VAC Owners:Outboard Phono Stage?

Bill,

You are certainly inspiring, but I think I'll hold off on contacting Mr. Percy... that sounds dangerous!

I am very fussy about cartridges. The Ortofon Cadenza Bronze thoroughly exceeded my expectations and compels me to say that it does not belong in the $2000 price point, but much higher. It is silky smooth, rich and meaty with micro detail to die for. It creates a believable deep and wide soundstage and has what I love the most... a lot of Slam! I could go on and on... When I play my original early 70's pressing of Jeff Beck's Wired LP (esp. the cut Goodbye Pork Pie Hat) it practically knocks me off my seat, without being at all too forward or aggressive. It has replaced my previously favorite cart of all time, the Carnegie One by Madrigal as my reference.

It did need to break in for about 90 hours, but when it reached its potential it was breathtaking! I believe it to be one of the best MC bargains out there.

And you know who gets the credit for introducing me to the Bronze? None other than Kevin himself! Really, who would know better?

Alón

I recommend calling VAC to find out about the differences between the RenIII and SigIIa phono stages. I might be wrong, but I think the line stages themselves are pretty different, with the SigIIa being lower gain. Another question for VAC.

And as I said above, I find the phono in my Phi Beta, which is the SigIIa circuit, to easily compete with my Manley Steelhead II. Don't know about the Pass. I did audition the Allnic at home a few years ago, although my system was quite different then, and I passed on it. I found it extremely liquid but ultimately somewhat colored and it hummed like mad. I preferred the Steelhead anyway. YMMV.

Alon, that's a great recommendation for the Bronze and confirms what I'd imagined. The Replicant 100 stylus, of which I'm a big fan, on an aluminum cantilever suggests exactly what you describe--great detail combined with lots of body and tonal richness. Cool that Kevin is on to it. Thanks!

Bill

I have the VAC phono stage in my VAC Ren III as mentioned -- super handing with variable loading, one MC and one MM input. It is well worth the price of admission for convenience (even as a back up to a stand alone pre). It has a meaty, substantial sound to it. Not as fast and transparent as $4-6+k stages like the Herron, but easily beats 1-3k stages. I will say the performance of the VAC linestage is incredible, but the phono section is not as incredible. No matter how you go (phono or no phono), I highly recommend the VAC preamp. In my system it EASILY competes with preamps that cost twice as much. It is holographic, open, detailed, extended, natural, harmonically accurate....a guitar sounds like a guitar....a voice sounds like a voice. Very round and dimensional presentation -- not flat at all.

Alonski,
I had the Ortofon Kontrapunkt c which was the predecessor to your Bronze. Agree with your assessments of its qualities. Such a beautifully clean midrange, with non-abrasive top end and lots of slam on the bottom! Lovely balance. Took me a while to find an appropriate upgrade from that cart - I ended up at the Koetsu Plantinums. I easily preferred the Kontra c to the Benz Ref 3, Benz Wood M2, and Ortofon Jubilee. The Jubilee was brighter and lacked that lovely slam you mention - plus, I didn't find it to be any more resolving (unless you're one of those that equates brightness with detail). That lineup of Benzes (1 series old) has a nice musical balance, but loses out badly versus the Ortofons on technical merits (noise floor, graininess, resolution). The treble & upper mids seemed splashy/grainy versus the Ortofons.

It's harder to pick sides versus the MC Windfeld; the latter is easily more resolving, has tighter/faster bass, and a better noise floor. Still, the Windfeld just had too much energy up top for me, and was harder sounding and less musical than the Kontra c (and presumably the Bronze). You could say "analytical". I ended up unsatisfied, and that's when a went to Koetsu - which I feel offers the best of both worlds. Still, I'm sorry that I ever sold my Kontra c - awesome cart, and I'm sure the Bronze is even better. Might be tempted to try one someday!

Also, I liked the Kontras loaded at around 50 ohms (this was in the days before my VAC Ren III; had the Sonic Frontiers Phono 1). 100 ohms will certainly sound great, but 50 worked better for me.