[orthobiz]

Once at the Rocky Mountain audio show
Once for best preamp (T8)

Congrats, Frank!

And that Audiogon T8 from a few posts back looked like an Ultra trade-in...
Sounds like a hard-to-please customer, eh?

I can hardly wait until MY Ultra comes later this month!

Paul

[martyo]

            
                             

                                                           


From THE "discriminating" hi-fi rag. Nice Frank, you deserve it! 

[BrianM]

Once for best preamp (T8)

Context?? Best in show? Best in $ range? Best tube pre? Best in human history? Best in universe?

[avahifi]

I seemed to have missed those mentions.  Fill me in more please.

Thank you.

Frank

[orthobiz]

The Absolute Sound, Feb 08
Number 1:
TAS Journal
"Rocky Mountain High"
Pg 34
"Audio by Van Alstine hybrid tube/solid-state components
Frank Van Alstine, long a champion of affordable yet performance-minded audio components, demonstrated three new models featuring hybrid tube/solid-state circuitry: The Ultra EC hybrid preamp with tone controls (startin g at 1799), the Fet Valve Ultra 550 Hybrid tube amplifier (2199), and the Ultra Hybrid Tube DAC (1599). Several of these designs are based on the low-noise, wide-bandwidth 6N1P tube,originally developed for Russian military applications. Van Alstine may well ha ve found the elusive sweet spot between the natural warmth and harmonic richness of tubes and the clean, clear, well-controlled sound of fine solid-state."

Number 2
The TAS Short List
Pg 110
Preamps Under $2K
Van Alstine Transcndence Eight
1099 An outstanding value in a n all-tube preamp (Vol 174).

Paul

[martyo]

Thanks orthobiz. 
Like I said:

           
                             

                                                           


From THE "discriminating" hi-fi rag. Nice Frank, you deserve it! 

                                                                                                                                                

[BrianM]

Yo.  To anyone considering Van Alstine products, this quote (IMO) hits the nail on the head:

Van Alstine may well have found the elusive sweet spot between the natural warmth and harmonic richness of tubes and the clean, clear, well-controlled sound of fine solid-state.

Any more "clean and controlled" and it would sound too clinical; any more "warmth and harmonic richness" and it would sound untidy.  No such thing as perfection in audio, but there is such a thing as musical, and AVA gear is always that.

[AliG]

I have recent auditioned the $9k Audio Research Hybrid HD220, and comparing to what I heard at RMAF 08 in the AVA/Salk room, the AVA more than held its own!

[martyo]

It just dawned on me that the TAS commentary of AVA at the RMAF was made listening thru the pair of SALK Veracity HT3's that we now own.

Thanks Jim and Frank, we're grateful for what you do.