VAC Signature iQ200

Slap--thanks for sharing your amp "journey". Tremendously helpful! I too had read the Huffman write up on the LM219 and REALLY wanted to try one on my Magicos. Now I'm glad I didn't. Between your experience on the SFs and my more recent experience on the M3s, where I've detected the single 200 iQ clipping when played REALLY loud (3rd movement of the Beethoven piano concerto #5), I'm sure the 219 would have run out of gas.

My only criticism of the 200iQ, and it is a minor one, is that it is slightly lacking bass in my room (which is large and open) at loud volumes. My belief is that it is simply a power issue, asking too much of a 100W/channel amp. That's why I'm likely going to buy a 2nd unit and use them as monoblocks. I suspect 200 W/channel will be just the ticket!
 
Mike said:
https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2017/07/11/la-audio-show-2017-magico-vac-provide-head-soothing-sound/

"In particular, it seemed the slight warmth imparted by the VAC gear was the perfect compliment to the Magico S5s, which can lean toward the analytical side on the wrong solid-state front end."


:) I've been saying VAC with Magico was a great pairing for a long time. :)
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I agree! For me, I have a real emotional connection to the music with the combination of the VAC preamp and amp, and M3s, that I just didn't get with the Constellation Centaur II. I've never listened to so much music in my life!
 
Dth31 said:
I agree! For me, I have a real emotional connection to the music with the combination of the VAC preamp and amp, and M3s, that I just didn't get with the Constellation Centaur II. I've never listened to so much music in my life!
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And listening to the music is what is all about, after all. I think your plan to add a second 200iQ is the perfect solution. Mikes previous comments about their performance as monoblocks speaks for itself. Thankfully for me, one 200iQ is all my Olympica's need. I might have to start selling body parts if I had to fund a second one! :)

JC
 
Dth31 said:
Slap--thanks for sharing your amp "journey". Tremendously helpful! I too had read the Huffman write up on the LM219 and REALLY wanted to try one on my Magicos. Now I'm glad I didn't. Between your experience on the SFs and my more recent experience on the M3s, where I've detected the single 200 iQ clipping when played REALLY loud (3rd movement of the Beethoven piano concerto #5), I'm sure the 219 would have run out of gas.

My only criticism of the 200iQ, and it is a minor one, is that it is slightly lacking bass in my room (which is large and open) at loud volumes. My belief is that it is simply a power issue, asking too much of a 100W/channel amp. That's why I'm likely going to buy a 2nd unit and use them as monoblocks. I suspect 200 W/channel will be just the ticket!
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Rest assured that if the 200iQ comes up a bit short with your Magico's, the LM 219IA wouldn't even begin to have a hope. That was a sad experience for me because the build quality of the Line Magnetic was just superb, and I absolutely loved the looks of that beast. And the sound was magic too, but only at lower levels or with quiet, easy, acoustic stuff.

JC
 
My dealer picked up the Constellation amp today and left a 2nd 200iQ for me to try. The M3s definitely needed just a bit more power in my room. There is now more bass and mid bass. For example, with a single 200iQ the left hand of the piano tended to get a little lost in the lower registers, but not now. Seems just "right". At loud volumes, in retrospect, there was just a bit of "hardness" and slight collapse of soundstage that is now gone. In general the sound is bit more relaxed and liquid too.

VERY happy with the improvement!
 
Dth31 said:
My dealer picked up the Constellation amp today and left a 2nd 200iQ for me to try. The M3s definitely needed just a bit more power in my room. There is now more bass and mid bass. For example, with a single 200iQ the left hand of the piano tended to get a little lost in the lower registers, but not now. Seems just "right". At loud volumes, in retrospect, there was just a bit of "hardness" and slight collapse of soundstage that is now gone. In general the sound is bit more relaxed and liquid too.

VERY happy with the improvement!
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Glad to hear how well the second 200iQ solved your concerns, and not in the least surprised. It sounds like you should now have everything you need and can simply sit back and enjoy the music for what I would think would be a VERY long time! Congrats.

JC
 
Hi guys, sorry to bump an older thread. Just checking in to see how everyone is getting along with their VAC amps. Anything interesting to report?
 
Still love mine. I don’t feel like I am missing anything with them in the system. I probably am, but that’s why I’m not going to bring the VAC “big brothers” in for an audition!
 
