VAC owners, sound off

I had a VAC amp back in the 1990s and loved it..never had an issue..I would suggest if buying a9 year old amp ,have the seller agree to a grace period giving you a couple weeks or so and have it checked out..or have him service it before sending cash...

Jab, my comparison was only in the build quality of the products, not the companies.

The other thing I was wondering about, aside from build quality and reliability over the long term, is something Tvad touched on -- that of technology development over the years. My guess is because preamps of this caliber rely more on solid engineering and obsessive build quality rather than fad or bleeding edge technology and mass production, it's not so much an issue. Still, does anyone feel concern is warranted about buying a 9+ year old VAC with 9 year old technology and materials (and thus a lower used price) compared with more modern, newer units in the same used price range? Or do you feel older VAC quality at a used price would still trump a lesser but newer model at the same price?

I recently shipped my VAC Musicblocs back to the VAC factory via Fedex ground for service and upgrade. Even though I packed the amps better than shipped from the factory, the gentle-handed folks at Fedex managed to crack open one of the transformers, yet Kevin( in all his kindness) re-welded it back like new and charged me nothing for his services. I love my VAC amps and when and if I ever upgrade, I plan on staying in the VAC family.

Well Tholt,

Anytime you can pinpoint us a tube preamp selling new for 1500 $ that equals a nine year old VAC Standard, please tell us because I'm really curious to hear such a marvel !

In the meantime, I had a friend's CJ PV-15 LS in my system about 18 months ago. A nearly 3000 $ machine of a recent vintage. Forget it ! Simply not in the same league ! Very pleasant unit to listen to, warm and involving. Does'nt come near the quality in the imaging and resolving details in the background.Most noticeably is the dynamics differential between instruments and the capacity to pinpoint them in space.

Tholt- Your questions have been answered. Just get the piece and try it yourself, or don't. Asking too many what-if questions that are not realistic for you starts to make it look like you are not really serious about the purchase, in which case you are wasting everyone's time. It really doesn't matter what other people "feel", which is very subjective - your "objective" questions have already been well-answered above by a number of long-time well-meaning VAC owners.