speakers for VAC 30/30 amp

Jab,i just got the VAC SIG,i really did not have any idea what speakers i was going to run with the 30/30 and still don't???? all the good speakers are ten grand plus.i had no idea!!back to the research lab for me to try to source some real world priced speakers that can be driven with a little 32w....

I think you are going about it backwards. Since the speakers are the most colored component in any system first find a speaker you can live with and then find some electronics that complement it.

I know the debate rages on but I've tried great speakers with adequate electronics and then great electronics with adequate speakers and the former always wins.

Do you have a budget? I have some ideas if you want to keep the VAC (which I have owned and did like) but some are rather pricey.

hi Herman,you may have hit the nail on the head with that,speakers first.the reason i went VAC is i wanted to give tubes a try.did you have the little 30/30???? i would very much appreciate any speaker ideas.thks for any help.

I would think the Merlins would be a great match..There are a couple pairs on this site around 6K

I had a Renaissance MKIII.

I recommend a high efficiency speaker like the Avantgarde Duo or a Lowther based speaker or equivalent. Thirty watts is really not a whole lot of power, and even though these speakers play loudly with much less, to my ear they really open up if the amp has some headroom. With these the VAC will be loafing along the majority of the time yet has the power to hit transient peaks with ease. On the other hand if you get a less efficient speaker it will quickly run out of power on the transients.

Good luck with your search.

thks for that,do you recommend Coincident speakers at all,how would the Total Victoty sound with VAC??

It would be irresponsible of me not to jump in here. You should go for a pair of the Wilson Benesh Curves. www.wilson-benesch.com At the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest paired with the 25 watt deHavilland Ios single ended amp the sound was killer. These speakers while using conventional drivers avoid the MDF madness of most others and utilize Carbon Fiber. There is a used pair on Audiogon now and I have a demo pair for sale as well. ( In the interest of full disclosure I am a dealer for Wilson Benesch )

Jab suggests Audio Physic Virgo II. I had a pair and tried to drive it with a VAC 30/30, but it did not work. Although the Virgo is an easy load, the VAC could not control the (4) woofers. With small "scale" music it was lovely, with most of the magic of the 300B's. But whith larger, more demanding music- and I am not talking about Telarc recorded symphonies - , it was a disappointment.

to buy speakers unheard is a big headache,major pita!!!!here is a list:Silverline...Coincident TV'S ...VSA DB99'S ... Sonus Faber amatis ... Meadowlark Blue Heron2 ...Daedalus DA-1 ...not sure about horn but Avantgarde duo look interesting but do they do all types of music????? anyone with speaker 101 please help out a poor boy..thks

I just received a used VAC PHI 30/30 amp and a new pair of Reynaud Trentes. Although these speakers will need a few hundred hours to break in, the combination sounds fantastic already. Exactly what I was hoping for (at least as far as I can tell this early on). The Trentes, unfortunately, are about to go out of production. Amherst audio has a nice deal on a barely broken in demo pair listed on their website.

if you speak to kevin hayes at VAC, he will tell you that he uses Thiel 3.6s for much of his developement work. personally i would probably try using the 30/30 with something more easily driven like the 1.6. this would certainly give you very enjoyable sound until your budget allowed pricer options.

i have been trying to find a 30/30 at the right price to go with my 1.6s for a while. i recently just missed out on a phi 30/30 which i'm still kicking myself over...

thks guys,this is a stretch but how would the Usher D2,or a Montana kas sound with the little VAC????

Merlin. Call Bobby (he's Canadian too!) and do searches on this forum, audioasylum and audioreview.