Everything. dynamics, realism, silent, reliable. Superb chassis build

I woulda' liked a rack mopunt 19 face available", so eventually I can rack everything and clean up the buildup of equipmentf on the shelves. Into eventually a nice racked setup

ULTRA Hybrid EC with Phono and remote options. Incredible, absolutly great!! Silent, musical, smooth, it's gotta be teh best pre amp I ever didn't hear. Flawless operatioanl devices. Makes the 4 VanAlstine OmegaStar EX in Hafler P500/DH500 chassis do THEIR magic into a pair of Legacy WHISPERS. VanAlstine electronics is teh ONLY way to make your speakers come to life. IThe Ultra Hybrid EC drives 2 Ultra Hybrid phse inverters which in turn drive teh 4 VanAlstine OmegaStar EX amps. 4 MONO in Hafler P500/DH500 chassis, about 4,200 watts, there is no substitute for WATTS. VanAlstine WATTS. It's ALIVE, DYNAMIC, REAL!!!!

Customer Service

Extrodinary, SUPERB. Design expertise, knowledge of reality based designs, not magic foo dust and magic twists and insulation, based on nonsense. Just great electrical design and knowledge, and what sounds great and right.

Similar Products Used:

VanAlstine Omega PAT-5 (Dyna chassis) Origina; Dyna PAT-5 bi-FET,

Clean but sterile.

Very boring. Lean sounding. Sounds like a $200 pre.

This review is for the Omegstar solid-state pre-amp. This pre-amp sounded very sterile and uninvolving. I sent it back after one week. I had an old Van Alstine Model One that sounded better. Needless to say I kept my Fisher Coronet tube pre-amp and shipped the Omegastar back. Waited nine weeks for the Van alstine and was completely dissapointed.

Customer Service

Good return policy

Similar Products Used:

Model One. Bryston. Audio Reseach.

Absolute sonic purity, rugged engineering, bullet-proof construction, excellent cooling, awesomely-silent operation, tremendous value for the money invested, an opportunity to talk directly with one of America's "living treasures", and (did I mention?) absolute sonic purity.

Flip remark: getting people to believe that I haven't been paid to say these things. Seriously: If you prefer artistic-looking equipment and don't have hearing like mine, there are more visually-impressive high-end products to consider. The Van Alstine military-grade "black box look" probably isn't for everyone.

I have been blessed with very sensitive hearing and I have listened to (and in some cases, purchased) high-end equipment that hurts my ears as badly as the discount store stuff does. After a long and very expensive quest for "the right sound", I purchased a used, Dynaco-based AVA Omega II pre-amp and Omega II 400 power amp from Frank Van Alstine...almost in desparation...after he debunked some of my high-end misconceptions. For the first time in my life, the technology simply disappeared and I was left with only beautiful music. You either understand the significance of this sentence or you do not. Others in my family agreed. Since that time, I've listened to newer AVA equipment and it has improved...but my Omega II stuff is still so unbelievably good that I feel no need to upgrade. Fortunately, the Omega II equipment has been engineered and built for eternity. Also, since buying my Omega II equipment, I have felt no further interest in going into high-end audio stores where less competent equipment (to my ears, anyway) is sold at higher prices. After all, from a sonic perspective, my Omega II equipment "does not exist". Why would I want to again insert something artificial between myself and the art I cherish?

Similar Products Used:

Since the mid-1970s, I have owned a variety of high-end equipment that I would prefer not to defame by implication since many people were (and still are) very happy with it.

Quality, Value, Performance.

Frank may not tell you what you want to hear, but he will tell you the truth.(actually a strength, isn't it?)

My comments are not a review of a specific piece of equipment, but rather a comment on a commitment to excellence that is rarely seen. I have owned Frank Van Alstine's equipment for over twenty years, and recently sent a friend to Frank. I had an opportunity to listen to some of Mr. Van Alstine's Newest gear and in my experience, it is still the best equipment for the cost, I challenge anyone to find a better value anywhere. I am happy to know someone who hasn't grown complacent. Thanks Frank.

I am running the Fet Valve EC pre-amp with the Fet Valve 550hc amplifier from the same company, so my comments refer to the pair. These are nice solid pieces of equipment; I have a pair of Dynaudio speakers and the combination is exactly what I was looking for; nice neutral response with good definition. The bass is nice and tight and the highs are clean and extended. It sounds great on music where the details really matter; orchestral pieces and vocals in particular are outstanding. Also, one of my reference rock pieces is Frank Zappa's "Black Napkins" on the "Zoot Allures" album. This song in particular has some really tight but deep bass, a tom-tom roll that practically detonates off the drum head, and that nice clean Zappa/Gibson SG sound. I'm very happy with the way that track works with this rig.
In addition, I also like Van Alstine's business model; he sells direct over the web, so there are no expensive audio boutique markups. Also he designs and builds everything by hand in Minnesota so the build quality is high. Since his equipment is all made to order, it takes about 6 weeks to get to your doorstep, but it's well worth the wait. The interesting thing about his designs is there are no trim-pots inside the enclosure which leads one to believe that he uses pretty tight tolerance parts and does a good job matching them. Total cost for the amp and pre was right around $3,100 with shipping. I'm giving it 4 stars on technical merit and another one for value and corporate karma.

I certainly owe Mr.Frank Van Alstine an acknowledgement on the fet/valve tube preamplifier. This design that uses mosfets for the current amplifiers and 12AX7 triode tubes for the voltage does an absolute wonderful job on full musical content. I am glad now, I didn't hastily sell it and replace with a primary tube or solid state design preamp, I have tried several top named products, that I sold as dealer and was embarressed for these products. This preamp is full functioned, all the inputs you would ever need, tone controls that do NOT color the sound, phono input, tape buffers, excellent build quality and good advice from Frank, when so many others want you to waste your money and buy foolishly.This preamp is neutral in sound, excellent dynamic presentation, just enough warmth with NO fet sound at all. You will stop focusing on the hardware and enjoying the music. Contact avahifi.com and buy one today!!!
I give this preamp a full five stars for musical integrity and another for just plain musical fun and enjoyment. Highly Recommended!!!!!