montesquieu
07-06-2011, 19:32
I'm probably off my chump here but something that may ultimately turn out to be way above my pay grade has come up (I've caught the Audio Note contagion big time) and I am thinking of moving on these beauties. Anyway I'm posting here with some trepidation and I might well change my mind before too long.
VAC are little known here as being US-based they don't do much at 240v. However they do a steady trickle of kit to UK spec, including these beauties, which at £6,000 when new in the early naughties was getting right up to the high end of the high end. They are the most refined KT88 monoblocks I've ever come across - indeed the man behind VAC is on record as saying they can get more refinement out of a KT88 than a 300b - but retain huge amounts of drive and punch along with the subtlety.
Sonically they most resemble Jadis monoblocks (whose price has also been drifting off to the stratosphere) in this particular combination. They run in push-pull and are switchable between triode (30w) and pentode (70w) to drive most speakers out there. They have been fantastic with my Tannoys and (like the Jadis) are probably the ideal combination with Quad ESLs of any stripe from the 57 upwards, leaving any of the old vintage favourites to their places in the history books.
They are visually similar to the current model VAC Auricle Monoblocks (£5,000 a pair) but the PA60s are bigger, have beefier output transformers, and also the benefit of an off-board PSU. These are the P60c models which are point to point wired. They are basically half of a PA90 (which uses four tubes per monoblock and two PSUs, not one - a doubling of everything) which was a Stereophile Class A recommendation (if you follow these things). The US 110v PA60s are apparently in huge demand in Japan for Tannoy and ESL purposes.
They are currently running on Svetlana Winged C KT88s and would be going to their new home with two spare sets (one Svetlana, one Shugang). It would be impossible to lift this setup if it was a single chassis (too heavy) so it comes in three boxes - boxes and packing are here. 12AU7s are Mullards,
These monoblocks blew away - totally blew away - a Unison 845 integrated (over £5k new) that I had previously - in absolutely every department from subtlety to slam. I paid £2800 for that amp and I did a straight swop for these so consequently, they owe me quite a bit. They've been up against a few vintage favourites (Leak 20, Quad II) and left them standing. To make my next move possible - I hesitate to cal it an upgrade - I need £2000 for them (no offers), which is an insane bargain if any bit of high-end audio kit can be said to be.
The original poster's (GJM on Wigwam) thread is here (to save you the hassle of looking) http://www.hifiwigwam.com/showthread.php?41040-FS-VAC-PA60
Pics to follow but here's one of GJMs from when he was selling them. The piano black finish is quite something.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_evKfoKS2HJA/SzKTIUhlXhI/AAAAAAAAApY/q5pNiPEWWO8/s720/DSC_0030.JPG
VAC are little known here as being US-based they don't do much at 240v. However they do a steady trickle of kit to UK spec, including these beauties, which at £6,000 when new in the early naughties was getting right up to the high end of the high end. They are the most refined KT88 monoblocks I've ever come across - indeed the man behind VAC is on record as saying they can get more refinement out of a KT88 than a 300b - but retain huge amounts of drive and punch along with the subtlety.
Sonically they most resemble Jadis monoblocks (whose price has also been drifting off to the stratosphere) in this particular combination. They run in push-pull and are switchable between triode (30w) and pentode (70w) to drive most speakers out there. They have been fantastic with my Tannoys and (like the Jadis) are probably the ideal combination with Quad ESLs of any stripe from the 57 upwards, leaving any of the old vintage favourites to their places in the history books.
They are visually similar to the current model VAC Auricle Monoblocks (£5,000 a pair) but the PA60s are bigger, have beefier output transformers, and also the benefit of an off-board PSU. These are the P60c models which are point to point wired. They are basically half of a PA90 (which uses four tubes per monoblock and two PSUs, not one - a doubling of everything) which was a Stereophile Class A recommendation (if you follow these things). The US 110v PA60s are apparently in huge demand in Japan for Tannoy and ESL purposes.
They are currently running on Svetlana Winged C KT88s and would be going to their new home with two spare sets (one Svetlana, one Shugang). It would be impossible to lift this setup if it was a single chassis (too heavy) so it comes in three boxes - boxes and packing are here. 12AU7s are Mullards,
These monoblocks blew away - totally blew away - a Unison 845 integrated (over £5k new) that I had previously - in absolutely every department from subtlety to slam. I paid £2800 for that amp and I did a straight swop for these so consequently, they owe me quite a bit. They've been up against a few vintage favourites (Leak 20, Quad II) and left them standing. To make my next move possible - I hesitate to cal it an upgrade - I need £2000 for them (no offers), which is an insane bargain if any bit of high-end audio kit can be said to be.
The original poster's (GJM on Wigwam) thread is here (to save you the hassle of looking) http://www.hifiwigwam.com/showthread.php?41040-FS-VAC-PA60
Pics to follow but here's one of GJMs from when he was selling them. The piano black finish is quite something.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_evKfoKS2HJA/SzKTIUhlXhI/AAAAAAAAApY/q5pNiPEWWO8/s720/DSC_0030.JPG