Hey Rod thank you.
I hope you find these impressions useful. Both the SET 120 Control amp and Vision Q+ have really, individually and together bumped up my music enjoyment factor. I downsized from a large system, in a larger (14 x 30 foot) dedicated and sound treated room with thick carpet on a cement floor, acoustic ceiling tiles, Sonex treatment behind the speakers and corner walls , and some side wall treatments, and in that system, with the AVA T3 Fet Valve preamp/amp, it sounded incredible. That performance was also largely dependent on the room and acoustic treatment...when fully dialed in, you could feel the house breath on good music over the set of B&W 640's (with the AVA crossover modification...)! It invented the term "boogie factor" ...my cousin once brought over his Oracle Delphi turntable with a Grado Reference cartridge. Another friend, Wayne F, a brilliant jazz keyboardist, AVA aficionado and someone who knows how to set up a turntable spent about an hour working on the Oracle...the results were an epiphany for all of us. I still remember the look on my cousin's face when we put on his audiophile recording of Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick. On and off, I have been chasing that sound since then, in several different homes and rooms and now, in a much smaller multi purpose living/ TV etc room, it's back ...
In this smaller room I have rediscovered that magic - with three sets of 2-way stand mount speakers, a newer DAC/CD player, and 2 turntable combinations. Every combination is significantly better than anything else I have been able to achieve in the last 5 years. This should not be a revelation to anyone who has the newer AVA gear because you already know this..however for those frustrated with a "what to buy" dilemma, this combination absolutely delivers. The synergy with any number of speakers, turntable/carts, and DAC/CD players is amazing... enjoy the music!
Tom
