


VAC
Reviews, Articles, and Publications (primarily English language)
Are you wondering why there aren't more official
reviews of VAC instruments? The fact is, each VAC component is hand built
as a labor of love, in a time intensive way, and has enough
of a 'diehard' following that there is usually an 3-12 week backlog of
orders, and thus no units available for review. We do not view this as a
problem: there isn't anyway to meet the higher than current demand that a
'great review' might create. Our focus is on making the best gear
possible, not the best-reviewed gear!
"It is critical in manufacturing perfectionist
speakers to use related components that reveal all that's possible; especially
in resolution, tonality, dynamics and sound-staging. To this end
we've evaluated and tried a vast array of the highest end equipment
available. VAC's amplifiers and preamps have turned out to be references
of the highest order, and not coincidentally, terrifically enjoyable to
listen to" Alon Wolf, owner, Magico
Loudspeakers
- Auricle
Musicbloc, Positive-Feedback No. 26 (August 2006)
(new)

Avatar cover feature in Audiotechnique, Issue 214
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
- 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...
"
Show Coverage
Background articles, interviews, etc...
- Television
feature, WRAL-TV (CBS) 6/20/2001
- Sight & Sound, winter 1997, profile of the new VAC Visionary
Audio & Home Theater System
- Scientific American special issue "The
Solid-State Century," winter 1997, pages 44-45 ("Where Tubes
Rule," information from Kevin Hayes & VAC) (full text now
available on-line)
- An
Historical Context of Audio Technology (by Kevin Hayes), Positive
Feedback, Late Fall, 1993
- The Visionary of VAC (interview), The Absolute Sound, Issue 99
[visit the TAS website]
- Quotation/product photo, Business Week, October 10, 1994
- VAC on VTL vs. RAM
(manufacturer's comment), Stereophile, June 1991
- Tube Misinformation (letter), Stereophile, May 1989
[visit the Stereophile website]
- An interview with mastering maven
Steve Hoffman, with praise
for his reference VAC Signature electronics.
VAC Technical Monograph Series
We
build the world's finest audio components TM
Valve
Amplification Company
E-mail:info@vac-amps.com
