VoxAC10 hand wired; now available

Cerise

After about 2 years since it's announcement, the hand wired upgrade to the AC10 C1 is available to buy. It's called the Vox AC10 R1 HW. Has anyone bought or tried one?
It has 12" speaker, a square wood cab, FX loop, spring tank reverb , master volume, gain volume, Hi & Low inputs. Price varies but it's between $1200 & $1300 . Not sure if this is adjusted for the coming import tariffs

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I guess we will have to wait for some real-world opinions. And some "gut shots".
Still only two pre-amp valves, so, the purists will still compain about the MOSFET(s?).
Does it really have spring reverb, or still digital as before?
The cabinet should work better. Effects loop, better. Still no cut control.
Better transformers?
The price sure is in a different league to our old C1 models.

Cerise

The overdrive section is called 'top boost' but I'm not sure if it's like the top boost from the vintage models. To me it's just gain & master volume as with other amp s. It's likely it will have the chip in the pre amp, but some are not bothered by this. I spoke to one retailer in England on the phone and he said it's not like the vintage top boost! it does say top boost on the panel. There will be reviews soon. He did say the reverb is spring. Sweetwater in the US recently advertised it at $1299. In England its just over double the cost of the C1 at £ 1,179. For a hand wired amp & the extra features and better components that's not bad. Still cheaper than American brands or boutique amps.
These are available to order from May. It looks like production runs will be more limited than with the C1. If it sounds right then I think people will go for it...
The AC4 has also aquired an FX loop ..be interesting to see or hear that one too...

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It looks as if the new AC4 Handwired is well received. Some gripes about lack of space to fit "better" Alnico speakers. I cannot say I understand why designers insist that the valves should hang down right behind the speaker. Pictures of the insides - it looks neat. There are transistors on the main turret board, and some debate about what they do. Probably reverb drive and return. The by-passable effects loop has its components and buffers on a separate board. I would like to have the Service Manuals of the new series, to see what the circuit is like. The pictures of the AC4 insides could be analyzed by someone who actually knows about circuits, but all the wiring is not clear there.
The happy new owners deem it to be a good price for the amplifier. From what I see, it sure is"better" than the old model. Of course, the inclusion of reverb and effects loops in these amplifiers has the "purists" up in arms...
I would think the new AC10 Handwired will sell well too, And immediately receive "better" speakers.

Cerise

modulator I've only seen one photo of the back of the 2025 AC4 HW ..it shows the FX loop. Nothing showing inside the cab-unless you've seen it? They have said a few times that the Reverb is the spring type not fully solid state. I cant play any amp without Reverb. The cab looks to be taller so I would have thought the two power valves would sit higher. I feel the AC4 is better than the 10 model for playing at home-must be. Vox also say the cab wood is lighter

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From the relevant TGP thread...

I sometimes feel this is very accurate.

Cerise

modulator Not sure who did this, but they were often assembled by women back in the day. Vox set up a factory in South Korea as far back as the 1960s ...I've seen the inside of British built ACs ..all components were made in England..that was a long time back

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Cerise
There is a long thread on The Gear Page (TGP?, as I said) about these amps. Pictures of the AC4 insides are there.

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Cerise
From the relevant The Gear Page thread.

Short reverb tank. And, space with a Celestion Blue without cover. Silly.

Cerise

modulator The 2025 AC4 sells for a little over £900 in the UK...$999 at Sweetwater USA. I notice now you can see the back of the amp on their web site. Still a lot of money but cheaper than hand wired from Tone king or Matchless or others. As you say, space is still limited for some speakers - like Jensen

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Interesting, one of the gripes with the Marshall Haze 40 amplifier, is that the valves sit horizontal above the speaker, not even this close. The issue seem to be short valve life, being vibrated by the spaeker below them. I have not read similar gripes about all the amplifiers with valves hanging down behind the speaker, and there are many amplifiers like that.

Cerise

modulator That's interesting. maybe the airwaves created by the speaker cone moving. All the same on the AC4 it's only one power valve and they could have moved it to one side or other ...