The AXPONA 2023 Chronicles: Part 11
Sound systems singing with two speakers on the second floor.
Audio Expo North America 2023 Show Report By Rick Becker

VAC (Valve Amplification Company) And Acora Acoustics
I had been looking forward to visiting Val Cora at AXPONA since I heard the buzz about the new speaker he premiered at the Florida International Audio Expo 2023 show earlier this year. Many were calling it the best room at the show. I've been calling his rooms among the Best Rooms at shows since he first hit the scene. In Montreal, in March I had been deeply moved by some Rickie Lee Jones songs in a more intimate, darkened room with the Acora SRC-2 2.5-way speakers, the previous flagship. Would this be much different, other than being a larger speaker?

We are back in the big rooms here on the 2nd Floor, and from a distance, the new speaker was somewhat taller, but not as large as a lot of speakers in the big rooms — or even some in the hotel rooms.  Aside from the obvious increase in the number of drivers, what immediately grabbed my attention was the sparkly granite that was obviously from a different source than the granite used on his previous models. In the context of the expensive gear in this room, it wasn't so much "bling" as ultra-rich. Looking back now, more than six weeks after the show, I can easily envision this speaker in very upscale homes, whether contemporary or traditional in décor.

As you get up closer, the sparkles recede more into the granular crystals of the stone and the texture of the stone, even though it has been polished smooth, becomes a rich mosaic. It is very befitting for a speaker with an estimated base price of $218k. In this league, you expect something special and the VRC delivers.

The black flakes in the stone correlate with the black drivers to create a more restrained look.

Val cued up some familiar tunes on the Oracle Delphi Reference turntable with the Turbo Mk2 power supply ($13.9k) equipped with the new Oracle Reference 1 tonearm ($6k) that was fitted with a Lyra Atlas Lambda cartridge ($12k).

The amplification was from the VAC Statement series including the Line Stage ($80k), Phono Stage ($80k), and a pair of 452 amplifiers ($75k ea.). (I suspect more Russian tubes.)

The digital front end, which I did not hear about, included an Aurender N30SA ($25k) and MC20 Rubidium Master Clock ($30), a LampizatOr Horizon DAC ($50k), and an Oracle CD 2000 Mk IV transport ($13.9k) .

Cabling was by Cardas including Clear Beyond interconnect ($5k, 1.5m), Clear speaker cable ($5,275, 2.5m), and Clear Beyond power cords ($2965, 2m ea.), and so on.

Val played this LP for me first — probably the direct-to-disc version and the experience was stunning. Eventually, we got around to Rickie Lee Jones' "Coolsville", and being a familiar cut, it was equally stunning. It was the closest I've ever felt like I was in the presence of recorded performers in my life — and not by a small margin. All the typical parameters of resolution, transparency, tonality, and dynamics, while they were excellent, were secondary to the feeling of being there. I've heard all the other gear in this rig before, much of it multiple times, with other speakers, and never had the visceral experience of being so present with the performers as I had with the Acora VRC.

Noting that I was sitting considerably further back than in my listening chair at home, I dragged the point chair even closer to the speakers. And while I respectfully replaced the chair in its original position when I was done, I commented to Val that he has the audience sitting too far back.

As I was leaving the room Jacques Riendeau of Oracle urged me to take a closer look at his turntable. It was fitted with the finished version of the Oracle Reference 1 tonearm I had seen in Montreal in prototype form. It features a carbon fiber arm and has an effective mass of 20 grams with a heavy counterweight.

At the bearing end, there is a trough for silicone damping of the arm and a built-in auto-lifter so you don't have to jump up at the end of a record. The tonearm rest and secure lock were beefy and finely finished.

And the fixed headshell was nicely machined and very substantial. It is initially available for Oracle turntables, but will eventually be offered to go with others. This turntable, arm, and cartridge, at ~$32k held its own against far more expensive analog front ends I heard at the show.

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