Van Alstine?

I came across an older review of a Van Alstine Omega IV DAC as examined by engineer David Rich--go here to read it for examples of some truly heinous audio engineering:

http://www.theaudiocritic.com/back_issues/The_Audio_Critic_26_r.pdf

Permanently turned me off of Alstine stuff. I always thought it a bit Mickey Mouse anyway. When someone has been doing something as long as Van Alstine has, they become pretty set in their ways.

Kristian, I haven't heard any of Franks DACs so I can't comment. I'm also not a fanboy. But I'm wondering if in 1999/2000 AVA was probably just starting to produce DACs. While that doesn't necessarily excuse anything, it may be an indication of why this early design was what it was.

If you want a different indication of build quality I can tell you that his FetValve amps (going back to the HC which my friend has) are VERY well built. It may not be entirely fair to base a conclusion on all of a manufacturer's products on an early design effort for something they hadn't really done before. (Again doesn't excuse the outcome.)

AVA amps and preamps have been around way longer, and there has been that much time to expose any shortcomings in those efforts. I haven't seen much in that regard for this end of their product line.

Tony,
I wish this was so, but read the review--it's quite unbelievable, and evidences a seriously lax approach to basic audio engineering that would have little to do with whether you're building a DAC or an amp. I sure hope Van Alstine is better than that--Van Alstine's whole schtick is one of calling BS on the high-end's values while offering "real" values, and that much of what is done is unnnecessary. That Omega DAC was a rip-off.

Kristian, I read it when it first came out, and again with the link provided. I'm not discounting it for what it was. Only providing a view based on his amplifiers and preamps.

Kristian85 - I was wholely unimpressed with the linked article to The Audio Critic. The review on the DAC didn't even comment on how it sounded. Other articles in that issue show him to be a strict objectivist who judges a component's value based solely on measured performance and parts cost. To me, he is a Julian Hirsch wanna be. I wouldn't worry too much about what he has to say. I especially thought his criticizing Van Alstine for hand-wiring and hand-soldering his products was foolish. Some of the finest high end gear is assembled in this way, not to save money, but to insure that the production units will be the equal of the prototype.