Greetings! Bumping this thread again, as I'm in the market for an upgrade. Mike has me interested in the 200iQ and a few others. I'm currently running Magico S3 mkII, and quite a few folks seem to think these amps pair well with Magico.

How about some longer term user reports? Have you learned any tricks with these amps? How about reports on different tubes? Are you using the new master pre amp?

Any information you can offer is followed up by a big "thank you"!

Hopefully you are all having a great holiday checking out your next audio conquest. Cheers!
 
The 200iQ’s are a super value and an awfully good amp. At my dealer’s store this past weekend, I listened to a system that was pretty similar to mine: same speakers (Magico M3’s) and cables, but different source (Gryphon Scorpio CD player vs my TotalDac d1-seven), preamp (newest VAC Renaissance vs my VAC Master) and amp (VAC Statement 450 non-iQ monoblocks vs my VAC 200iQ monoblocks).

The 200iQ’s clearly communicated the greater detail, musicality and soundstaging of the upstream TotalDac and VAC Master preamp. I don’t doubt that the Statement 450’s would be even better in my system, but the 200iQ’s are so musical and so enjoyable that I also don’t feel the need to upgrade to the Statement 450’s. I suspect that the upstream components would have to be awfully good for the 200iQ monoblocks to be the weakest link. They are truly wonderful amps!

The one thing to potentially be aware of is how the 200iQ matches to the speakers. A stereo 200iQ had more of a top-down sound with the M3’s irrespective of which OPT tap I used. Adding a 2nd 200iQ resulted in sound that was better-balanced to my ears, with much improved warmth and liquidity. But I prefer a more bottom-up type of sound. YMMV.
 
Dang Mike ......you need an M-scaler in that system........:D
Wow.....the synergy of the 200iq with my S3MK2 is beyond perfection. So sweet......in love with my system more than ever..........I already started to work on prying those KT88 Golden lions Mike has..........you know the ones he calls my little precious in that funny and sorta creepy little voice.
 
Thanks Larry - Have you noticed a preferred speaker cable Ohm tap on the 200 IQ that works best for the S3 mkII's? Did you choose the Renaissance for a particular reason (or based on cost)?
 
Slapshot said:
Just survived a near heart attack while nearing the end of a three hour listening session. I was completely immersed in the performance of a lifetime favorite song on the new King Crimson "Live In Toronto" recording when the sound suddenly went out, followed almost instantly by was a bzzzzzzttttt sound. Next thing you know, I was staring at a red led light on the front of the 200iQ. The far left KT88 tube crapped out, per the manual.

Thank god for the Continuous Automatic Bias System, as a tube completely failing like that in a standard design amplifier could have resulted in any number of issues. Having been in tubes a long time, you realize such a thing is always possible, but I was a bit more shocked than usual, given that this particular amplifier has only a bit more than about 200 hours on it. The amp was recently transported about 5 hours, by car, but I did verify complete seating of all tubes before turning on the amp the first time. And given that all was fine for the 15 hours or so since then, while in use,I doubt that could have had any impact. It simply appears that one of the Gold Lions just blew.

Oh well, looks like I need to do some checking as to which supplier is closest to me, get a replacement ordered, and pay for expedited shipping.

JC
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not sure what you consider normal tube amp design. conrad johnson for a long long time have had a very simple and very effective bias scheme. individual bias pot for each tube - bias til the light comes on, back off so it goes off - done. If a tube fails, the bias light turns red for the offending tube. If anything else happens, the fuse triggers, saving the amp.

It would be interesting hearing the new cj amps and the VAC amps together.

cheers
 
Keeping tubes in constant perfect bias has a big impact and improvement on the sound.


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I went with my Mikes recommendation of 2-4 ohms since my speakers are 4 ohms. I have not yet experimented with other taps even thou the manual says it safe to do so.
I went with the Renaissance model based on sound and cost
 
I’d love to hear the iq200 on my Avantgarde. I’m sure it’s wonderful.
 
Mike said:
Keeping tubes in constant perfect bias has a big impact and improvement on the sound.


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Hi mike,
HNY 2019.
I ve read all the thread and no doubt iq200 monos are amazing.
I know you had the AR 160 m also, so to compare the 2 amps what will you say.
Thks


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