Greetings, everyone.
I don't normally follow these threads, but this one has been pointed out to me, as it contains a few misunderstandings that deserve correction.
1) The electrical current draw of the Renaissance 30/30 and the Phi 200 (its nearest current price & size equivalent) are the same; ditto for the Renaissance 70/70 and the Phi 300. While the output stages of the Phi amplifiers operate in Class AB1, it is a very rich Class AB1.
2) The Phi output transformers are identical to those used in the Renaissance amplifiers. The Phi power transformers are larger and considerably more expensive. In all other cases, Phi parts are of equal or higher grade.
3) The Renaissance Series of amplifiers represented the best we could produce from 1993 through approximately 2003, when the Phi Beta Integrated, using KT88 output tubes, drew even with, and in many ways surpassed, the Renaissance sound. A year or two later, a new input/driver circuit was developed that delivers terrific sound when used with KT88 output tubes, but which is not compatible with the 300B, which requires twice the input signal swing. This circuit was first seen in the Phi 300, later in the Phi 200, and a further development is used in the Statement amplifiers.
It's not just the output tube types used that count, but the entire combination of circuit elements, parts, technique, and overall embodiment.
Please note that these comments do not apply to the Phi 110/110 or Phi 220, which did not use the new circuits.
4) Initially, the Phi 300 was offered for sale alongside the Renaissance amplifiers, the final production of which occurred in 2007 or 2008.
We build what people tell us to, or, to put it more aptly, we cease to build what people tell us not to. Customers voted with their checkbooks overwhelmingly for the new amplifiers.
The superior tendencies of the new circuit are attested by many long term VAC owners who have auditioned Phi 200's and Phi 300's, subsequently purchasing them to replace much loved Renaissance amplifiers. This is significant, as Renaissance owners tend to be fiercely loyal (witness some comments in this thread), and they are surprised to find a KT88 amplifier doing a better job of reproducing music. Frankly, so was I when it happened in our R&D efforts, but that is the way it is.
5) If the customer being discussed in this thread makes the comparison (and tweaks his system to the new amp, i.e., away from compensating for the shortcomings of the Renaissance amplifier), he is very likely to choose the new VAC Phi amplifier.
6) If someone prefers the sound of a Renaissance amplifier, fine; every system is different, and one should use what one enjoys! There is no one perfect tool for every job. However, in our experience choosing the Renaissance would be the exception rather than the rule.
7) The VAC Renaissance amplifiers were introduced to the public in the summer of 1993. I designed these amplifiers, with an able assist by our technician of the time, Scott Seehauer, and mechanical engineering by my father, Chan Hayes.
We hired Kevin Carter four years *after* the Renaissance amplifiers went into production, initially for marketing and later for production management. He was then an interested DIY audio hobbyist employed in an unrelated field. He was with the company for approximately four years, until our return to our home base in Sarasota, Florida in September 2001. He is a capable fellow, and did make a significant contribution to the initial Mk II update of the line stage section of the Renaissance Signature Preamplifier; however, a phase problem occurring under certain conditions was discovered in late 2001, and so the circuit was reengineered in Sarasota during its first year of production. No model we produce was designed by him.
To be clear and fair, many people, both within VAC and without, have made suggestions and contributed ideas over the years, some of which have found places in our designs. Like most successful companies, VAC is interested in new developments in circuits, parts, and techniques. This is an essential factor in progress. We routinely engage in R&D projects using parts and techniques not found in our current products, thus challenging our own theories about what will or will not sound good. On several occasions this has lead to unexpected breakthroughs in sound quality.
There are few VAC products for which I would claim sole credit. I function as the chief engineer, and in all cases I am the final arbiter of design and sound. But it is the nature of a passion-driven specialty company that many of our staff are quite knowledgeable, and ideas or challenges are discussed freely. I gratefully acknowledge the good people on our team and their important contributions.
8) On only two occasions in VACs history was an outside engineer ever involved in analogue audio circuit development. One project was a non-complementary solid state amplifier idea, and the other a brief evaluation of the merits of the 811A transmitting triode, both more than ten years ago. Outside of the audio path, a consultant was used circa 1998 on a remote control design that was not successful, an outside software engineer wrote the assembly code to our specifications for the remote control logic processor used in the early Phi preamplifier, and an industrial design firm helped craft the chassis for the old Visionary system.
With one exception, no VAC model has ever been produced that used an analogue design that was not conceived or developed in house. The exception is the Marantz Classic Series. VAC was selected by Marantz in 1995 to do the audio archeology to recreate the Model 7, Model 8B, and Model 9, and then to manufacture many thousands of units for them from 1995 through 1998. In addition, I am the principal designer of the Marantz Model 66 integrated amplifier, which we also manufactured for them. In fact, VAC has been the engineering consultant to several home and pro audio companies over the last 21 years.
9) The Audio Doctor is not a VAC dealer. Its principal was once a salesman at a VAC dealer, but was disassociated from them long before the current Phi 200, Phi 300, or Statement amplifiers were introduced.
I trust that this information will be of help to the community. And whether it be with an old Renaissance or a new Phi or Statement amplifier, we're happy to have many of you in the VAC family!
Kevin Hayes, Founder & President
VAC/Valve Amplification Company
