VAC Sigma 160i MM phono stage question

Haven't had the 160i in my own system, but have heard the SE version in other systems sounding EXTREMELY nice! I expect its MM stage should be very close to the Renaissance Mk. III's MM phono, which I owned for a couple years. The MM stage was my favorite thing about that preamp; really fantastic stage. You were right to not get VAC's MC option, as inexpensive Lundahls are used which can easily be bettered for the same $1K towards a SUT box (e.g. Bob's Device's 1131 was a very nice upgrade) -- the MM part is the deal.

The Ren. III MM stage was good enough that I'd take it over the Hagerman Trumpet and Rogue Ares which I had after (and also before, in the case of the Ares). And this was with all Rogue downstream gear (I preferred the Rogue Hera line stage to the Ren. III; another reason to go with VAC's integrated vs. separates at this level). I *might* slightly prefer my Partsconnexion-modded Sonic Frontiers Phono 1 SE+ (also uses JFET for MC gain like the Chinook), but it would be very close and I'm going off memory here. The VAC MM was definitely better than the stock Phono 1, which I also owned. So I'd think the VAC MM should do very very well against any standalone stage in the $2K+ range.

John, good catch -- I was incorrectly extrapolating from the Renaissance III. Back when I purchased the III there was the option for no phono, MM only, or MM+MC (I opted for the latter). In my dealer's showroom I didn't look into the 160i close enough to see that MC was the only listed option (just looked again the other day, and sure enough that's it). So definitely I was in error there.

But my experience with the III still stands -- the Lundahl SUTs for the MC upgrade option sound good, but the CineMag 1131 SUT sounds better (even with an extra interconnect).