AVA OmegaStar EC preamplifier.

Manufacturer: Audio by Van Alstine, 2202 River Hills Drive, Burnsville, MN 55337; 952/890-3517; www.avahifi.com Price: $899; phono board, phase inverter, tape buffers, $129 each; upgrade from Omega III EC, $399; upgraded phono board, $100 Source: Reviewer purchase

It was hot on the heels of Ken Duke's review of the original AVA Omega III EC preamplifier (No. 57) that I promptly bought one, which has resided in the reference rig for some six years. The need to have a tape loop installed coincided with the happy circumstance of AVA's offer to upgrade the entire Omega line to the new OmegaStar versions. After a few e-mail swaps with the ever-crusty, ever-straightforward, ever-reliable Frank Van Alstine, off went the Omega III to Burnsville for its overhaul.

Audio by Van Alstine is one of those manufacturers well known to the readers of these pages and oddly, largely unknown to the rest of the trade press. Well ... if they know about 'em, they sure ain't sayin' much. Starting some two decades ago specializing in unique modifications to classic Dynaco and Hater products, AVA soon graduated to mounting its own products on Dynaco and Hater chassis. For the last decade and better, AVA has offered on its own chassis a full array of both tube and solid state amplifiers and preamplifiers, integrated amplifiers, D/A converters, even a Grado cartridge mod, and many other products. Short on looks and long on guts, AVA has become the guilty pleasure of audio enthusiasts: they're not going to win any beauty contests, but you're going to lay out HUGE amounts of money to improve on their performance. I anticipated that the upgrade would make an excellent product spectacular--I wasn't disappointed.

The Rig. The amplifier is an original Sunfire. The CD players are the newly repaired Parasound C/DP 1000 and the Integra DX-C606 carousel changer. Analog is jointly handled by a vintage (ca. 1979-80) Technics SL-Q3 turntable and arm equipped with an equally vintage Shure M95ED cartridge, which sports a new stylus, and the Rotel RP-955 'table and arm on which is mounted the Shure V15 Type VxMR cartridge. Interconnects include AudioQuest Ruby, Kimber PBJ, a bunch of Radio Shack gold plated jobbers, Monster Cable, and some manufacturers' inclusives. Speaker wire is Kimber 4VS. Everything's plugged into an Adcom ACE-515 power conditioner, which in turn is plugged into a dedicated power outlet equipped with industrial grade receptacles.

Essentials. The OmegaStar EC (for "enhanced capability"--a smaller version is the SL or "straight line"; the RB or "real basic" model from the Omega III line has been discontinued) measures 17" across by 3.5" high and 11.5" deep and weighs 16 lbs. The body is steel and the faceplate anodized aluminum. The front panel is neat, orderly, and efficient. In fact, if there is one adjective that would comprehensively describe the OmegaStar EC, it is utilitarian. The EC has never won and unlikely will never win a beauty pageant. However, if your primary criteria for a preamplifier are inputs and features, then the EC will win that competition every time. The front panel sports five rotary knobs (source selection, volume, balance, and bass and treble controls) and eight push-button switches. The source selection knob rotates among two tape loops, tuner, CD, VCR, two spares, and one labeled "Special"--the "Special" slot is where the phono inputs, if included, are located.

The tape input selection switches and a "Tape/Input" switch allow you to listen to the source or the recording in process. Although both the rotary and push-button selection switches are labeled "Tape 1" and "Tape 2", they're simply recording loops which will work perfectly well with any line-level recording device like a mini-disc recorder or a CD recorder. The "EPL" pushbutton switches in and out an external processor, such as an equalizer or for the truly adventurous a surround sound decoder in a home theater configuration. The "Mute" push-lowers the output signal by 20 dB. However, if your speakers are in the muy efficient realm, the "Mute" control and volume pot in tandem can give you greater control over the volume.

Two more push-button switches collapse the stereo signal to mono, one for each channel. This is very useful for pulling in relatively weak FM radio signals. The "Filter" switch invokes a subsonic roll-off and matching reduction in high level treble output, useful for taming very noisy signals like AM radio and television sound. The tone control push-button activates the balance, bass, and treble controls into the signal. Otherwise, they're bypassed. Finally, in addition to the rocker power switch, there is a headphone receptacle, connected to a dedicated internal amplifier.

All except for the phono input are line-level inputs, so it doesn't really matter what's hooked up to what so long as you remember where you put things. If you do not order tape buffers or phono circuits, you have a total of eight line level inputs. My original Omega III EC had phono circuits, the upgrade to the OmegaStar version adding one set of tape buffers.

