Jeff Rowlands Amp and Dac vs. VAC amp and DAC

Rinpoche,
I look forward to your amplifier  listening  impressions. It's clear to me that you have good ears and can choose what type of sound presentation you prefer. I am very glad you have this opportunity to hear these amplifier candidates. It should be much fun as well as informative.
Charles,

Thank you all again. I will try to listen to the IQ gear this weekend and see how it compares both in price and sound with the Sigma and the Rowland. I am booked to listen on Saturday morning. Not with the Wilson's but with speakers at the shop. I will take Al's advice to heart and all of your inputs when listening. There is a lot to digest here and it has been amazingly useful. Instructive. Thoughtful. And informative. I can't thank you all enough for your time and wisdom. Will let you know how it goes if you are interested!!!!

You can also try IQ with and without preamp from Aeris.

Not with the Wilson's but with speakers at the shop.

Rin, I would expect the speakers you hear at the shop would be well matched to the VAC amp but in any case it may be hard to predict the sound with the Wilson's without hearing the amp and speakers together especially in that the Wilson's may not be particularly tube amp friendly.

Do you know what speakers specifically you will hear at the shop?

You know, that is a great question: what speakers I will listening to at the shop. The shop insists a 3-way is a 3-way. I feel a bit pushed on this one, but there are so few high-end shops in my neighbourhood. They used big Focal speakers that cost $10,000 more than the Sabrinas. So, I agree it is not a fair audition. I am trying, though, to hear the differences in the amps -- but are you saying the JR gear is more suited to the Sabrinas. The Wilson people I spoke to at Wilson Audio love VTL, VAC, ARC, and Nagra tubes with the Sabrinas. They said they pair well, in their opinion. I asked for a home audition but I don't see that happening. Is it the norm for shops to do that? 

The shop insists a 3-way is a 3-way.

Speaking frankly, this comment by the shop is nonsense.  Some 3-ways (and other kinds of speakers) are best suited to be driven by solid state amplification, some are best suited to be driven by tube amplification, and some are equally at home with either.  A speaker having a nominal impedance of 8 ohms or more, and having impedance that does not vary greatly as a function of frequency, and having higher than average sensitivity, will usually be suitable for use with either.  To the extent that those criteria are not met, things become questionable.

Over the years many of the models Wilson has produced have been used successfully with both kinds of amplification, even though many of those models have had 4 ohm nominal impedances (like the Sabrina).  However, the graph of impedance vs. frequency for the Sabrina that I linked to in my first post in this thread, coupled with the associated comments that I quoted, as well as a comment in the main body of the review, as well as the Sabrina's somewhat low sensitivity, raised caution flags in my mind as to the suitability of that model for use with tube amplification.

However this comment:

... The Wilson people I spoke to at Wilson Audio love VTL, VAC, ARC, and Nagra tubes with the Sabrinas.

... as well as the comment you indicated earlier that Kevin Hayes had provided, as well as the video Knghifi linked to showing the Sabrina being driven by a VTL tube amp, as well as the inclusion of a 1 to 2 ohm output tap on the VAC iQ models, do provide a fair amount of confidence, albeit obviously not as much as an audition with your speakers would provide.

Best of luck as you proceed.  Regards,
-- Al