Vac 200 IQ vs Ayon orthosII

Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate it.  The Austrian made Ayons have had good reviews and are 50% less expensive.  Cost is not the primary concern though.  I am heavily leaning toward the VAC.  Doing due diligence before plunking out the big bucks.

Excellent points all around.  Thank you all for your input.  Will travel this weekend to listen the VAC. 

Charles hit the nail on the head.  Traveled several hours to listen to the VAC and was surprised to find that it wasn't for me.  Time well spent.  Did listen to the Pass x350.8 which added the punch that seemed to be missing from the VACs.  Back to the drawing board gentlemen.

Vandersteen quattros were used.  I was told they are a good pairing with the Vacs. For the Beck and Sanborn album and Keith Jarrett Koln concert the sound was good.  It was the intro to Michael Jackson's Billy Jean that really lacked the umph in a big way with the VACs compared with the SS amps.   Thanks for your ongoing interest. I'm making another road trip in few weeks to tweek the combo.

I'm not sure what tabs were used but the stock KT 88's were in place.  I did discuss a trial with KT 150's.  I'll be back in a few weeks and ask the dealer to roll the 150's.  Tomorrow I'm auditioning  a local ARC GS 150 with a vinyl set up so I should have a good comparison using my vinyl standards.  Unfortunately I wont have the Vandys at this dealership.  Jafant must have sensed my tendencies-love guitar.  The SS killed Al Dimeola's Alien chase on Arabian desert as well as the finger style Silent story in her eyes. Again, many thanks to all for joining me on this journey.

Dr-John--
  I think it was just old and tired.  It was an old McInosh Mc 2002 which I kept on at all times.  Came home and heard an awful buzzing sound.  I wasn't sure what component was causing the racket until I hit the power button and everything was silent.  Hit power again and blew the fuse in my PS 10.  I'm a little bit wiser now. I'm sure Kevin will have a fix for your amp though.  VAC seems to be an awesome company from what I can tell.

Thanks for the encouragement fischer.  I talked with the dealer and we will roll the kt 150s in 2 weeks.  Thanks for reminding me to experiment with the taps as well. I'm really interested to hear the difference the new tubes will make to the sound.  You might be right though.  I tend to listen to music with a large dynamic range and ss may be the ticket.  Not ready to concede yet though! Charles has mentioned increasing NFB for the SS.  I don't know how to do this, but the dealer who is quite knowledgeable should. Thanks for the tip

Today I compared the VAC 200iq with the kt 150's and the Pass x350.8.  The Kt 150s are a HUGE game changer compared with the Kt88s.  Bigger everything in a good way.  More punch with crazy good mids and excellent imaging.  The Pass had a definite advantage in the lows, but not a large one. The Pass was a little "harder" in the mids than the VAC.  We were listening with a VAC tube preamp and Magicos using the 2-4 ohm tab.  Will return shortly to compare the same set up with Focal sopra 3s.  A tough choice so far, but the VAC with the kt150's seems to have a slight edge on the Pass.  To address Al's question, my current speakers are my 20 yr old B&W bookshelf series which will be replaced when we sell our current house.  God only knows when that will happen. So I guess I'm auditioning speakers somewhat as well at this time, although my budget only allows for an amp at this time.

In response to Peter, I believe the discrepancy between the KT 88s and the KT 150s is likely related to musical style preference.  My understanding is the Kevin listens mostly to softer musical pieces which may favor the KT88s.  My taste is more toward more dynamic pieces, leaning heavily on Jazz fusion, rock, and blues.  The really amazing thing is the chameleon-like properties the VAC displays with these different tubes.