Any VAC CPA-1 preamp owners here?

Rick,

Yes, the reason most folks come here to AudiogoN is to buy/sell gear, I agree.

However, how else can you explain your comment in the original post?

I hope there is some owners out there, my search did not bring up much information.. in fact, there is not much on the net period about this preamp.

You may not notice that newer gear gets much more press on the web than vintage gear.....but you are only fooling yourself.

I originally replied only out of my respect for VAC gear, which I own and enjoy. I'm sure your CPA-1 mk III is a great preamp, and a steal for the price. I'd recommend looking for some Pope or Amperex Bugle Boy 12AX7's, and maybe 12AU7's too. I'm a fan of Amperex, though I do like Siemen's and Telefunken's too. Mullard's are a bit too warm for me. I'd also recommend a Amperex white label PQ 7308 for your 6DJ8 tube, and of course I'd recommend some Herbie's Tube Dampers........now, about the power cord.....I digress.

Cheers,
John

Hi Rick,

I tend to agree with John. There is not that much info on VAC products and by experience not a lot of audiophiles are well acquainted with this excellent brand.

I have a Standard LE preamp. It was designed back when your CPA MKIII was made available on the market. If I presume the same sonic signature was implemented in both preamps, I would then conclude that your unit is quite transparent with a lot of focus and details. Imaging would be it's main strength but warmth would be its downside. Am I right ?

If so, I would immediately say that your unit must very sensitive to tubes rolling as mine is. And both preamps seem to have the same tube complement. John did give you good basic recommendations. You could also have a look at Joes tube lore for more info on 12AX7 and AU7 tubes:http://www.audioasylum.com/scripts/d.pl?audio/faq/joes-tubes.html.

Personnally, I prefer a warm sound so black plated 5751s NOS Sylvania or GE JHS combined with RCA Clear tops or Valvo in the AU7 positions did the job on my Standard LE. Radio technique AU7s were an excellent alternative and not very expensive. Generally speaking, I found 12AX7 tubes had too much gain and were too bright for my taste in my Standard LE.

Hope this can help you !

Regards !

I just thought there must be something in the archives about this preamp.

Every piece of equipment I own I thoroughly researched on the net first.

I am assuming that there were not alot of these preamps built.

I do appreciate everyones posts, even though I did sound a little defensive earlier, I just was confused why I could fnd information on everything else I have looked for, rare or not, but the CPA-1 seems to be quite elusive.

I also appreciate the tube recommendations, I have printed "Joe's Tube Lore" and hopefully I can find some excellent AND affordable tubes.

Can I get some recommendations where to buy tubes? I only had to purchase 6922's before, so Kevin at Upscale was all I ever needed to purchase from. I think I'm going to need a much wider base to choose from.

Again, I really do appreciate the effort in posting to me, and hope that more communication can be had.

Have a great evening!

Andy at Vintage Tube Services is your man.

Have a look at this :http://www.audiotubes.com/12ax7.htm

I found out I could look for a lot of alternatives in my search for quality tubes. And saved a lot of money by deviating from the big names (brands and dealers).

Be patient in your shopping....and have fun !