AudioSalon - scotlands first and foremost hi-fi dealer since 1979

About VAC

Some of the reviews that VAC have had over the years can be found below, there is a trend of greatness running through them all and let me tell you it is well deserved.

"For those with a raging fire burning in their pocket, VAC’s Phi Beta Beam Power Integrated Amplifier ($19,000) will tickle their ears and help keep that hole from burning any larger really fast. Yes, it’s expensive, but I’ve heard precious few amplifiers that sound this good. I’m a sucker for the manner in which tubes replicate music, and this amp has all those luxuriant qualities, yet it doesn’t really have a discernable sound of its own—it simply churns out, with great prowess, some of the sweetest music imaginable outside a live performance, full of life, nuance and vitality. It’s 110 watts of top-shelf intoxication." - JazzTimes on the VAC Phi Beta

"The sound was easily the Best at Show in my humble opinion." - StereoTimes on the VAC room, CES/THE Show 2004

6moons.com top prize for "Beauty in Style" goes to the sensational VAC Phi range of vacuum tube amplifiers

Stereophile reviews the Signature Preamplifier in the October 2002 issue, rated Recommended Component... an "audio epiphany", "the best preamplifier I've auditioned."

• Who had the best sound at Home Entertainment 2001? Read what HiFiPlus has to say!
• reviews the VAC Avatar! Click here! "...in a rhythmic sense, the Avatar is single-handedly the most incredible unit I have on hand, regardless of price...The balance of the overall frequency spectrum and harmonic structuring thereof, combined with excellent boogie factor, makes the Avatar a truly extraordinary piece indeed! So just maybe all you need is love... and a VAC Avatar." (Copyright 2000 by Enjoy the Music.com™ All rights reserved.)
• Avatar, Stereophile, April 2000, page 63; follow-up, November, 2000
• Avatar Super, IAR Newsletter
• Avatar Super, The Absoulte Sound, May 2004 - NEW MAY 2004
• CPA1 Mk II, The Absolute Sound, Issue 106 [visit the TAS website]
• CPA1 Mk II - Audio, May 1996
• CPA1 Mk II, Fi, March 1996
• PA35/35, The Audio Adventure, February 1996
  
• PA80/80, Stereophile, March 1996
  
• PA80/80, High Fi News & Record Review (UK), September 1995
• PA90 review (cover feature), Stereophile, Nov. 1991
  
• PA90 review (cover feature), Positive Feedback, May 1992
• PA100/100, Stereo Review's Sound & Vision magazine, October, 2000. A rock band and its producer compare the VAC PA100/100 & Standard Preamplifier to a Krell/Lexicon combo costing twice as much. The verdict? "There's a lot more clarity on the tube system, with a lot more going on in stereo separation... the tube is what I want our records to sound like... the tube had more 'definition'... with the tube, I can hear into the mix better... That sound is so clear and open, especially in the real bottom and the ambient high end... "
  
• PA160 Review, Audio, August 1995
• Phi 70, IAR Newsletter, Issue 80
• Renaissance 30/30 Mk III, Maxim Magazine, May 1999
• Renaissance Thirty/Thirty Mk III, Fi, October 1998
• Renaissance Thirty/Thirty Mk II, Ultimate Audio, Jan/Feb 1998
• Renaissance 30/30, Fi, March 1996
• Renaissance 30/30 Mk III, The Absolute Sound, Issue 117
• Renaissance 30/30 Mk III, Stereophile, June 1999.
• Renaissance 30/30 ("Premier Design"), Home Theater Technology, May 1995
• Renaissance 70/70, Audio, May 1996
• Renaissance 70/70, The Absolute Sound, Issue 106
• Renaissance 70/70 Mk II, The Absolute Sound, Issue 96
• Renaissance 70/70 Mk II, "Recommended Systems," The Absolute Sound, Issue 100
• Renaissance 70/70, Stereophile, Dec. 1994; Manufacturer's Comment, July 1995
• Renaissance 140 Mk II, The Absolute Sound, Issue 98
• Renaissance 140 Mk II, "Recommended Systems," The Absolute Sound, Issue 100
• Renaissance 140 Mk II, "The Best Components," The Absolute Sound, Issue 100
• Renaissance Signature Preamplifier Mk II, full review, Stereophile, October 2002
• Renaissance Signature Preamplifier Mk II, Recommended Component, October 2002
• Signature Preamplifier - see Renaissance Signature Preamplifier
• Standard Preamplifier, Stereo Review's Sound & Vision magazine, October, 2000. A rock band and its producer compare the VAC PA100/100 & Standard Preamplifier to a Krell/Lexicon combo costing twice as much. The verdict? "There's a lot more clarity on the tube system, with a lot more going on in stereo separation... the tube is what I want our records to sound like... the tube had more 'definition'... with the tube, I can hear into the mix better... That sound is so clear and open, especially in the real bottom and the ambient high end... "

 

Mark Levinson 326S "What I did become increasingly aware of during my time with the Levinson No.326S was the fact that "neutrality" is not merely an absence of aberration but a positive virtue. I could hear more deeply into the mix, but without detail being spotlit or unnaturally thrown forward. Subtle details were presented with greatercontrast against a quieter ground in all of these recordings: the reverberation tails that follow Joe Morello's kick drum highlights in his drum soloin "Take 5" from Dave Brubeck's Time Out (SACD, Sony 7464-65122-6)" - John Arkinson - Stereophile Jan 2006 After 6 months of testing John compared it to a host of other high end preamps and gave it a glowing recommendation saying that it offered all he wanted from a preamp.	Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP Universal Disk Player "...but for the resolutely two-channel audiophile, the C-5xeMP represents one of the most seductive choices available today." - Paul Miller Apr 2007 HiFi News Stereophile Extract: " I've heard a lot of impressive audio components over the years, but I've heard very few that afforded me greater musical pleasure or sent me on as many voyages of musical discovery through discs I thought I knew well." - Wes Phillips, July, 2005
Gryphon Diablo The ultimate reference integrated amplifier, pure music at its best. ‘The Diablo sounded just beautiful in my system. It was also perfect in operation, with some unique features -- such as that wonderful touch-panel faceplate. All of this makes for an easy and hearty recommendation. It may or may not be built by wizards in some far-off land, but the Gryphon Diablo is a real product that any audiophile who seeks magic from his audio system should fully explore.’ Jeff Fritz, Soundstage	Brinkmann LaGrange turntableThe Brinkmann LaGrange turntable is without a doubt the best source component I have ever had the chance to enjoy over an extended period of time. It represents a level of perfection and emotional connection to music that I have never heard before. - Danny Kaey extract from Positive Feedback
Teac Esoteric DV-60Stereophile Class A+ Rated Universal Player gets an Upgrade! Dave Robinson, the editor in chief at www.positive-feedback.com  wrote..." "Blow me down!" said Popeye—and so do I about the Teac Esoteric DV-60. Over the past year, I've lived with this superb universal player, and have gotten to try it with just about everything you could feed it on an optical disc. It has been flawless in operation, is impeccable in ergonomics and fittings, and is glorious for both video and audio playback.	Gryphon PoseidonThere are Loudspeakers and then there is the Gryphon Poseidon, In our opinion the best loudspeaker system in the world bar none. I could say the Poseidon's are awesome and amazing, but more than that they are truly majestic and magical. So often the quality of a product is overstated by reviewers in order to make a magazine review seem more interesting. It would be most difficult to overstate the sonic abilities of the Poseidon.