Toward the end of three hectic days covering the Los Angeles Audio Show, I was coming down with a nasty migraine as I entered the large Scott Walker Audio room at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel. Valve Amplification Co. CEO Kevin Hayes was standing just inside the door. I managed a weak “hello” and followed with a probably incoherent question about one of his preamps, before plopping down on the nearest chair. The headache was actually starting to obstruct my visual field, so I had to turn sideways and squint to see that the front of the room held a pair of Magico S5 Mk. II loudspeakers ($38,000/pair USD). This intrigued me, because VAC makes some of my favorite tube gear and I’d never heard it driving Magicos. Trying to ignore my pounding head, I studied the rest of the rig. The VAC products included the 200iQ monoblocks ($28,000/pair USD), the Signature Mk. IIa SE preamp with phono ($26,000 USD) and a Renaissance phono stage ($9,900 USD). Other associated equipment included the Berkeley Audio Design Alpha Reference Series II DAC ($19,500 USD), an Aurender N10 music server ($8,000 USD), an Acoustic Signature Storm Mk. 11 turntable using a TA-2000 tonearm [...]