Any fellow VAC Phi 220 owners out there? Thoughts?

Here is some info for Critical Mass Systems. Joe Lavrencik is a great guy and has had some impressive CES showings with Joule-Electra, Elrod, and Vandersteen/Avalon. Steve Huntley at Great Northern Sound is also a big fan of Joe's work.

http://www.criticalmasssystems.com/index.html

http://cgim.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/manu.pl?criticalmasssys&1&showmanu&C&&&

http://www.criticalmasssystems.com/Gallery/gallery.html

This platform is the bird's eye piece Joe did for me. I have four of them.

You should also consider products from Gran Prix Audio and Silent Running Audio.

Just curious Tvad, what power cable are you using on the VAC power supply? It's funny you mention Revelation Audio because I was thinking of trying the Precept.

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?cablpowr&1112491114

The Revelation Audio Precept power cables are working extremely well with the 220s. Silky smooth, dynamic, and superb imaging/sounstaging.

I know system and speaker interaction will dictate indiviual settings, but my 220s are absolutely kicking ass when using the XLR inputs, set to Ultra Linear, 4-6 ohms impedance, and zero feedback.

VAC rules!

In my discussions with Kevin he advised me the feedback setting would be highly dependent on the rest of the system and overall sound preference. He also stressed that the amp will sound far better in Ultra Linear mode than Triode mode.

My amps have three selectable feedback settings. Even on the "low" feedback setting the sound starts to become a little veiled, less dynamic and dimensional, and is not as engaging.

I also have the ground lift switch set to "on".

I'll probably give the Revelation ICs a try since they also have a 30 day trial period. The AQ Sky have been a fantastic match (the best I've found) so the Revelation Paradise ICs are going to have to be REALLY good.

Indeed- they are Class A1. This is from my Phi 220 manual:

"The Phi Beam Power amplifiers are unique power amplifiers, and the most power and detailed in VAC’s history.

Excellent linearity is achieved without resorting to loop negative feedback, for a more natural, dimensional sound.

A total of four KT88 are used in Class A1. Uniquely, each is provided with a separate DC heater supply to ensure that no undesirable couplings occur; only the intended ideal signal path exists.

The input circuitry of the Phi is derivative of the unique Williamson circuit, which provides pure, direct coupled, inherently balanced input amplification and phase splitting. Type 6SN7/5692 octal twin triodes do the honors.

Two superb VAC output transformer, interconnected in a way that allows high power to be delivered with the sonic purity of low power devices, provide superb voltage/current translation, allowing impedances from eight ohms to as low as one ohm to be driven.

The main chassis is machined from thick aluminum. The separate power supply allows e.m.f. fields, switching transients, and mechanical vibration to be isolated from the audio circuits.

The high voltage supply utilizes dual choke pi filtering for extremely low noise.

The Phi Beam Power amplifiers are designed not to the latest fad but to substance, for the highest possible sound quality. Time spent familiarizing yourself with this manual will be well rewarded."

The RAL are working out quite well. I'm also experimenting with the Running Springs Duke power conditioner on my 220s. I'm running a Duke for each amp on its own dedicated 20 amp circuit (on opposite phases).

It's funny you mention the AirSine as I might be heading to a friend's house today to do a comparison on the RAL versus the AirSine. Granted, it will not be on my system with the VAC gear, but it might be constructive nonetheless.

I definitely prefer my 220s on the no feedback setting. When I start to add feedback, the music loses a lot of air and openess. It is like a veil has been placed on my entire system. It is still very musical, but in the context of listening with no negative feedback, the shortcomings are readily apparent. According to Kevin, the use of feedback is system dependent so let your ears be your guide.

I also have a Phi 2.0 Master Controller on the way! We'll see how it stacks up against the linestage section of the Meitner/EMM DCC2. The Phi amps have a lot of gain and I'm using the DCC2 at the very low end of its volume control (25-35 out of 99) so I'm not sure if that is having a negative impact in any way. Plus I'll be getting a killer phono stage which will leave me no excuse NOT to get a vinyl rig!

Tvad- FWIW, I brought my RAL to my friend's house and compared it to the AirSine on his Tact 2.2x and the results even shocked him. Taking into account this was not a long term test, the results were readily apparent and immediate in favor of the RAL. The bass was tighter and quicker, with the AirSine sounding bloated and lagging behind the rest of the music. The top end was much more extended with a great sense of air around instruments and vocals. Overall, the RAL was extremely balanced from top to bottom and made his system sound much more musical.

My 30 day audition period of the RAL is coming to a close and they are not going anywhere. They have sounded fabulous in my system. The AirSine was top on my list to comapre against the RAL and I did that today. I know it was not in my system, but I heard what I heard. I plan on trying the RAL Paradise interconnect for 30 days against my AQ Sky. I like to do things one at a time....

I wanted to hear them both in my system also, but I have 4 RAL cords, and he didn't have at least 2 cords with 15A ends. We were going to introduce one AirSine into my system about 2 weeks ago when he came over, but he forgot the AirSine at home :-(

You really have nothing to lose with the RAL cords as even return freight is covered if you don't like them. Are you still using the Paradise interconnects?