VAC 160i, any experiences

I've owned two Avatar's Dave, they were dead quiet and extremely musical. VAC must not have paid Stereophile enough $$$. Who cares what some glossy review says?

Stereophile's John Atkinson loved Mark Levinson gear, which I thought sounded dreadful. It's MY money, I'll buy what I want, not what some glossy rag tool tells me to want.

Never mind, I found out it does not have mute capability. This is a deal-breaker for me. I'll look for an Avatar instead.

05-01-12: Electroslacker
Has anyone compared the 160i to previous VAC integrated amps? I have an Avatar that I like, and the i60i would mean losing triode mode and going from EL34 tubes to KT88's. A step up?

I think the new 160i is more similar to the Avatar Super than it is to the original Avatar. The Avatar Super also had 80+ wpc, KT88 output tubes and 12AU7 driver tubes, just like the Sigma 160i, and also could NOT be used in triode mode like the original Avatar. My guess is that the Sigma 160i sounds a lot like the Avatar Super.

04-06-12: Wig
The Vac 160i does come with a remote, volume control only.

Does the VAC 160i remote only control volume, or does it also mute? I have a VAC preamp and I am considering going after the 160i, but I do use the mute button quite often when changing LP's. I would definitely miss a mute button.

I do understand that some folks let pictures or specifications or ideology determine what they think will sound best. Many companies will even employ 'tricks', like using negative feedback loops, to make specs more attractive for their spec buyers. That's never been Kevin's game. He is much more interested in how it sounds to human ears then how it's sound as measured by test instruments.

I just looked at my VAC preamps specs, and it also has listed residual noise at 69 dB. I've owned preamps from BAT, CJ, ARC, Krell, ML, Jeff Rowland, Cary, etc. And while I won't say that this is the quietest preamp I've ever heard, it's noise is a none issue in the real world. I have owned preamps that were dead quiet with the volume knob turned all the way up and no music playing, unfortunately, they did not sound as good when music was playing.

So should we buy equipment for how good it sounds when music is NOT playing? I think not.
Of course, YMMV.