VAC preamps - too expensive?

Audio Research is a common option. I use an Audio Research tube pre-amp with phono. Only 6 tubes I run these days. Cost under $2k new during a sale a few years back to make way for newer model.

I’ve had a handful of VAC auditions. Won’t say the two sound the same but both are top notch and seem to shoot for a similar sound, less "tubey" and more SS than many.

My local ARC dealer also sold Rogue as a lower cost option. Nothing he sold ever sounded less than superb.

With the newer stuff, VAC has priced itself out of the real world. But the older top preamps are very similar in circuit to the newer ones. Look there if you want the VAC sound and quality without the risk of losing your thumbs to loan sharks. Stick with ones that provide 12 db of gain. The Renaissance Series, at least the earlier models, have something like 23db of gain, which is nutty to me.

I sought out the Phi Beta for a year before I found one. It was only made for a couple years before VAC went to the 2A Sig as their TOL pre. The change was made, I was told by the lead tech, mainly because VAC could no longer source the IC relays that enabled the Phi Beta to have a full function remote (key feature for me). Sound quality was not the reason. The replacement 2A Sig has only volume and mute on the remote. Yes, the manual source switches on the 2A Sig offer slightly more sonic purity, but the Phi Beta has plenty of that itself and the full-function remote is a real pleasure. I have a lot of sources so it’s important to me.

I’d say keep your powder dry until a Phi Beta comes along on the used market. It’s beautiful, too. Worth the wait.

Considered the arc ref 6se but had trouble with soooo many tubes - 8, being run very hard and lasting 3k hrs, etc vs Vac with 2 tubes.
just nutty, arc is so damn complex.

VAC is king forget ARC not as good.

I have a couple quite longstanding audiophile friends who feel the opposite, that ARC is superior to VAC for performance, value and engineering. Both are definitely top shelf brands with very very high prices but both my friends swear by ARC and say their experiences with VAC are mixed.  These are certainly very successful brands of tube equipment, and each has their strong followings, so I guess the responses here not surprising.