2. amps-preamps
  3. 138235-118425

Herron VTPH-2A vs Rogue Ares Magnum

Hello all!

For some time I've been thinking of buying "my last phono stage". Not necessarily in a literal sense, but I'm sure you get my point: a really good phono stage that'll keep me happy for years. The VTPH-2A and the Ares Magnum are the two I've boiled it down to, both because they're priced at levels I'm comfortable paying and because every review I've read has been overwhelmingly positive.

The thing is, while I can hear the Ares (non-Magnum) for myself, I can't hear the VTPH-2A and I have a sneaking suspicion the latter is the better phono stage (based entirely on what I've read).

So the question is: have any of you guys and girls hear both of these and can you give me an opinion on the two? I'd be very grateful for any insight you can supply.

- B
agrippa
jmolsberg's avatar
jmolsberg
467 posts
 
I own both, the Herron going on a month. I can still hear it changing for the better. They are both very good but the VTPH-2A is brilliant. 
Listen to the Ares, imagine lower noise floor and surface noise, more impactful bass / energy, and a very pleasant refinement. 
If that doesn't sound good to you, pm me, as I have an Ares (w the Cinemag blues) for sale. 

agrippa OP
160 posts
 
Thanks a lot for the input, I really appreciate it!  That does indeed sound very good to me and turns me even further in the direction of the Herron.  I was leaning that way in any case, but hearing the opinion of someone who owns both units is great.
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
2,126 posts
 
The Ares Magnum is still pretty damn impressive to me, even now that I've moved it down to my 2nd setup due to buying a VAC Renaissance SE Phono for the main. The Rogue has matched very nicely with Koetsu stones, Shelter Harmony & Accord, and Ortofon Cadenza Bronze. However, to be fair its noise floor certainly comes into play with the 0.3mV Platinum Koetsus. If you're picky about this, you really need at least 0.5mV output to be happy. That may be its most glaring weakness.

I'm currently running in a new Shelter Accord (0.5mV) on this setup, which sound VERY nice (as long as I peg the tracking force to the max of the recommended range :-/). Hooked up the trusty old Sonic Frontiers Phono 1 SE+ for comparison last night, and it sound totally boring and flat next to the Ares Magnum.

That said I'm pretty damn interested in the Herron, if there's additional performance to be gained from that price bracket. I've been hearing owners rave about this thing for literally years now - it never dies down, and I've never heard a sore word about the unit or company (Rogue is a great company too). I might just be tempted to pull the trigger...

jmolsberg - To be clear is your Ares the "Magnum" version? Or a standard build with the blue Cinemag upgrade? I found the Magnum parts upgrades, beside just the blue transformer (which has a huge impact), also made for a notable performance boost. And then some exotic NOS tube choices made for another nice boost. But I realize such tweaks can only take things so far, before it's time to upgrade to a better unit.
More to discover