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NOS tube alternatives for Herron VTSP 3A r02

Looking for advice from actual Herron preamp owners who have experimented with different tubes. Recently acquired Herron  VTSP 3A r02 to be used with CAT JL5 amp. Speakers are Dynaudio C4s & ATC SCM19v2s.

I´m fully aware that manufacturer advises against tube rolling citing preamp was voiced with especially screened & selected modern tubes but I´ve decided to disregard for the following reasons:

Unit was purchased used & came with new tubes that are not originally from Herron & IM(not so humble)O & experience current production Russian and Chinese are vastly inferior in tone & timbre to NOS Telefunkens, Siemens and Amperex in relation to 6922 variants.

Thanks 


rost
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Calling it "voiced" carries the unfortunate implication of looking for a particular characteristic sound. Which is unfortunate since the main thing the VTPH2A hit me with is its lack of voice or character. It made the previous ARC sound downright woody and colored. 

Given the history, used gear, tube rolling, I'm not at all surprised you played around and found something better. What would surprise me is if you called Keith and didn't find whatever he sends you at least as good.

Who cares about mileage, really? Its the road. The car. And most of all the driver.
audition__audio
1,475 posts
 
Call Keith to find out which tube pairs are the most critical and then roll these. My favorite have always been the Amperex U.S. or Dutch made 6922s. 
audition__audio
1,475 posts
 
I should add that for a much lower cost you could try Amperex 6DJ8s. Not as long lived but similar in terms of sound. Could call Keith to see what he thinks about 6DJ8s.
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,766 posts
 
I've found that the right alternative tubes can improve an amp better than moving to the next model up. 
saika2
31 posts
 
Any owner with info on a VTSP 3a tube position/function?

What do V1 left channel/V4 corresponding rt channel, V2 left/V5 rt, , V3 left/V6 rt channel -  subserve? Which ones need to be matched?
Does this amp need quad matching or just in pairs?




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