Phillyleggs, I actually went to VTL's factory in CA this summer and met Bea Lam. She is really a very nice person who loves music, and was extremely accomodating and helpful to me in person, but their philosophy does seem to be to play everything close to the vest, especially when it comes to owners of second-hand VTL gear. Trying to talk to them on the phone or through email can be a frustrating experience in certain ways, yet I wouldn't ever say that owners of new (or even used) VTL gear would be left out in the cold. Part of it is, I think, simply a communication problem - Bea's first language was not English. And part of it seems like there might be a bit of corporate paranoia that I presume may be some fallout of the history with Luke's father David (Darth? ;^) Manley and the company bearing his name that is now VTL's competitor. It's not that their service is bad in any way, but they always want you to go exclusively through them, even if you're not under warranty, and they don't seem particularly forthcoming about anything. I don't think this is actually too unusual in companies where the principles are responsible for customer service, rather than them having someone on the payroll to act as the service liason. I will say this: VTL's service, while not cheap, is definitely thorough. And I'm not too sure that anything Cary makes would give you the combination of qualities present in the 450's (and vice versa, I've no doubt) - apples and oranges, to some degree. Listen and see, and if you like the VTL, I'd still go for it, 'cause when the needle hits the groove, it's good stuff for the money.
