VAC Phi 200 tube amps in monoblock form.

Hey Steve, did you go to the SHOW in Newport this year? One room which received a lot of praise as "best of show" was showcasing the gajillion dollar Magico Q7 speakers being fed by a full-tilt VAC array. It sounded great... but the VAC electronics alone sell for around $100k! Robert Harley said this was one of "the biggest and most open sound stages I've heard. The immediacy and presence was hair-raising!" I love it when I totally agree with a reviewers assessment. I feel that our Phi 200's really do sound like the Statement 450's little brother, since I get the same comments on my system from audiophile friends. As scarce and expensive as they are, even used, I have felt privileged to own Kevin's creations, even our humble bottom of the line amps. Elizabeth, you sure got an amazing deal on your Standard LE. I had one for years and loved it!

Steve, if you're ever up in the Bay Area and want to pop over to Mill Valley for a listen, shoot me a note!

 

Hi Steve,

I've never heard these particular amps, although I have little doubt that they sound magnificent. I'm big fan of a great sounding tube-amp myself, and those look drool-worthy indeed!

But I have a question for you: Is it more difficult to master with with an amp which may lean towards the romantic end of the spectrum? My understanding is that when one is mastering that you want to use the most neutral and revealing system possible. I'm sure that this amp is revealing, but on the neutrality front I'm a somewhat less convinced.

I'm curious if you ever have to do a little reverse-compensation during the mastering process to account for tube colorations which you may be hearing during a mastering session but which may not be making their way onto the master itself because they are artifact of the portion of the system which comes after your AtoD convertor?

 

I'm guessing when you receive $20k amps for free, your review of their performance is kind of jaded.

 

Nah. Maybe just jealous. Guess I just wish someone would give me $20k mono blocks to mess around with and then I could write a review about them.

But in all honesty, I don't think someone can write an unbiased review , esp. when the product is provided to the reviewer for free.

If you gave me a Bentley to drive for free, I can pretty much assume I'll tell everyone I know how much I enjoy driving the car. An unfavorable review could jeopardize my standing with said company.

Anyway enjoy. I'm sure they are easy on the ears. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts about the amp.

 

Just saw this thread.

I use the Alan Parson's & Stephen Court Sound Check disk and play the Toms track on loop, in mono, to set the bias lights.

 

I'm using an older PA100. It's a KT-88 with 12AU7's. I'd love to hear a 6SN7 version.

 

That's how most reviews work - the reviewer is given the device for a short or long period. In some cases, the reviewer buys the unit at a discounted price. If the reviewer has been at it for a while and intends to continue their career as such, their integrity is paramount.

That is a personal statement of your integrity.

 

200 wpc is a lot of power for a tube amp- mono yet. Must be quite a listening experience.

 

Steve, I assume you keep the packing for all the stuff? Did they come in crates?

 

I get it.

Carry on.

 

Lights? we don't need no stinkin lights . LOL

 

Steve, You have nice friends...

 

Yep.

 

Smart as well.

 

Wow....

 

I have 2 PA90C monoblock power amplifiers and a CLA-1 Mk II line amplifier, since 1993.

I like them so much that I have never felt the need to upgrade them.

 

OK, Steve, this is entirely your fault.

There I was, happily loving my VAC Phi 200 Stereo amp (which I’ve had for over a year now) and then you start posting about your Phi 200 mono blocs…

Sometimes, it's hard to imagine how anything could sound better than the goose-bump inducing magic I am hearing from my rig. But I've learned that there's always an upgrade for any system. This makes sense to me, since I never know what I'm missing until I hear what I've been missing! That's the nature of this crazy-expensive obsession of ours… If you’ve been doing this for long enough, it’s likely that you’ve had some audio epiphanies when hearing music reproduced with such authority, impact you could feel in your bones, and at the same time, delivered with an effortlessness and natural ease that makes the hardware disappear and sweeps us away to the best seat at the original recording venue.

Speaking in depth with Kevin about an upgrade path within his product line, he assured me that since I love my stereo Phi 200, the sound of two Phi 200 mono blocs will not be just a little more of the same, but will deliver sound that can only be bested by two 300.1 mono blocs (about $40,000!) or his Statement 450 amps, which are all-out Cost No Object instruments ($78,000 and up!).

So, I did it – the biggest single plunge I’ve made in 35 years as an audiophile. Any day now, Kevin will be shipping me two brand new VAC Phi 200 mono blocs in black (to match my VAC Signature 2a Preamp). I’m so excited I can barely contain myself – and I just had to tell somebody.

If anyone is interested, I’m selling my beautiful, Silver-faced Phi 200. Full story on Audiogon.

I’ll post my own experience with the mono blocs in this thread. I know I’ll be thanking you for sharing your experience with these, Steve.