Herron VTPH-2A final thoughts.


A year ago, I took the plunge and purchased a new phono pre-amp, the VTPH-2A. I'd read numerous posts on this forum about how special it is, head and shoulders above the rest. I'd also read that Keith Herron is the definition of quality, in terms of knowledge, customer service, and being real as a human being.  I'll be as objective as I can be: everything that was stated is 100% true. I've easily spent hundreds of hours spinning up vinyl with the VTPH-2A and nearly every time my comment to myself is, "damn that's good." Many audiophiles would fret about the synergy with other system components. My opinion is that it would be an overachiever in any system that endeavors to produce fine music.
With respect to Keith, I contacted him not for technical support or customer service, but to let him know how pleased I was with my purchase. His response was so gracious, I felt like I was talking to a friend or good neighbor. Definitely someone honest and worth doing business with.
I want to close this post by thanking the folks on the forum for sharing experience and what you know. I live a very rural life and don't travel much. Opportunities to critique a variety of equipment at shows or audio shops are virtually nonexistent for me. Audiogon has been an excellent place to narrow down the thousands of possible choices that I could never possibly pursue and sometimes get solid advice =)
professorsvsu
Keith's stuff tends to sound good right out of the box. From there it only gets better. A lot. And fast. I gave mine hardly any warm-up at all and as a result was rewarded with hearing it improve so fast it sounded different at the end of one song than it had at the beginning! I find all the best gear to be like this. Not that it happens often. Most gear is by definition not the best. All the really good stuff though, it sounds good right out of the box. This business of "needs 200 hours" is for the also-rans. Looking forward to your listening impressions of this new amp.
It's been only two hours and you'll have to pry this preamp from my cold, dead hands!