VTL Service ??

I've had to call them on two ocassions for tech questions, once to deal with a strange hum i couldn't chase down and once to deal with the aftermath of a near miss by lightning. both times they were very responsive, Bea Lam went out of her way on the lightning deal to get me through all the potential problems without shipping the amps in. Parts (tubes and fuses) showed up within days of sending the order and were reasonably priced when compared with tubes from ARC. They have also been very helpful in suggesting upgrades ect. On a couple of occasions i had to e-mail twice but that isn't any big deal. Considering how good the amps sound (MB 185 monos)i would put up with some service delays. The tetrode/triode swithching is a very cool feature if your tastes include small acoustic group music. Hey Medowman, i bought used as well could you give me some more info on the transferable warrenty that is one thing they didn't mention during our discussions. thanks

thank you everyone
jim

Just picked a used pair of MB-185 Sig. mono's, and they both went dead simultaneously within 3 hours after working in the last owner's system with no problems for a year. Since last weekend, I've left 2 messages for Luke with no response. I've talked to Bea twice, but she can't help a lot with technical issues. I think it must be the B+ fuses, because the heaters still light up, but what could make these blow at the same time? These amps had the tetrode/triode switch removed by the first owner, which I would like to restore, but Bea is not giving me any help with this issue other than to suggest I ship the amps to VTL, at a $300 cost plus $120 for new cartons, not including the repairs. Why she couldn't just sell me the switches and send a schematic for a local tech to do the work, I don't know, but she won't. I'm disappointed that the only person in the company who can talk to me about tech issues is the owner/president, because he obviously hasn't got enough time for this kind of stuff. Most companies I've dealt with have people on staff to handle this kind of thing.

I was going to buy a VTL amp. Matter of fact it's the only negative review i have here after the auction. I was told by the seller about a hum. I called VTL 3 times and only talked to some lady. She told me that it was a transformer hum and it would cost more to fix it then it was worth and that some of their older models did that. She told me some people just put them in a closet so they didn't hear it. My wife called, because it was difficult for me to understand her English, and she told her to fix that type of problem was similar to removing the engine from an automobile. I had a hard time believing that and wanted to talk to someone else about it, but after four phone calls and never being able to talk to anyone but her, I decided it was in my best interest to back out of the auction, which I know is wrong, but at the same time, the hum was never mentioned in the ad. I've dealt with many companies such as Audio Research, Rogue, B & K, ect. and all these companies had excellent customer service, especially Leonard at Audio Research. You want a part and the scematics of a product, boom he sends it to you. Not saying VTL is a bad company, I know they make some very good products, but I had an overall bad experience with the customer service end of it. I believe if I was able to talk to someone with working knowledge of the amp my questions may have been answered, and possibly I would have bought the amp. Who knows. I personally don't think VTL has very good personal service, but this is only my experience. Hope this helps.

I was interested in VTL also, but I could not get any information about their products upon inquiring directly to VTL. I later listened to their equipment at a audio dealer. I continued to attempt to contact VTL directly, but they would not respond to any of my inquiries. At about the same time I had a friend who was attempting to get a VTL amp serviced. But he could not get Luke at VTL to return his calls, or his e-mails.

Eventually I sent VTL a e-mail advising them that their lack of response to my inquiries lost them and their dealer a sale. I also advised the VTL dealer the reason I Wasn't buying the VTL product. To this day neither of them have contacted me to offer any explanation for the lack of customer service.

I also have a friend who once sold VTL who told me to stay as far away from VTL as I could.

Just my experience, Good luck!