Van Alstine?

I don't change amps much. For many years I had a very nice amp that had great smoothness and musicality. Over this time (about 17 years) I had tried many other amps, including a Krell of the time (which doesn't sound like the Krells of today), Moscode, Bryston, Muse, and some others. Saw no reason to change. With some changes in my system I had to look for a new amp - my old one could not be driven with long ICs. My friend owns an older FetValve and I always thought it sounded very nice. So I was able to find a FetValve EXR5, which in my system was a great step up from my older amp. More transparent, even more musical, and just overall a better sense of pace and invlovement. I upgraded it to an Ultra, and got all that plus much better articulation in the low end and improved extension in the high end. The EXR5 was great but the Ultra was that much better. I have been as happy as a clam with it and was actually not looking to do the upgrade to the current Ultra Double +, but in private discussions with owners who've already done it I was convinced to take the step. I should have it back from AVA in a couple of weeks.

If you were interested in a FetValve then some tube rolling may help optimize the match to the rest of your system. Once done you should find an amp that has excellent natural sound, great extension in both directions, a beautiful midrange and very good space. When well matched with the rest of a system it sounds like real msuic with no mushiness or cloudiness. IMO it punches way above its weight.

I've also heard the OmegaStar series on different speakers and they sounded very nice. A good choice maybe for someone with a tube front end.

Kristian, I haven't heard any of Franks DACs so I can't comment. I'm also not a fanboy. But I'm wondering if in 1999/2000 AVA was probably just starting to produce DACs. While that doesn't necessarily excuse anything, it may be an indication of why this early design was what it was.

If you want a different indication of build quality I can tell you that his FetValve amps (going back to the HC which my friend has) are VERY well built. It may not be entirely fair to base a conclusion on all of a manufacturer's products on an early design effort for something they hadn't really done before. (Again doesn't excuse the outcome.)

AVA amps and preamps have been around way longer, and there has been that much time to expose any shortcomings in those efforts. I haven't seen much in that regard for this end of their product line.

Kristian, I read it when it first came out, and again with the link provided. I'm not discounting it for what it was. Only providing a view based on his amplifiers and preamps.

Now, I will give my impressions of the Van Alstine 550, current version, as compared to Plinius, Sunfire, Wyred-4-Sound.
I was powering a pair of Shahinian Hawks, a difficult load, when I did the comparison. My PERCEPTIONS were as follows:

Rp, this is ironic. I am using my AVA for my Shahinian Diapason speakers. Are you sure in your listening it was the latest version? The current is the Double+, which improved upon the Ultra. I am currently running a 550 Double+ but have been running the same amp since it was an EXR5. I agree the Shahinians of any type are a difficult load, but in my listening the AVA has never been anemic or thin (even back to the EXR5). Funny how things sound in different systems. What preamp did you use at the time?

I've heard both the Hawks and Diapasons driven by Plinius amps, and while admittedly they do sound great, IME a Plinius of the same power characteristics as an AVA 550 will set you back a lot more money. Part of the reason why I never got one. On the flip side, my friend had used his 550 on his Hawks for many many years and I had never heard anything of the type you've described through his system (he's since moved up the Shahinian line). I'm not doubting you in the least; just funny how putting a whole system together may not always yield predictable results.

Rpfef, I'm surprised the W4S drove the Hawks without any real problems. As you said, and as we both know, they are a very tough load that hits under 3 Ohms for a good part of the low end. Digital amps typically don't do real well with a load like this (yes, I've heard other digital amps with similar loads).