VAC Avatar vs. VAC Avatar Special Edition


Currently an owner of the VAC Avatar and am contemplating of upgrading ($700) to Special Edition and wonder if it's worth the price:

"All new coupling capacitors costing 20x the originals; same for most of the audio path resistors. Many new power supply capacitors. Sound with much more detail, body, image size, and harmonic content (especially in the bass and lower midrange)." - per the Vac web site.

Has anyone of you tried A/B these two amps? Any thoughts or perspective is appreciated. Thanks.

Steve
stevenkc

Showing 1 response by stevenkc

Ladderlake,

I'm running a pair of Sonus Faber Grand Pianos and a REL Strata sub, with a Cary 303/100 cdp.

My dilemma is that for $700, I can get the:

- SE version, which I have no idea how good it will be compared to the original
- or upgrade to a better cd player
- maybe add another $100 or so, I can try the BAT VK300XSE with the super tube. Much more power (150wpc) with tube pre.
- or save more, then plunge in an additional $1k to try the tri-vista 300

All with pros and cons. Guess that's part of the fun...