The Statement Series began with a simple question:
What would an audio instrument be like if there were no constraints with respect to the expense, time, or difficulty of manufacture? The results far exceeded our wildest expectations.
In the development of each Statement model, VAC’s engineers explored every idea that held the possibility of even the slightest improvement. Each model has unique attributes, yet there are certain key shared concepts that are key factors in the startlingly life-like Statement sound:
ARCHITECTURAL LAYOUT
The ways in which the sections of circuits interact is addressed in careful design architecture and orientation of parts in three dimensions. Unprecedented, passive control of radiated fields is achieved, which results in increased purity and resolution.
RESONANCE MANAGEMENT
Every electronic circuit and cable is susceptible to sound degrading microphony. Among the many steps taken to manage this degradation are: the bonding of the preamplifier audio circuits to massive brass assemblies, which are isolated from the chassis, and the connection of the power amplifiers’ audio chassis to their massive power supplies via a tripod of custom-designed stainless steel cups and balls.
CHASSIS CONSTRUCTION
Statement chassis are machined at VAC from high-grade, non-ferrous aluminum. The Statement preamplifier and iQ power amplifier parts are processed through a series of plating steps to create an AlCuNiCr chassis, resulting in superior, wide-range RF rejection properties for greater resolution and blacker backgrounds.
PARTS SELECTION
Many audio companies say they use the “finest parts,” but being expensive or exotic does not guarantee good sound. The artful designer must select from the pool of “finest parts” to find combinations that interact optimally, achieving a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. The Statement instruments utilize components such as “naked” z-foil resistors, film and foil capacitors, wax and foil capacitors as well as our unique 750-kHz bandwidth transformers.
SHIELDING
Most companies use brute force shielding, which increases stray capacitance and diminishes the sound. VAC addresses the problems at the source with two natural techniques: the control of the polarization of the stray fields to minimize interactions, and the use of “director elements” to shadow sensitive areas from unwanted signals. In the Statement preamplifiers, certain magnetic and switch assemblies are contained in isolated AlCuNiCr compartments, all for a more open, effortless sound.
HAND WIRING
The audio paths of Statement instruments are hand wired with careful selection and routing of the conductors. Connection junctions/supports are implemented with costly silver turrets.
POWER SUPPLY
Statement components utilize either a massive external mono or dual mono power supplies, with large power transformers floated in a special gel to ensure low mechanical noise and vibration. Proprietary techniques give our bridge rectifiers the low noise and musicality typical of vacuum tube rectification, but with the speed and inherent passive regulation associated with silicon rectifiers.