blackraven
09-18-2008, 01:35 PM
Well today I met with Frank Van Alstine at his house and auditioned his Amps and DAC's.
He's an interesting man to say the least. I got to pick his brain a little.
First off, he allowed me to bring my Cambridge 840c to use with his Fet Valve 550 hybrid amp and his Salk Veracity HT3 speakers. I was impressed with the sound. It has a more analog sound compared to my amp, exactly what I'm looking for. It was very liquid and blacks were black, there was no audible hiss or hum. The amp was very dynamic with a huge sound stage. Bass had good slam but I could not tell if it was the speakers or his amp. The only thing that bothered me was that he could not tell me what the power of the amp was at 4 ohms, only that it should double the 8 ohm out put.
I also got to audition his SS DAC and Hybrid DAC and compared them to my 840c. Both DAC's blew my 840c out of the water. They had greater bottom end, were more liquid with less distortion and warmer overall sound. Interestingly the SS DAC had better bass then the Hybrid which may have sounded just a smidge smoother. The difference in cost is $800 for the SS and $1500 for the Hybrid. Frank recommended the SS to match with my Magnepans.
Frank did like the Cambridge unit however. He even tested the 840c's square wave to his DAC's on the oscilloscope with a test CD and said that the 840c was one of the best testing CDP's he's come across. There was still a remarkable difference in distortion however.
So now I'm left with the dilemma, do I just buy his DAC or do I buy his amp. He recommended going with the DAC and if I was not happy with it that I could return it in 30 days. I just might have an 840c for sale!
One other thing, he used $15 IC's and speaker wire. He thinks that high end cables and wire are a waste of money and dont make a difference. Middle of the road cables were the way to go.
He's an interesting man to say the least. I got to pick his brain a little.
First off, he allowed me to bring my Cambridge 840c to use with his Fet Valve 550 hybrid amp and his Salk Veracity HT3 speakers. I was impressed with the sound. It has a more analog sound compared to my amp, exactly what I'm looking for. It was very liquid and blacks were black, there was no audible hiss or hum. The amp was very dynamic with a huge sound stage. Bass had good slam but I could not tell if it was the speakers or his amp. The only thing that bothered me was that he could not tell me what the power of the amp was at 4 ohms, only that it should double the 8 ohm out put.
I also got to audition his SS DAC and Hybrid DAC and compared them to my 840c. Both DAC's blew my 840c out of the water. They had greater bottom end, were more liquid with less distortion and warmer overall sound. Interestingly the SS DAC had better bass then the Hybrid which may have sounded just a smidge smoother. The difference in cost is $800 for the SS and $1500 for the Hybrid. Frank recommended the SS to match with my Magnepans.
Frank did like the Cambridge unit however. He even tested the 840c's square wave to his DAC's on the oscilloscope with a test CD and said that the 840c was one of the best testing CDP's he's come across. There was still a remarkable difference in distortion however.
So now I'm left with the dilemma, do I just buy his DAC or do I buy his amp. He recommended going with the DAC and if I was not happy with it that I could return it in 30 days. I just might have an 840c for sale!
One other thing, he used $15 IC's and speaker wire. He thinks that high end cables and wire are a waste of money and dont make a difference. Middle of the road cables were the way to go.