Kevin:
Thank you for your comprehensive post. Regarding my statements about Kevin Carter, they are based upon what I was told by a dealer in North Carolina from whom I bought a pair of speakers who expressed detailed knowledge, albeit perhaps erroneous I will of course admit, about VAC. Given that he is located where VAC used to be located in North Carolina and based upon his general demeanor (a calm, serious guy who didn't appear to be the type of person who would misspeak), I took him at his word. His comments were not offhand - he specifically stated that your role at VAC was managerial in nature and that Kevin Carter did the design work. I have spoken to Kevin Carter a couple of times and the knowledge he expressed about the Renaissance amps was such that I assumed he did indeed design them, but I never asked him to confirm that he was the designer and his comments, which seemed knowledgeable to me, could of course have been informed by his position at VAC as you have described it. If it was irresponsible of me to make statements about this subject under these circumstances and I am wrong, I apologize and stand corrected.
As for my comments about many hi-fi companies hiring consultants to do design work, I was referring to hi-fi companies generally and not VAC specifically - I did not intend to state that VAC hires consultants and have no knowledge upon which to conclude that you do or don't. And again, so what if a company does - there's nothing inherently good or bad about receiving services from consultants or independent contractors, in my opinion.
Regarding Audio Oracle, my recollection is that he left Singer in 2006-2007, which would have given him ample time to get to know the initial Phi products (incidentally, how he managed to stomach Andy Singer for as long as he did is beyond me - but Sound by Singer would be a topic for another thread). It's important for me to state that I know of no one who is a bigger cheerleader for VAC products than Audio Oracle - and this, despite the fact that he is not a VAC dealer - and my intention was certainly not to get him into any hot water. He is an unusually knowledgeable guy (and a nice guy) who swears by VAC and you have him to thank for many, many VAC sales.
If any of my comments were wrong or misleading, I stand corrected and apologize. These forums are the principal means used by many people to educate themselves about audio and it's important that people be truthful and accurate.
Regarding the OP's initial question, I am sorry that this thread has veered off course. Now that I really think about it, I will also take this opportunity to say that someone told me - again, hearsay - that Kevin generally advises people to avoid networked cables for his products. Kevin, can you please comment?
Thank you for your comprehensive post. Regarding my statements about Kevin Carter, they are based upon what I was told by a dealer in North Carolina from whom I bought a pair of speakers who expressed detailed knowledge, albeit perhaps erroneous I will of course admit, about VAC. Given that he is located where VAC used to be located in North Carolina and based upon his general demeanor (a calm, serious guy who didn't appear to be the type of person who would misspeak), I took him at his word. His comments were not offhand - he specifically stated that your role at VAC was managerial in nature and that Kevin Carter did the design work. I have spoken to Kevin Carter a couple of times and the knowledge he expressed about the Renaissance amps was such that I assumed he did indeed design them, but I never asked him to confirm that he was the designer and his comments, which seemed knowledgeable to me, could of course have been informed by his position at VAC as you have described it. If it was irresponsible of me to make statements about this subject under these circumstances and I am wrong, I apologize and stand corrected.
As for my comments about many hi-fi companies hiring consultants to do design work, I was referring to hi-fi companies generally and not VAC specifically - I did not intend to state that VAC hires consultants and have no knowledge upon which to conclude that you do or don't. And again, so what if a company does - there's nothing inherently good or bad about receiving services from consultants or independent contractors, in my opinion.
Regarding Audio Oracle, my recollection is that he left Singer in 2006-2007, which would have given him ample time to get to know the initial Phi products (incidentally, how he managed to stomach Andy Singer for as long as he did is beyond me - but Sound by Singer would be a topic for another thread). It's important for me to state that I know of no one who is a bigger cheerleader for VAC products than Audio Oracle - and this, despite the fact that he is not a VAC dealer - and my intention was certainly not to get him into any hot water. He is an unusually knowledgeable guy (and a nice guy) who swears by VAC and you have him to thank for many, many VAC sales.
If any of my comments were wrong or misleading, I stand corrected and apologize. These forums are the principal means used by many people to educate themselves about audio and it's important that people be truthful and accurate.
Regarding the OP's initial question, I am sorry that this thread has veered off course. Now that I really think about it, I will also take this opportunity to say that someone told me - again, hearsay - that Kevin generally advises people to avoid networked cables for his products. Kevin, can you please comment?
