Nice post, congrats on the VAC and the NOLA's!! I've long been a fan of Kevin Hayes, as a person and as a manufacturer. He has a great ear and is very honest. I still regret selling a VAC Avatar Super integrated amp that I was using a few years back, it played well above it's price tag. I'm still using a VAC amp, but I would look forward to going back to a VAC integrated amp one day for the sake of simplicity, as well as knowing that it is NOT a sonic sacrifice at all.
Enjoy the music! |
I finally broke down and bought a VAC 160i, picked it up today. First impressions are very good. More powerful and dynamic than my previous separate setup (Cary preamp/VAC amp). The separates may have the edge with a creamy midrange, probably due to the EL34 Mullard Xf2 tubes. Overall I am really digging the 160i.
Agriculturist, do you know the differences between the 160i and the 160iSE? |
@Wig, keep me posted on your upgrade adventure. I may be interested in moving up to the SE one day myself. |
Kevin Hayes told me that the line stage has 22 dB of gain. |
Agriculturist, I am using NOS 12AX7's and 12AU7's in the 160i, but I am currently using the VAC KT88 tubes. What KT88's are you using? Have you tried any Gold Lions, EAT, Psvane, Northern Electric, etc.?
Cheers,
John |
Sorry for the delayed reply, life has been hectic. So far, I have not really experimented too much. I just plugged in some tubes that I've had good success with previously. As stated earlier, I am using the stock VAC KT88 tubes.
In the driver stage, I am using (3) Phillips JAB 6189W's (another 12AU7 variant). In the line stage I am running a Cifte 12AU7 and a Telefunken 12AX7, with (2) Pope 12AX7's (fancy version of Amperex Bugle Boys) in the phono stage. So far, so good, of course I've only had the amp for 3 weeks now.
Cheers,
John |
It sounds as if the safest bet is just using the KT88's supplied from VAC. I am using them too, as is Agriculturist. I have owned 3 VAC integrated amps, all using KT88 tubes. I have experimented with the power tubes previously, and though I had no horror stories, I can't say the sonic differences were very noticeable. Certainly not of the level noticeable by swapping the preamp tubes.
Has anyone tried any 6550 tubes, KT90 or KT120 tubes in this amp? I ask because someone is giving me some 6550 tubes, and I don't know if they are compatible with this amp or not.
Cheers,
John |
I'm running a pair of Pope NOS 12AX7's in the phono stage. They are the best that I've heard, but not cheap. |
Holy cow! That's a lot of money for NOS tubes!
I would not think of spending that on driver tubes.
My Pope's were $500/pair, that is about as much as I'm willing to spend on NOS tubes. |
Wig, I see you put your 160i up for sale. What are you looking at getting next? |
Yes, I did sell my VAC PA 35/35, and it was kind of interesting, especially with all those special tubes to play with. That said, when I first plugged in the 160i, the dynamics, power and extension blew me away, not to mention how much bigger the soundstage got. The PA 35/35 had a sweet little midrange, which the 160i can't quite match, but the 160i won on all other counts. I sold the PA 35/35 to a local fellow who loves it. It's 35 wpc was much more power than his smaller Shindo amp delivered. He is in a smaller room with more efficient speakers too, so the PA 35/35 works better for him than it did for me.
@Wig, I really thought you had a great rig. I was speaker hunting lately, and thought long and hard about those AZ Crescendo's, but in the end decided they would probably be too much speaker for me. I thought they would mate nicely with the 160i though. I wound up buying a pair of Reference 3A Grand Veenas, which I am very happy with.
Cheers,
John |
You may be right, but I have my reservations. I believe the difference is inherent in the difference between the EL34 tube and the KT88 tube. The KT88 is known to be more powerful, dynamic, etc. While the EL34 tube is known as the closest push-pull tube to a SET 300B tube amp when it comes to midrange purity. I also had a quad of Mullard XF-2 EL34 tubes in that amp.
Don't get me wrong, the 160i is no slouch in the midrange, and will better many other amps in this area. I doubt it can best the better EL34 or 300B tube amps in this area though. One just can't have it all.
BTW, I've also lusted after that VAC 30/30 300B amp, but I don't have the speaker/room to do it justice. ;^) |
I'm not really looking for sweetness in the midrange anyway Agriculturist. I had plenty of that with my Cary SLP-98P F1 and VAC PA 35/35 amp.
I'm looking more for a natural midrange, not really a sweet one. The 160i does do a very nice job in that regard. Perhaps the SE version does a better job, and one day I may look into that possibility, but not now. Besides, I'd hate to think about being without my amp for a few weeks of shipping/mods, etc.
I think there is about a $6K difference in price between regular and SE version? As far as I know, $2K of that is the upgraded MC phono stage and balanced inputs options that are availible for the 160i, but come standard on the 160i SE. Then the other $4K is in parts upgrade, of course adjusting all numbers for dealer markups.
I have not had the opportunity to hear a 160i SE in comparison with my 160i.
Cheers,
John |
Has anyone tried running 6550's in their 160i in place of the KT88's? A friend of mine sent me a new quad of ARC 6550 tubes. I e-mailed Kevin a couple weeks ago, but got no response. He was probably tied up with CES. I don't want to just plug them in and gamble. :^)
Also, anyone using upgraded fuses? I'm tempted to try one of Audio Horizons Platinum Reference fuses.
Cheers,
John |
Thanks Wig. I didn't think the 6550's could be used in the VAC, which is why I haven't tried them yet. I don't think the VAC can use anything but KT88's. No 6550's, KT90's, KT120's, etc.
As for the fuses, thanks again. Do you happen to know the size/value of the VAC fuse? |
Thanks, 5x20mm or 6x30mm? |
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I just ordered a AH fuse for the VAC. I can't believe that I'm going to have to experiment with fuse direction though......man, does the madness never end??? |
01-28-15: Wig
Give the AH fuse a week to settle in, definitely more palpable and organic sounding than the SR. How will I know if I'm burning it in the right direction? Know of anyone looking for a Vac 160i?
Sorry, no I do not. |
Any idea how much VAC charges for the SE upgrade of the 160i? |
Dan (Ballhog), were you able to compare them side by side? It doesn't sound like you did.
Did you buy the SE new or used? I think I bought your old 160i Dan.
I'm considering the SE upgrade later this year, but I haven't decided whether to look for a used SE and sell my 160i, or send my 160i in for the upgrade. |
Thanks Fplanner2000, I am probably going to go that route. Since I also like the black faceplate with gold knobs combo that I currently have. It would make it even harder to find a SE for sale that has that black/gold combination.
Also, as you mentioned, I don't need all of the upgrades. I don't use the phono stage, and I don't need balanced inputs since I am using High Fidelity cables. |
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As an update from me, I have upgraded to the 160iSE from the 160i. The most noticeable difference for me was the black background. The 160i sounded like a tube amp, with some tube noise residue, the 160iSE is dead silent. The midrange is very similar, but the SE version has a tad more resolution in the bass and highs.
I am using a Audio Horizon Platinum Reference fuse at the moment. I may have to go back and try the stock fuse again.
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Interesting, maybe I should clean my contacts. The only thing I did was to add Stabilant 22 contact enhancer to my contacts, which seemed to help a little bit.
The Stabilant 22 was a recommendation from Rick Schultz, of High Fidelity cables.
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