VTL, CTC, Lamm, ARC, EAR, Halcro, Mark Levison

If you can hear a VAC Phi 2.0, do so before you make your decision. It very impressive - great dynamics, transparency and soundstaging - it just gets out of the way of the music. Phono stage, build quality and service are second to none, IMO.

Gliderguider is correct, there will be no more. This was true before Bob passed away because it was not economical for them to continue, and they were a labor of love.

David -> you may got Geneva as Mike sugests or go to UK and hear in in Absolute Sounds studio. I have heard it during the HiFi Show in London and it sounded every bit as promssing as Mika says. Absoulte Sounds is a great company to deal with and it maybe be easier to get to London for you (through eurotunel) than to Geneva.

Although I don't own Kharma speakers I do have Wilson X-2's which I do drive with ease using the Lamm ML 2.1 I have owned many amps and without question these are the most musical that I have ever heard. Having said that I also own the ARC Ref 3 which IMO is the best preamp that I have ever owned or heard. I did audition the Lamm L2 in my system hoping for a synergy between it and the ML 2.1's. I took a pass on it as I found it far too cold for my taste. I also have a friend who reviews high end gear. He just sold his VTL 7.5 for the Ref3 preamp.

David,

For a quick look at the Tom Evans Vibe, check Jeff Day's preview on 6moons: http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/tomevans2/vibe.html. He will have a full review coming up soon.

The Vibe is not the preamp to buy if you want something that looks the part. It's a very lightweight unit, with its plain black plastic case and plain black plastic knobs. Even the outboard 2-piece PSU won't attract any attention. No milled faceplate, no casework machined from a solid ingot of aluminum, no 20 kg control unit and 20 kg PSU. It will not impress anyone. Not till you turn it on, anyway.

The magic is all inside, in Tom Evans' ultra-low-noise voltage regulator design, in the use of current instead of voltage feedback, in the parts selection (DACT attenuator and WASP selector switch) and in the design of the two-stage outboard power supply that smooths and regulates the DC twice before it even hits the magic regulator in the control unit.

It's simultaneously the most musically intense and sonically revealing preamp I've heard so far. This includes things like the Canary CA-801, a two-box Audion and the Bent Audio transformer passive. I haven't heard the other heavy hitters being discussed in this thread, but this tube-head finds the Vibe impossible to shut off.

Compared to some of the other units under discussion here, its price of $8600 USD is attractive as well.

Tom Evans is doing some of the more original audio R&D that I'm aware of these days. His Linear A amp uses parallel EL84 tubes driven by op amps (!) to create what he characterizes as a super-triode sound - the tonal qualities of of a 10 tube but with power, extension and dynamics. These are the claims, anyway - I'll know by the end of next week when my amp arrives.