any VAC fans out there?

[Doug Lax]

An old friend of mine used to be a dealer for them along with GMA and XLO.
That was some really great gear

[joeinid]

A dealer I used to visit sold it. I would spend hours in there. Good times! They left me alone and would let me play with everything. They had some nice VAC gear. Sounded really nice.

[TommyC]

I would love to listen to this brand but there's no dealer in my area.

[AudioNut]

I bought a VAC preamp once. Unfortunately, I left it turned on when I went to work. When I got home it had fried all the drivers in one of my (at the time, almost state of the art) Thiel CS-5i speakers.

A tube or something went bad and the thing started shrieking. Must have done so all day.

The folks at VAC expressed surprise when I insisted that my dealer take the thing back. VAC in Sarasota did repair the problem, but because of the experience, I had lost confidence.

The outcome from this experience was NO MORE VAC, and it was actually the last piece of tube gear I ever owned.

The best thing to come from this episode was that Thiel replaced all the drivers completely free of charge.

Thiel really stands behind their products. The late and great Jim Thiel simply said that his drivers should have stood up to the onslaught of the VAC. Great Company.

You asked if any VAC fans out here - Not Me!

I recently purchased a VAC Renaissance Mk III tube preamp and the VAC 300.1a tube amp. Dimension, organic timbre, 3D, etc of tubes. Grip, transients and extension and speed of solid state. Plenty of power and build quality and refinement. I did A LOT of research on state of the art with heirloom quality, and ended up with VAC. I'm a fan. I hadn't heard of VAC prior, but the audiophiles I trusted most recommended VAC amps.

[drummermitchell]

Actually,I have the Vac Signature MarkII coming here in a couple of days.
I know a few guys that have had the Arc ref3+5 and preferred the Vac(by quite a margin).
I had home auditioned the ref5(which I like)so I thought I'd give the Vac a shot.
I always wanted to be able to switch out my BP-26 pre(SS)with a tube pre depending on my mood.
There's a few great reviews on the Vac.Their hand built and take awhile to get.
Some say that they are hovering at the top as far as pre's are concerned.
Her's hoping she's a keeper for me.

[Kevinkwan]

Any findings to report on the VAC audition drummermitchell?

[drummermitchell]

We'll I have to say so far,monsterous step up.
I'll repeat a quote I read from somewhere:
It's like looking outside thru a picture window and then you go outside.
Yet it's only very early as I have maybe 30-40 hrs.
On good recordings,vocals sound as if they're in the room.
Tons of backup and counter melodies i've never heard before.
The stage is huge with tremendous depth(3-D)ish,only way I can explain that.
You hear all the instruments layered within the stage.
Kickdrum is so solid and you hear the tone of the drum with the added air,punch ect.
Cymbal have a really nice shimmer,brassy sound,
you can really hear the attack of the stick on the ride cymbal.
Of course very much depends on the recording,but even some not so good recordings,the Vac pulls some nice stuff out of them.
Very impressed so far and I'm sure she'll just get better.
She won't be leavin the house.
I am using Bryston 28Bsst2 for amps with BCD-1 with Revel 50a's,
And of course balanced Torus PUI's for major backup.

[Kevinkwan]

Very cool. Congratulations and thanks for the detailed report!