Manley vs VTL??

They are totally separate companies. David's son, Luke, runs VTL and David's ex-wife, Eveanna, runs Manley.

Being genetically connected, does the gear from both companies have the same sound? By the way, what happened to David?

Refer to the Manley website for historic information on this company. It removes all the soap opera drama and presents the facts.

The early VTL equipment was built or designed by Luke Manley The father of David. The early VTL equipment came with transferable lifetime warranties. Their early stuff were built like tanks. David I believe started designing VTL equipment in 87 or 88.

Manley: Mostly use EL34 for their amp. Have more variety on small amp and preamps. Ms Eva Manley is very helpful with excellent customer support. Manley amp looks fun
VTL: Almost use 6550 tubes in all of their new amp. Their amp looks neat.

David lives in France now. There was a rumor that he would once again start manufacturing amplifiers. Under what name your guess. Shaun from ESP loudspeakers also is near him and they are good friends that may have a venture together.

Qdrone . . . the other way around . . . David is the father, Luke the son.

I had one listening experience with the VTL amps. I ended up buying the Manley Neo 250's. Ms. Manley "bent over backwards" to provide an audition opportunity before I purchased because there are no dealers in my state. She/their customer service has been outstanding since I purchased the amps.

yes, it sounds the same

Maybe not the same but similar, in as far as similar designs (ie. MB450 vs Neo500) which are evolutions of past designs. Both are optimized for 5 ohm speakers. The companies are diverting more as time passes and I've heard rumours that trend will continue in surprising ways. Their preamps, integrated and smaller amps are completely different designs. Any similaritiy in sound is due to their dedication to make it best.

Manley has always been more into elite professional equipment and that still is the bulk of their business.

Ncarv,
Thanks for the correction,its been a while since I have read a VTL review.

For those interested in David Manley's designs, there's a couple of cool new little boxes called "London Tube" he designed for Audient that just came out.

I have First Sound paramount mk 2 preamp enyone have heard Vtl or Manley power amp with them ?

David Manley started VTL in the early 80's and based the products on his own designs.  Once VTL was established his son Luke ran the business.  David moved on and started Manley Audio and made gear for the Studio/Pro.  The two companies were never suppose to compete with each other.  David's and his much younger wife ended up divorced and along the way, David ended up out, Luke got VTL and Eveanna got Manley and started to compete with VTL in the Home Audio.  Using David Manley original designs as a base both companies evolved in slightly different ways. side note, both companies are only a mile or so away from the other and I don't think they are on talking terms.