Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Truly a great sounding amp. Very natural sound, does a great job with the human voice, acoustic guitar, everything you can think of. No coloration whatsoever.

Strengths:
Great high end and nice bottom. Switchable to triode mode for quiet pieces.

Weaknesses:
Very heavy, but who cares. AC cord (does anyone actually use stock cords anymore?)

Similar Products Used:
VAC Avitar, Naim solid state gear, Audio Research tube amps.

Price Paid:  $1750.00 from Online

Summary:
One of the Best buys in high end tube audio. The sound quality is sooo musical . Voices and instruments are beautiful, and in the room with you.The previous Solid state amps did not bring the music alive to the same degree , and could not pump out the deep base. Great sound from top to bottom.It has an addictive warmth that lets you listen for hours . My wife needs to pull me away with a hook after the system has warmed up for a bit. Matches great with my Aerial 10T's . It also loves my LP-12 .Has great control over the Aerials at concert volume levels.

Strengths:
Magical Musical Sound, Beautifully built like a tank!

Weaknesses:
Blows a resister every year or so, weighs a ton !

Similar Products Used:
ARC , BAT, Sonic Frontiers, Lamm, Pass , Krell, MAC

Price Paid:  $4000.00 from Alternative Audio

Summary:
This is a classic VTL, raw power delivered with finesse. Fast bass, liquid midrange, extended top end. Always in control, the amp drives any load with plenty to spare. The real strength lies in the presentaion of musical detail without being harsh. Like all tube amps, the bass can be a little rich as opposed to the dry sound of a solid state amp. Most noticeable are the extended musical harmonics, which gives the overall impression of depth, musicality, pace and rythym. Partnered with EAD Ultradisc 2000 transport into Assemblage DAC 3.0 (best value out there) and Linn t/t, Syrinx PU3 Van den Hull wiring and Garrott bros. rebuilt Koetsu black; Audible Illusions Mod 3A pre. Speakers are built by me, MTM- Raven 1 ribbons with Focal 7" midbass drivers, acoustically rolled off 1st order 120Hz in a sealed cabinet. Low end produced by Shiva sub in a 3 cu ft. sealed box qtc 0.7. Cables hand rolled silver interconnects, low cap spkr. cables, Cardas dig. interconect

Strengths:
Controlled, liquid sound, excellent detail and deep soundstage

Weaknesses:
None