The rear panel is a model of inline efficiency. In one long row are the inputs for the eight sound sources, outputs for the two tape loops, inputs and outputs for an effects processor, and two preamp outputs for connecting to two amplifiers--or if you're so configured: one output to your power amplifier and the other to the inputs of a powered subwoofer. In addition to a thumbscrew for the turntable ground, the EC supplies three switched AC convenience outlets for outboard equipment. However, they're not rated to support power amplifiers. The last feature may--may--put to rest the audiophile notion that convenience outlets somehow degrade a preamplifier's power capacity and, therefore, the quality of the signal it directs to the power amplifier. After all, would a bona fide high end manufacturer include them when (1) they add to the circuitry and, therefore, cost and (2) if it was remotely possible that their use would compromise the quality of the product? Finally, all the input jacks are gold-plated.

The OmegaStar EC's user's manual is three pages of precise, easy-to-read and comprehend instructions. No frills--also, no specifications, odd for such a conscientious manufacturer. And in partial nod to one writer's Sensible mantra, the manual states, "The music plays much better because of the quality of our circuit design no matter what brand of cables you use because we can drive any brand of audio cables made without degrading the music. So do not use cables that are more expensive than necessary!" Music, so to speak, to my ears ...

The upgrade from the Omega III EC to the OmegaStar EC includes new line, tone controls, phono circuits, headphone amp, power supply, mute circuits, and a new toroidal power transformer to supply the additional current requirements. Pretty much a whole new preamp in the same package.

Listening. I like my preamps to shut up and do their jobs. Don't need no high falutin' gizzard wizard motorized volume pot, or an awgeewhiz remote--tho' that'd be a nice touch--or some fancy, schmancy digital signal processing designed to remove the listener even further from the music. Nope. None of the above. The preamp's gotta have loads of inputs, controls that are easy to navigate, and make the noise of a monk at midnight ... like none. The OmegaStar EC does all that and more. I have six components running through it right now: a CD player, a CD changer, a CD recorder, two turntables, and a tape deck, and there's still room for more. Dig it. If you want to add an equalizer or a digital processor, the OmegaStar has a unique circuit to handle it--no need to bottle up an input. The OmegaStar simply has more capacity than most equipment racks can handle.

Sonically, the OmegaStar EC is as solid, reliable, and quiet as its predecessor. The phono section is silky smooth quiet. Since I upgraded both turntables while the Omega III was becoming the OmegaStar, I can't attribute the incredibly noticeable improvements in vinyl playback solely to the OmegaStar's revamped RIAA phono circuits. What is eminently noteworthy, however, is the utter lack of personality the OmegaStar inserts into the turntables' performance: the same inky, black background, the effortless delivery of the sound signal to the power amplifier. Digital recordings are like internal transfers in the Philips 778's dual wells, completely devoid of artifact.

Conclusion. The AVA OmegaStar EC, like its predecessor the Omega III EC, is an audiophile's dream: enough inputs to run a battleship, logically arrayed intuitive controls, and utterly quiet unintrusive performance. Some seven years ago the Omega III EC priced out at $495 plus $90 each for the phono circuits and a set of tape buffers, or $675. It's a sign of the times that the OmegaStar EC runs $899 plus $129 each for the phono circuits and tape buffers, or $1,157. At a time when basic mass- and mid-fi component prices (notably receivers and DVD players) are falling like rocks, the idea of ponying up over a grand for a preamp seems counterintuitive. However, if one takes the approach that a preamplifier should be at best a rare purchase, then the OmegaStar EC makes eminent sense. Unless you are running a battleship or have more components than an audio salon, the OmegaStar EC may be the only preamplifier you'll ever need.

For the wallet-challenged, AVA offers a stripped down version, the SL (or "straight line") for $599 or $499 in kit form. The phono circuits, tape buffers, and phase inverter add-ons are only $99 in kit form. The SL has "only" six inputs, no EPL, mute switch, hi/lo filter, or tone controls, and occupies a smaller chassis. However, it incorporates the OmegaStar circuitry. So, if my experience with the Omega III EC's sib, the late RB (No. 68), holds true for the OmegaStar line, the only difference between the SL and the EC will be features. There won't be any difference in the sound--or more accurately, the lack thereof.

Admittedly, the price is troubling, but I know the OmegaStar EC, like the original Sunfire amplifier, is the only preamp I'll ever need. Frankly, to get the same levels of performance and flexibility, the market bleeds with high-end darlin's at substantially higher prices, and I can think of only one, the Parasound Halo P3, that even begins to approach the OmegaStar's capabilities at a competitive price. The OmegaStar EC occupies a place in audio that I believe most other manufacturers should aspire to: quality, flexibility, performance ... all at value pricing. Recommended. --KE