dearing
Responses from dearing
| Lifespan of a quality solid state amplifier? The one thing that tends to "wear out" with solid-state amps is the capacitors ("caps"). In a decent amp, they tend to last many thousands of hours, therefore providing years of use, but they do fail over time.Provided that an amp does not run rea... | |
| Best amp for Dynaudio C4 Any time a recommendation for a high powered tube amp to power a pair of speakers is requested on Audiogon, someone will generally mention the CAT amps. Even the stereo version is enormously powerful and features output transformers that alone wei... | |
| Servicing amplifiers from very small companies? There are only a small handful of "companies" in high-end two-channel audio that are not "small" (i.e., one to four-man operations), so I'm not sure to what amplifier companies you are referring (Audio Research or Krell back in the 90's?). | |
| VAC / Wilson cables Kevin:Thank you for your comprehensive post. Regarding my statements about Kevin Carter, they are based upon what I was told by a dealer in North Carolina from whom I bought a pair of speakers who expressed detailed knowledge, albeit perhaps erron... | |
| VAC / Wilson cables There's no claim - Kevin Carter was indeed formerly with VAC and designed the Renaissance amps - ask Kevin Hayes and he will tell you. It's not a secret and there's nothing wrong with it.In fact, most two-channel hi-fi companies are tiny one to fo... | |
| VAC / Wilson cables John:I'm happy to help. I should point out, however, that there are some issues with 140's:1) 16 output tubes biased in Class A in the same room put out HEAT - the ability to adjust A/C individually for your listening room would be a help;2) Again... | |
| VAC / Wilson cables In the last paragraph of my most recent post, I meant to write "They assumed that the VTL Brunhilde monos, AN AMPLIFIER that outputs 750 watts/channel, would be a good choice, but having mediocre output transformers, those amps would not drives th... | |
| VAC / Wilson cables Dr_john:1) Audio Oracle sold VAC at both Innovative Audio and Sound by Singer in Manhattan for fifteen years and knows what he is talking about.2) There's a bit more to the issue of getting good bass from a ported speaker like the Sophia when it's... | |
| VAC / Wilson cables Some experienced VAC customers and VAC dealers will tell you that the Renaissance amps are the best amps made by VAC and that switching to the Phi amp will be a step backwards. VAC stopped making the Renaissance amps because customers were not hap... | |
| Why Not More Conversation about VAC? Dev: Very interesting. I'd very much like to hear the 450.Mr. Hayes: If you are following this thread, please consider toning down the ad copy in your description of the 450 on your site - way too heavy and not credible. | |
| Why Not More Conversation about VAC? Dev: Your dissatisfaction with the CAT amps intrigues me - what was the problem? The lower-powered JL-1 monos were designed in part to be able to drive the MBL 101's. | |
| Why Not More Conversation about VAC? Drubin: The Renaissance 30/30 is thought by many knowledgeable audiophiles to be the best amp VAC ever made - a real finesse amp that is extremely transparent and musical. It also plays a lot bigger than 30 watts/channel and will drive pretty much... | |
| Why Not More Conversation about VAC? My opinion is that VAC has very much been considered on the cutting edge, performance-wise. The 300B-based Renaissance amps (30/30, 70/70, 140/140), especially, are some of the very best production push-pull amps ever made - fully point-to-point w... | |
| Why Not More Conversation about VAC? I don't agree that there is a lack of discussion about VAC in the on-line forums - there are not as many threads as there are for brands such as Audio Research, but there seems to be a relatively steady flow. And the threads seem to be overwhelmin... | |
| VPI SDS help You may need patience trying to reach VPI - they often don't answer the phones or respond to e-mail for days at a time. There is no excuse given the size of their customer and dealer base. |