By Neil Gader
VAC designer and president Kevin Hayes is raising the ante in the integrated amp wars with the imposing, and at $12,500 virtually cost-no-object Alpha. It brings together all of the sophistication of VAC’s best “separates� into a single if massive chassis.

The interior of the chassis is a thing of beauty both visually and in terms of execution with each stage elegantly shielded and optimally positioned to keep signal pathways the shortest possible.

Using the new direct-coupled all triode input and driver stage of the esteemed VAC Phi 300 as well as a triode phono stage and line stage, the Alpha outputs 100Wpc.

Adjustment to the matched pair of KT88 output tubes is controlled at the front panel. There’s a nifty remote control and five inputs and a fixed volume CINE input for easy multichannel integration.

The look of the Alpha prototype seen here hasn’t been finalized so expect some minor alterations to the front panel or knobs but this 95 pounder was clearly ready to rumble.

Read all the in-depth Rocky Mountain Audiofest news here

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