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Audio by Van Alstine Transcendence 10 RB Preamplifier and Vision SET 120 Stereo Power Amplifier

Audio by Van Alstine Transcendence 10 RB Preamplifier and Vision SET 120 Stereo Power Amplifier

What constitutes the “entry level” isn’t always obvious. Because we live in an Internet-infected world where fluidity, shape-shifting, social relativity, distributed systems, etc. are commonly accepted models of reality, definitions are rarely clear-cut or easy.

That’s what people say, anyway. Fortunately, this is my column, and I get to make the rules.

I admit, though, the entry level is probably one of the most nebulous terms out there. What’s affordable for me isn’t always affordable for someone else, and so on. I will also admit that just being deep into the hi-fi world makes me much more tolerant of today’s steep pricing. I have to actively resist normalizing absurd-seeming costs, and coming back to this column is almost a cleansing experience. I get to remind myself that there are awesome-sounding products that don’t cost as much as a car, for example.

In this space, I can draw lines, and I like drawing lines. Mostly, I’ve been thinking of anything under $1000 as being potentially “entry level,” although I allow for some flexibility where necessary. For example, if an entire system is going to cost less than, say, a couple thousand, that would probably be reasonable. It’s also not just the bottom line that matters, but the value you’re getting per dollar.

Sometimes, equipment is just worth the money.

Which is why I’m reviewing Audio by Van Alstine’s Transcendence 10 RB tube preamplifier ($899 base price without remote and phono circuit; $1328 as reviewed with both) and Vision SET 120 60Wpc solid-state power amplifier ($899). Frank Van Alstine has been building or modifying audio electronics since the early 1970s, and his company’s products are known for delivering high value. Individually, these two new components fit into my criteria of sub-$1000, although the preamp can get pricey if you add the remote ($100) and the phono circuit ($329). But regardless, for a separates system these are inexpensive, at least by audiophile-industry standards.

OK, I know, that was a lot of high-level price talk. Let’s look at the equipment now, the reason we’re all here.

Both the preamp and the amp sport an all-black front and back (and only come in black). They’re slim and relatively light, and I probably could’ve stacked them on top of each other on the bottom shelf of my rack, but I didn’t. The preamp runs a little warm due to the tubes, although not hot, while the amp stays relatively cool. They each have a long goldish white line along the bottom, ending in the company name at the far right. I found them utilitarian and simple, but nice, especially that little line detail.

They’re easy to set up, with nothing particularly tricky about them, unless you need to change the phono section’s loading options. Otherwise, they’re pretty much plug-and-play. The preamp has four RCA line outs (unless you have the phono option, which replaces the first line out). There’s a volume knob on the preamp and a headphone jack. I tested the headphone jack briefly, but since I don’t own very good quality headphones, I don’t feel confident giving a detailed report. I will simply say that it worked and sounded fine to my ears, for what that’s worth.

When I got everything up and running, I did encounter some very loud hissing noises that got louder as the preamp warmed up. After a little troubleshooting, I figured out that it was a bad tube in the left channel. After a quick email, AVA sent out new tubes, and once I swapped those in, everything worked as it should. AVA has a three-month replacement policy for tubes in new equipment. The thing is, tubes don’t last forever. They have to be replaced sooner or later, and it’s not uncommon to get a faulty tube, or to have a tube go bad, off the bat. When you get into the tube game, you basically accept this limitation as a given, and I think AVA’s policy is reasonable, if not generous.

 

Now, to get into sound. I started with a vinyl copy of Spiritualized’s new album And Nothing Hurt. The Transcendence 10 RB preamp I received had the Vision phono circuit included, so I plugged my tonearm cables directly into the phono input. I did all of my listening with my Grado Blue v2, and since the circuit was set at the factory for moving-magnet operation, I didn’t have to change anything. However, the Vision circuit can handle a wide variety of different loading options for moving-coil carts. It involves opening the amp and adjusting switches, which is relatively simple if a little time consuming.

The phono circuit sounded fantastic. I was instantly impressed by the depth of the soundstage and the general dynamics. Spiritualized is known as being maximalist to the max, with wide, densely layered instruments and near-constant sonic growth. It’s a big sound, and I was feeling every nuance. On “The Morning After,” the driving guitar is constantly underpinned by synths diving down deep into the mix. Eyes closed, I could start to pick them apart and could almost differentiate each individual track.

