VAC preamps - too expensive?


VAC makes great products so i hear.  The Linestage Master lists for $28k and next one down is Signature, for $22k.  Add $12k for a phonostage.

anybody have experience with these units?

its a marketing strategy.  Yeah the $22k Signature is very nice but for just $6k more u get a much better unit. Might as well get the Master.  Pretty clever.  Oh and they offer a line stage called the Statement for $80k and it comes with chrome and a skylight so u can view whats inside.  The Master has most of what the $80k Statement has (no skylight) so i guess the $28k Master seems a great deal.  Pretty clever.






jumia

Sounds like Vac Products require lots of maintenance. What do they do to it and why is it necessary? Super inconvenient for a quality product

Sounds like Vac Products require lots of maintenance. What do they do to it and why is it necessary? Super inconvenient for a quality product

You come off as a troll, but just to clarify for the benefit of others:

No, they don’t need more service than other brands. My Ren 3 went in for cosmetic touch-ups needed due to a slightly careless prior owner. And when a component lasts for 15+ years, then it’s prudent to refresh any electrolytic capacitors, regardless of brand. I would wager VAC products have a much longer "usage" lifespan than average, because they still sound great 20 years later.

I have not personally had a failure with any VAC component - 15 years, 9 (I think) components.

My Phi Beta preamp has been the beating heart of my main system for 12 years, on 14-16 hours a day and requiring zero maintenance beyond changing tubes every couple years. Love it.

@mulveling 

Thank you for your great comments. My trollish rhetoric is due to the frustration I had trying to make a decision about this vac preamp, which was plan to be incorporated into a Home theater arrangement when used for stereo listening.

Unfortunately, vac does not make a remote that allows input changing despite offering a home theater button on the face of the component which is kind of weird. My family didn't like this functionality and that trumped it's performance qualities and plus it may have been located in a separate room. I did buy a different preamp at a very comparable level so everybody was happy

Why these guys don't put this type functionality on the remote is beyond me and when I spoke to a person at the company about this issue they seemed a bit arrogant which I can live with should I have chosen to buy the unit.  It wasn't the owner guy. Nevertheless who knows where I may end up and maybe Vac Will honor a spot somewhere under my roof.

Hey emerging, thanks for showing us that you and the OP, jumia, are one in the same.  I’ve known that.  Your fixation on a full remote and option to remotely change the input selection is just plain ridiculous from a purist point of view.  Please give Kevin a call and ask why.  Kevin is a true gentleman and definitely stands behind his products.  I’m hoping to send my Master line stage in for the phono upgrade later this year.  Btw, my Theta CB just came back after being upgraded to the CB V.  Loving it so far.