Attention Thiel CS3.7 owners

Alonski,

Isn't it great when a purchase pays off? Thanks for sharing about the VAC
gear. Just curious as to what types of music you generally listen to and how
big your room is. Congrats on joining the 3.7 fan club!

James63,

My preference for watts is not meant to be a statement of orthodoxy. Every
system and room is different. I simply know what I need in my room and in
my system. With the 3.7's, I don't covet more watts in order to raise the
volume; I have found that the "ease", "finesse" and
"agility" of the 3.7's cannot be fully realized with the lower watt
amplifiers I've auditioned. That is not to say that the 3.7's can't sound great
with lower watt amplifiers.

After five years of living with these incredible
speakers, I'm now shooting for something that will help them do their very
best with all types of music. My musical tastes are quite diverse and
eclectic, so it's a tall order. As you say, If I just listened to jazz, I'd get a
great 150-watt tube amp and call it a day.

James,
My musical tastes are very eclectic, so I need a speaker that can load my 23X23 room for listening to all my musical genres. In my reference collection that I use to audition sources, components, cables and speakers, you'll find some amazing tracks from superb classical recordings, old jazz, as well as brilliant cuts like ZZ Top's La Grange, Ted Nugent's Stranglehold, Jeff Beck's Goodbye PorkPie Hat and other well recorded uncompressed rock. When I demonstrate my system, I use every genre, and invariably, my guests are stunned, especially by the sheer power of the hard rock tunes. The room just lights up with music that sounds live and sweeps you out of the room and to the recording venue. I usually have to clean up the drool on the carpet after the demo.

The Thiels replaced Von Schweikert Audio Unifield 3 and a pair of REL subs. The U3s are amazing in near-field listening, and with the subs they really rocked, but they don't compare with the ridiculously good performance of the 3.7s in my open plan living space. I still have the subs and will audition them with the 3.7s after the break in period. I believe that most, if not all systems benefit greatly from correctly set-up subs. I'll keep you posted on that.

Vhiner,
My next upgrade is adding another VAC Phi 200 so I get all 200Watts for each channel... I just don't have a place for another amp right now due to WAF considerations. VAC amps are known by fans as being able to control and drive excellent bass from power-hungry speakers. The 100W per channel they put out doesn't sound like much until you realize the massive amount of current they generate. There are no wimpy amps in the VAC line-up. Current is king for bass impact. I fantasize about the VAC flagship amp that puts out 450 per channel, but the monoblocks are about $80,000.

Alonski,

I read the specs and a few reviews of the Phi 200 and it's clear the monoblocs have what it takes to handle the 3.7's 2 ohm dip. Not many tube amps can do that. How many hours do you get out of a tube set?

VAC is indeed powerful tube amp. My VAC sigma 160 is a LOT more powerful than my 200 watts aragon amp.

I Set my sigma volume at 10 o'clock position and it sounded louder than 200 watts aragon set at 12 o'clock position.

As for thiel 3.7, I would go for HEGEL H30. The CS 3.7 speakers are power hungry speakers.

Some even said that the H30 is better than amps costing 2-3x more.

Vhiner,

The specs are good, but they don't do justice to the sound. The Phi 200 is one of those special amps (it was just reviewed in the UK's HiFi Critic) that those who have heard it become part of this weird club of crazed enthusiasts (or maybe that's just me...?). Kevin Hayes doesn't design for specs (like low distortion as an example)... they hand make and hand wire each amp point to point and then he personally voices each amp against their reference before it is packed for shipment. Even repairs and upgrades get the same treatment.

Ah, the pleasure of dealing with a small company who knows your name... VAC's customer service is legendary. Once you've experienced it, there's nothing like it.

As for tube life... the amp is so stable that I've not exhausted tubes in less than 18 months, and I have my amps on every day for hours. I've biased the tube set once in the last year and found that it didn't even need it.

Steve Hoffman (the recording engineer) just got a pair of Phi 200 mono blocks and he's amazed (that says a lot!). To think that this is VAC's entry-level amp...