FWIW, I will say that I also enjoy the VAC sonic signature. I've owned/heard many great preamps including BAT VK-51SE, VK-32SE, ARC Ref 3, VAC Renasiance mk II, CJ Premier LS 16 mk II, and many, many others. I've also owned many great amps, Clayton M-100 monoblocks among them.
I still own a Basis 2500 Diamond Signature TT w/ Basis Vector 3 tonearm (with Basis Calibrator base and Dustcover) and ZYX UNIverse S-SB cartridge. I have however downsized my cabling and sold my seperates for an integrated amp (VAC Avatar Super w/ lots of NOS tubes).
While I do agree with Kurt_tank, that the VAC sonic signature is not as powerful in the bass region as some other manufacturers, like BAT, Krell, Clayton, etc, I do agree that from the mid-bass up, VAC is about as good as it gets. I think that Audiobrian has no problem with the bass while combining VAC with Clayton amps. I'm sure he has the best of both worlds, the finesse and air of the VAC with the power and punch of the Clayton's.
I would suggest to Audiobrian, that he could even improve his musical enjoyment with some better power cords. The Cardas Golden Reference are decent cords for their price range, but there are much better cords out there. My favorite are the Stealth Dream, which are much clearer and transparent than the Cardas, while still more musical than the Nordost Valhalla. Quality gear like you have Audiobrian, deserves better cords....you'll be surprised.
Cheers,
John
PS: BTW, I sold my ARC Ref 3 preamp and highly modified BAT VK-75SE amp, but I still have my Walker Signature phono stage. The VAC Avatar phono stage is MM, and I do have a SUT, but the Walker still beats the VAC phono stage by a significant margin. I suppose it should....since it's list price is higher than the whole VAC integrated amp's list price.