Such a big sound needs a power amp that can keep up. The Vision SET 120 is rated at 60Wpc into 8 ohms and “much more” into 4 ohms. (AVA doesn’t publish full specs, although the website states that they are available on request; in keeping with the AVA spirit I chose not to request them.) Those 60 watts were plenty for driving my Omen Dirty Weekends and the Monitor Audio Studios to a more than room-filling blast. The horns at the end of “The Morning After” came through screaming, purposefully borderline harsh, but I felt like the SET 120 never lost control. I was in the cacophony the whole time, experiencing the raging instrumentation swirling around the driving back-beat. Overall, And Nothing Hurt is not an easy record, but this AVA separates system did it justice.

Next, since CDs are now basically what vinyl was ten years ago, let’s look at two of them briefly. I started with the recent Light in the Attic reissue of Haruomi Hosono’s Philharmony. The chiming sequencers, the stabbing synths, the big drum machines, all add up to a funhouse version of disco. The low end is solid and taut in a really satisfying way, especially on the fourth track “Platonic.” It’s odd to describe such an energetic recording as relaxed, but that’s exactly the sense I got with the AVA equipment. The chimes and whispered, distorted lyrics remained easygoing without ever being easy. The AVA generated a deceptively cool sound, in the sense of being laid-back and calm, while still providing a taut low end and just enough sparkle in the upper registers.

I found myself bobbing along to the honking pseudo-horns on the title track, “Philharmony.” It’s an odd, minimal little recording, all synth and sequencing. For what’s supposed to be a pop album, maybe even disco, Philharmony is surprisingly strange. It’s actually disorienting in places, but despite the relative lack of spatial grounding in the recording, I felt like the AVA equipment allowed for the depth to shine through. The layering of simple melody and repetition made these tracks more complex than you’d think, and I found myself closing my eyes and getting lost in them.

Finally, I recently picked up the album Sailorwave by Macross 82-99, which features a big Sailor Moon manga image on the cover. It’s a Vaporwave release—a style of electronic music that’s heavily influenced by 80s and 90s cyberpunk culture. This particular recording is obsessed with late-80s Japan and the City Pop genre in particular, with Tatsuro Yamashita’s voice showing up at the end of the very first track.

It’s not exactly an “audiophile disc,” but it’s a lot of fun. The bass has just the right amount of slam and size, and the synths are kept from straying into harshness at loud listening levels. I really liked what sounded like a natural presentation of an incredibly unnatural recording, which was probably the tube preamp keeping things just on the right side of mellow.

In the end, I kept asking myself if these units really were “entry-level” or not. Maybe yes, maybe no, but it doesn’t matter. They’re borderline if you’re going purely by my arbitrary price points, but sonically they’re a solid step past what their prices suggest. I spent a considerable amount of time with both components, and the more I listened, the more I really, really liked them. Whenever I moved them out of my system to work on something else, I’d always end up putting them right back in. If you take one thing from this review, that’s what I hope you remember.

The AVA duo is possibly the best bargain I’ve reviewed so far, and more than worth a listen. The preamp in particular really wowed me, especially the quiet but breezy tubes and the fantastic phono section. All in all, both the Vision SET 120 power amp and the Transcendence 10 RB tube preamp are easy recommendations.

Specs & Pricing

Vision SET 120
Type: Class AB power amplifier
Output power: 60Wpc into 8 ohms
Inputs: Unbalanced RCA
Dimensions: 17″ x 12″ x 2.5″
Weight: 30 lbs.
Price: $899

Transcendence 10 RB
Type: Vacuum-tube preamplifier
Tube complement: 2x 6D78 (6CG7 and 6N1P can also be used)
Inputs: Line level (4x RCA), phono (if included, RCA)
Outputs: Main (2x RCA)
Dimensions: 17″ x 12″ x 3.5″
Weight: 17 lbs.
Price: $899; $100 for remote control; $329 for phono option

AUDIO BY VAN ALSTINE
2665 Brittany Lane
Woodbury, MN 55125
(651) 330-9871
avahifi.com

Tags: AUDIO BY VAN ALSTINE

Drew Kalbach

By Drew Kalbach

I have a degree in English from Temple University and a Masters in Fine Arts with a specialty in poetry from the University of Notre Dame. I’m a full-time self-published author with over 100 books in both romance and men’s adventure fiction.

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