consider this an issue.