VTL Service ??

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!

I've gotten my response from Luke, and it is the same story. He doesn't want to speak by phone, or help me to fix the switches or get the fuse issue diagnosed without sending everything back to the factory. They will not consider selling parts or schematics that would make this easier. In fact, he even declined my invitation to describe to me upgrades they might be able to do if I ship them to the factory, saying he would talk about that if and when the amps arrived. And he also wouldn't comment on my asking for any recommendations about whether to use the balanced inputs, or aftermarket AC cords, saying if I had a dealer, I should ask them. He did, however, scold me for buying his amps used. I replied that this is diametrically opposed to the attitude they should be taking, and indeed to the one that most manufacturers I've dealt take. I'll try to get the amps running again on my own, because I need to audition them at length before making a commitment to spend over $1,000 on service at this point. Wish me luck!