Van Alstine?

Cedunlap - I wouldn't dispute your claims regarding the flat frequency response of AVA amps. Nor would I claim that my room measures flat in the brightness range. I simply do not know. But I don't listen to test bench gear, I listen to music. I know what I heard. Without changing any other part of my system (I must stress this fact), the results I posted above were clearly apparent to me, in my room, with my associated gear and speakers. Since nothing was changed other than the three amps involved, room treatments or other system elements were a constant. The sound of each of the three amps was strictly relative to the others.

I did not mean in any way to suggest that Frank has engineered a response hump in that amplifier. I apologize if that's the way my comments came across. I was only sharing my personal experience with AVA with the OP, who was looking for experiences with this manufacturer. I am sure there are many happy AVA owners out there.

In any case, AVA's generous return option allows each consumer to judge for themselves, as they always should.

I came across an older review of a Van Alstine Omega IV DAC as examined by engineer David Rich--go here to read it for examples of some truly heinous audio engineering:

http://www.theaudiocritic.com/back_issues/The_Audio_Critic_26_r.pdf

Permanently turned me off of Alstine stuff. I always thought it a bit Mickey Mouse anyway. When someone has been doing something as long as Van Alstine has, they become pretty set in their ways.

Kristian, I haven't heard any of Franks DACs so I can't comment. I'm also not a fanboy. But I'm wondering if in 1999/2000 AVA was probably just starting to produce DACs. While that doesn't necessarily excuse anything, it may be an indication of why this early design was what it was.

If you want a different indication of build quality I can tell you that his FetValve amps (going back to the HC which my friend has) are VERY well built. It may not be entirely fair to base a conclusion on all of a manufacturer's products on an early design effort for something they hadn't really done before. (Again doesn't excuse the outcome.)

AVA amps and preamps have been around way longer, and there has been that much time to expose any shortcomings in those efforts. I haven't seen much in that regard for this end of their product line.

Tony,
I wish this was so, but read the review--it's quite unbelievable, and evidences a seriously lax approach to basic audio engineering that would have little to do with whether you're building a DAC or an amp. I sure hope Van Alstine is better than that--Van Alstine's whole schtick is one of calling BS on the high-end's values while offering "real" values, and that much of what is done is unnnecessary. That Omega DAC was a rip-off.

Kristian, I read it when it first came out, and again with the link provided. I'm not discounting it for what it was. Only providing a view based on his amplifiers and preamps.