Originally Posted by
mulveling
Thanks Mike. Ear is still not fully better, though at least it's starting to have moments where it can hear up to 85% again (and then it will close up again grr). But ugh, this is killing me.
In anticipation of my ear actually getting better at some point, I was a bad boy today and snagged a used Renaissance Mk V at a good price. I'd borrowed one before, and decided to stick with my REF6, but that was before these 200iQ's. I think the REF6's sonic signature is now sticking out more in contrast to the VAC phono stage & amps - it's a bit forward, and aggressive compared to the VAC sound. And that's a double-edged sword - on one side it can really thrash and get the adrenaline rushing with hard rock and heavy metal music, but on the other it can be "too much" on parts of recordings with harsh/shrill top-end energy - and the latter is exacerbated by the Tannoy horn tweeter. Now I want to give the full-house VAC sound a try (and I'll roll some really nice Seimens / Philips E88CC tubes this time). This will probably not be my final preamp destination (at least upgrade to SE status), but I'm so pleased with the VAC phono and 200iQ's I think it's time to give the VAC pre another try. I also feel more comfortable with VAC service going forward, as needed.