VAC PA35/35 - Manual (Page 11)

TIPS & ADVICE
Tuning Your System
The VAC PA35/35 offers great opportunities for fine tuning your system for best subjective reproduction. At
first glance this may seem a bit intimidating, but it's actually quite easy to do. Let's go step by step from the
beginning.
1) Start with the Ground switch at "Normal" and the Feedback control at "A." Connect the loudspeakers
to the highest tap that encompasses the nominal impedance rating of your speakers. For example, if
your speakers are 4 ohms, connect them to the "4-8" tap rather than the "2-4" tap.
2) Play several different recordings that you are familiar with to get used to the sound of the system.
3) Turn the Feedback controls to the next highest setting. Turn up the volume control on your preamp
until the volume sounds the same as before. Listen again to several recordings. If the sound seems
improved, then try the next higher Feedback setting. Stop when you find the setting that sounds best
to you.
In general, very reactive loudspeakers such as electrostatics will require more feedback for open
sound.
4) If you note too much hum and/or buzz through the speakers, try the Ground switch in the "LF" position.
Select the position that sounds best (LF normally produces a "thicker" sound, "Normal" a lighter, playful
sound) and does not introduce hum or buzz into the system.
5) Try the speakers on the next lower impedance tap, and select the tap that sounds best to you.
6) If you made changes in steps 4 or 5, then repeat steps 3, 4, and 5.
Finally, remember that the break-in time of high resolution audio equipment is infuriatingly long. The
Renaissance sound will continue to season for at least 200 hours. Typically, the early sound of the amplifier
will be less extended, dynamic, and coherent. Then the sound will improve noticeable, followed by a period of
darker sound, finally giving way to the desired musicality. Patience, as they say, is a virtue.