Prof, you mentioned the Parasound and Sim Audio phono stages. What were the other three you tried previously?
First impression: Herron VTPH-2A phono preamp
I got my VTPH-2A this morning and it's up and running. After about five hours of spinning vinyl, I'm pretty sure I've wet myself, MULTIPLE TIMES! I've primarily played vinyl that I've had for decades, music that I thought I was intimately familiar with. I was wrong. There's nuance I never knew existed. Everything about the VTPH-2A is "right". The bass is tight, vocals superb, instruments have places, etc. All that I've listened to sounds new and fresh and the most masterfully recorded vinyl sounds live. What I've read about on this forum concerning the VTPH-2A (pretty much all stellar) is true. I've had five different phono preamps and nothing can compete with this, NOTHING. It's a bad ass and definitely a keeper.
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Prof--glad you like! One of those rare products in high end that exceeds the hype and yet somehow flies below most people's radar. What you get: SQ approaching the limits of what is possible yet a relative bargain compared with most ultra-high-end stages AND what is arguably finest customer support extent. Have fun! |
Professorsvsu, congratulations and continue to enjoy! I know you will, being one of several other members here using the VTPH2 or 2A/ART-9 combo. Regarding passive preamps, the Herron phono stage is not suitable for driving a low impedance passive preamp. One reason being that its nominally 400 ohm output impedance undoubtedly rises to much higher values at deep bass frequencies, due to the use of a coupling capacitor at its output. (Also, btw, the configuration providing a 400 ohm output impedance provides 64 db of gain, not 69 db as was stated above. And I assume you have the 64 db version, which is what I and most VTPH owners have purchased). From the manuals for the VTPH-2 and 2A: We recommend that the VTPH-2A be used with a line stage having an input impedance of 50,000 ohms or higher for optimum performance. And a direct quote of a response Keith Herron provided just yesterday to a member who asked him if the VTPH-2A could be used with a 20K load impedance (see this thread): "We have VTPH-2A customers that are using preamplifiers with 20k Ohms RCA single ended input impedances that are pleased with the sound. Also, I suspect that the degree to which those driving 20K with the VTPH-2A are "pleased with the sound" depends on how much deep bass extension their speakers provide, since one of the major consequences of this kind of impedance issue is deep bass rolloff. Best regards, -- Al |
@dweller -- a while back there was a thread on the Chinook, and I distinctly remember more than one responder saying the Allnic H1201 and Herron VTPH (sorry, can't remember version) were significantly preferred in comparison. Not surprisingly, there was praise for the Steelhead although obviously at a higher price point. Just dusting off some synapses here and sorry for the sidetrack, but hope it helps. |
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