The VAC Phi Series

an introduction, published on site at CES 2003

(new photos published soon following catalogue photo session)

Once in a great while an audio component comes along that redefines our expectations of what is possible and, for the astute listener, necessary. VAC has had the privilege of being responsible for such breakthroughs twice in the past decade: in 1993 with the Renaissance Series triode power amplifiers, hailed by Harry Pearson as a "quantum, and I mean quantum, jump"; and in 2000 with the Renaissance Signature Preamplifier, which recently was reported in Stereophile magazine to be an "audio epiphany" for the reviewer.

Now, once again, VAC presents an order of magnitude improvement in both sound and functionality with the PHI Series.

One may be forgiven for focusing initially on the unique and elegant aesthetics of the PHI components. Rather than being hidden, the tubes are celebrated behind the stylish edge-lit glass fascia and beveled glass top, which also keep children and pets at a safe distance from the tubes. With minute attention to detail, illumination is monitored and varied in response to ambient lighting conditions. The chassis itself, with its sweeping smooth corners and contours, is precision milled at VAC from the highest quality non-magnetic aluminum and finished in nickel hue, which is beautiful, extremely durable, and provides good rejection of radio frequency interference. Truly, PHI Series is a work of visual art.

The sound of the PHI builds on the heritage of the legendary VAC Renaissance Series and Signature Series, with further improvements in materials, circuit refinement, and optimization. These hand assembled circuits are the results of several thousands of hours of careful voicing; such fanatical attention to detail is the crucial factor in transcending mere "high fidelity" and all of its artificial terminology. With VAC, all of the "high fidelity" attributes are present, but in a way totally subservient to the intention and emotion of the music.

All PHI components, including the power amplifiers, use separate power supplies equipped with cables six feet in length. This allows the electrical, magnetic, and vibrational fields of the power transformers and the switching artifacts of the power rectifiers to be kept far away from the precious audio signal. Added to this is twice the high voltage energy storage of the Renaissance power amplifiers, multiple choke pi filtering, and a new grounding paradigm. Not only is there a marked increase in sound quality, but the noise floor is reduced by an order of magnitude to less than 0.3 millivolts at the speaker terminals, less than the output of a moving coil phonograph cartridge! Never before have you experienced such purity of sound in reproduced music.

Standard 12 volt power triggers are also provided for use with other brands, while the iVAC data buss may be used to coordinate everything from power to illumination levels.

Of course, PHI provides numerous remote control functions and system configuration settings, allowing convenience in normal use, and easy integration into more elaborate remote control schemes.

PHI 2.0 Master Control Preamplifier Fully differential triode line stage with transformer coupling and passively equalized triode phono stage. 10 inputs: MM phono, MC phono, six line (one may be fully balanced), cinema, tape monitor (buffered loop). Outputs: 2 sets RCA main outputs, 2 sets XLR differential main outputs, 1 set RCA tape out. Separate power supply. Audio chassis 12.5" x 12.5" x 6.5"

PHI 30/30 Ultriode Stereo Power Amplifier 32 watts/channel output into 2, 4, or 8 ohms. Fully balanced XLR and regular RCA inputs. Zero feedback, self-biasing. VAC Power Tube Sentry protection circuit. Separate power supply. Audio chassis 12.5" x 12.5" x 12.5"

PHI 70 Ultriode Mono Power Amplifier 70 watts output into 2, 4, or 8 ohms. Fully balanced XLR and regular RCA inputs. Zero feedback, self-biasing. VAC Power Tube Sentry protection circuit. Separate power supply. Audio chassis 12.5" x 12.5" x 12.5"

PHI 110/110 Beam Power Stereo Power Amplifier 110 watts/channel into 2, 4, or 8 ohms. Fully balanced XLR and regular RCA inputs. Zero feedback (switchable). VAC Power Tube Sentry protection circuit. Separate power supply. Triode switchable. Audio chassis 12.5" x 12.5" x 12.5"

PHI 220 Beam Power Mono Power Amplifier 220 watts output into 2, 4, or 8 ohms. Fully balanced XLR and regular RCA inputs. Zero feedback (switchable). VAC Power Tube Sentry protection circuit. Separate power supply. Triode switchable. Audio chassis 12.5" x 12.5" x 12.5"

PHI Beta Beam Power Integrated Amplifier 110 watts/channel output into 2, 4, or 8 ohms. Basically combines the features of the Phi 2.0 and Phi 110/110 in a superlative integrated amplifier. Fully balanced XLR and regular RCA inputs. MM/MC phono. VAC Power Tube Sentry protection circuit. Separate power supply.

PHI Kappa Ultriode Power Integrated Amplifier 32 watts/channel output into 2, 4, or 8 ohms. Basically combines the features of the Phi 2.0 and Phi 30/30 in a superlative integrated amplifier. Fully balanced XLR and regular RCA inputs. MM/MC phono. VAC Power Tube Sentry protection circuit. Separate power supply.

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