Preamp for Herron VTPH-2A

@bpoletti
Yeah, auditioning the VTSP-360 is the ultimate goal, but I won't have funds for it until next year, and VTSP-3A's come up used, but only occasionally.

@wturkey,
I thought about the Freya+. Ordering one now looks like a 4-6 month wait. If I were to wait that long, I'd just wait a bit longer and look at the Herron next year.

Chak, I share your sentiments about using efficient speakers, up to a point.  (My own fetish is for ESLs and the like.) But in this case, if the added gain from an active linestage is needed, it may have more to do with the input sensitivity of the amplifiers than it has to do with speaker efficiency per se.  Some amplifiers require more signal voltage to drive them to full or even near full output than others.  Even low power amplifiers can be guilty of this; even some of Nelson Pass's First Watt amplifiers. Mr Pass does this deliberately in some cases; he talks about using the linestage as if it were the input/gain stage of the amplifier. So he does not build high enough gain into the input stage of one or another of his series in the First Watt category, to drive the output stage to full output. What you're buying is basically an amplifier output stage.

@lewm 

Please don't feed the troll ;).

Users have their mantras suggest their ideas (many invaluable) even if they’re not for you. I always appreciate input from all sides, even if I’m invested in the opposite direction. If not, then best to ignore the comments you find irrelevant, rather than having a “psychotic reaction”. All my peers romanticize Klipsch, Shindo and Gerrard, to the point of nauseam, and even I am a child of The Loft, but I’m not running to sell off my 89db speakers, 200wpc monos and direct drive TT. You’re definitely right to find the speaker you love first and power it however it requires.

Anyway, lots of good knowledge here, especially from Lewm! I’m taking notes for future.

I had the Herron, and loved it. Wife and I termed it “juicy” and it was hard to let go, but ended up selling it for the Pass XP25 (not only because I’m not ready in life to relax my ear that much, but mostly for the easy of changing cartridge loading/gain without pulling the rack out from the wall to access the loading pins, especially frequent with 2 TTs or tone arms). I’ll may go back to the Herron later. Both Herron and Pass seem to work well with my pre-amp, Cello Palette, which does have 3 internal gain settings as well as balanced output (I’m running 20 foot ICs to my amps that live across the room with the speakers)... but that is indeed vintage, so... no dice.

Users have their mantras suggest their ideas (many invaluable) even if they’re not for you.

Users, yes, audio cult members, not so much. You can tell the difference when they get either mad or insulting when you don't agree to follow their doctrine.  Or they continue to post the same drivel even when it's apparent the OP isn't interested.  

But anyway, I have my Herron on a wall shelf next to the turntable. It's easy for me to reach over the top of unit and manipulate any of the connections and plug in or change the loading resistors. But I do have to say I am enjoying it most with no loading resistors.

I remember reading about the Cello back in the day.  I'm pretty old school, and at the time it looked too much like a preamp with an equalizer. :)  

I'm still pretty purist, I bypass the tone controls where possible, but yeah, the Palette is a bit older than what I'm looking for.

Thanks.