VAC owners, sound off

I don't know what type tubes are in your Vac...but I have had good luck with d-getter Amperex tubes. Owning Vac amps... I would agree that your preamp should resolve very well....the bass is excellant on my amplifiers.

Tholt, what is the power supply sitting on? The material it sits on will definitely make a big difference in the sound. I've tried MDF, solid oak, solid cherry, granite, butcher block, and the best is the Mapleshade solid maple platform with brass spikes. The second best was the MDF. Also, I think the VAC standard preamp inverts phase so you will need to reverse the connections at your speakers.

Rhjazz - 2 things I never would have thought about. PS is sitting on hardwood floor. I'll try getting it off that. I actualy have some butcher block I could use. Did you attach the spikes to the PS, or underneath the wood block? Secondly, I don't recall reading anywhere in the manual about phase inversion. Ill double check.

The tubes in the pre are standard VAC issue (they even have the VAC logo on them). The previous owner said they were fairly new, and from talking to Kevin the 12ax7's are Chinese and the 12au7's are Sylvania (not sure which kind). I read up a little on Joe's Tube Lore (found the site people have been citing for years) which started me on a tube hunt. Found some Amperex 12au7's and some GE 5751 (supposedly better then 12ax7) on ebay that I'm thinking about.

Rhjazz -- just reading over the manual again -- output does state its inverting.

Tholt, I tried spikes between the PS and the platform and didn't like the results. Currently it sits on the Mapleshade platform on its own feet. The Mapleshade is spiked to the bottom shelf of a Polycrystal rack. I don't like the Polycrsytal rack BTW.

The butcher block should thin out the mids and give you better top end extension. The bass may be a bit unpredictable. Have fun experimenting.