The speakers in our house are: Sound dynamics RTS 3s; Hale Rev 3s.
I prefer analog; the digital sounds good, but the analog sounds....mesmerizing. I recently heard an Ayre CX-7 or whatever the latest model is. Sounded very good, but analogue still sounds less connect-the-dots. it's just....there.
Last weekend at the Stereophile Show in New York (the weekend of May 23, 2004), I heard the JM Lab speakers with a couple hundred thousand dollars in digital. It was extremely good, but analogue still has a flow to it that, in my experience, digital does not yet display. I think the CD system revolved around the DCS digital system in the JM Lab/Shunyata room at the show. And whenever I heard digital, it always sounded less open at the top. Not "un-airy," so to speak, just like there was an invisible scrim over the soundstage so that sound didn't float upwards and outwards forever, the way analogue seems to.
It's funny, because with the prices people pay for digital, you could have a top-notch turntable tonearm AND cartridge. But digital is more convenient; plug and play, so to speak. So, that's cool, too.
Back to your question. The VAC line, from what I remember of my old Renaissance 70/70 (with a pair of Audio Artistry Dvoraks, which really needed solid state) was truly beautiful to listen to. Lush in the heart-rending sense. I'm sure they've improved since then. I sure wouldn't mind owning that amp again! it was utterly life-like and that with a pair of speakers that Sigfried Linkwitz (who now designs the Orions, I see) definitely recommended with solid state ONLY. And 100 watts at that. So, look into the VAC line.
