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My new to me Herron VTPH-2A - First impressions

Ok, so if you followed my other topic, you know I bought a used Herron VTPH-2A.  It came Monday night, and I've been listening for the past couple of days..

Being used, it didn't really need a break in, but I let it warm up for a couple hours just to be safe.

Ok, so there has been a lot of hype for this phono stage here on the forum.  I have one question.  Is it hype if it lives up to just about everything good that's been said about it?

Just comparing it to my current setup (CJ PV10a with phono stage and a SUT), running thru the CJ, it's a huge improvement.  I'll just talk in terms of musical timbre and extension here, acoustic instruments sound so much more right, and both bass and treble extension is much better.  No only is there more bass, but it's way better.  But the overall sound was still a bit soft.  Ok, so that was the CJ.

I switched over to the Bel Canto I recently got.  Sound was much better, but a little bit sterile, and the upper end was a bit harder than the CJ (not unexpected).

So I got a crazy idea.  I thought I'd see what the Herron would sound like piped directly into my power amp.  I did a little math, and some measuring of the Herron output to make sure it wouldn't overdrive or underdrive the amp's inputs, and it looked like a reasonable match.  Turns out it worked out great, it was at a very reasonable listening level.

Ok,  No upper range hardness, no softness, excellent, controlled extended bass.

Ok, so I think I have to rethink my preamp now.  Luckily, I can send back the Bel Canto (still during the trial period) and I guess I'll be looking at a new preamp.

I'll be bringing it over to a friend's house this weekend, where we'll compare it to a couple of different phono preamps he owns.
psychoticreaction
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
@lewm


I said "passive preamp (no gain) with volume control per channel."

Not passive device (you have to plug it into the power outlet).

But look at this inside (my unit). Very simple design.

In neutral, no coloration, pure

When someone would like to connect something directly to the power amp without thinking about impedance issues then Buffer Preamp is a must have, it's great cost effective solution.

And expensive line-level preamp with gain is not needed even it's from the same manufacturer like OP's phono stage.   


lewm
13,108 posts
 
We don’t disagree one iota. The only issue is I misunderstood what you meant when you used the term passive preamplifier. Many people, myself included, would take that to mean a unit that has nothing in it but a volume control that can be implemented in any of several ways. The best of them use auto formers. Typically they do not need to be plugged in, unless they employ LED devices to illuminate the settings.But I know what you mean, and it’s a good idea in this case. And yet the OP has started another thread where he is searching for a line stage with gain. Go figure.
psychoticreaction OP
37 posts
 
And yet the OP has started another thread where he is searching for a line stage with gain. Go figure.
The OP (that would be me) said 3 posts above yours:

Ok, when I said reasonable level, it was satisfying but well below the highest volume I will occasionally listen to. I won’t look at passives and will want a standard gain line stage.

Go figure.
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,913 posts
 
Sorry OP, some folks appear to be really passionate about their passives lol.

To reiterate, I really think you can find that "just right" sound in a modern tube preamp. Tubes like 6922 (the Herron 360 uses this) and 6H30 are fantastic for this role. 6SN7 are great too but often tend to be a bit sweeter sounding. Stuff like 5687, 7044, 12BH7 and 6CG7 can be very cool too. Maybe 12AT7, 12AY7 are OK too. I’m not a fan of 12AU7 but gear that uses it can still sound decent, to a point (or maybe you can sub in 12BH7 haha).

I once owned a VAC Renaissance III that used a quad of 12AX7 plus a pair of 12AU7. In retrospect that’s an awful tube complement for a preamp, results in too much gain, and it’s really a miracle that it sounded at good as it did (Kevin is a genius at voicing gear). Their current preamps use 6922 and are wonderful. I’ve also really liked most of the preamps I’ve heard using 6H30 (ARC, Rogue). What's your budget? I'd assume in the range of the Herron phono?

And if you ever find yourself wanting to sweeten / plump up the sound of your system just a little bit, you can try a Bob’s Devices Sky SUT with your Herron in place of its JFET sage - assuming of course you’re using a low output MC that is appropriate for SUT use into 47K.
psychoticreaction OP
37 posts
 
I've got a couple of SUT's lying around.  I do use LOMC carts mostly, in the .2mv range.  Even when gain matched properly to the cart, I've found that SUTs can be a mixed bag.  Some carts sound better than others when using an SUT.  And the extra connections and interconnect with such low level signals are not optimal.

Budget as stated in the other thread is around 3K give or take right now.  In about a year I'll be in a position to at least double that. A little birdy just told me I might want to wait a couple of months, interesting things are on the horizon.


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