Any Herron VTPH-2 Phono Stage Owners out there?

Lew, call Keith Herron. He can give an explanation of the design. He's easy to talk to.

Lew, the LOMC input stage of the VTPH-2 is FET-based rather than tube-based. Depending on the particular device and how the surrounding circuit is implemented, FET stages can have input impedances in the billions of ohms, and I believe in some cases even in the trillions of ohms, at least at frequencies that are relevant to audio.

I note that a poster earlier in the thread indicated that the "natural" input impedance of that input is 1 megohm. Even if the number is that low, however, it would not be unreasonable to consider it to be essentially infinite for all practical purposes.

Best regards,

-- Al
(A very happy recent purchaser of a VTPH-2. And as many others have said in this and other threads, what a pleasure Keith is to deal with!!!).

I recently received a Herron VTPH-2 from Keith Herron. I bought the unit at the same time that I updated my VTSP-3A(r02) to (r03) status and updated my M1A's to current production standards. I own a Nagra VPS phono stage along with a Nagra PL-L line stage and Nagra VPA power amps, each of which is substantially more expensive than its Herron counterpart. While I have not completed a comprehensive comparison of the new and updated Herron pieces against their Nagra peers, after two full days of running in, I can say that the Herron gear holds its own with the Nagra gear. Of course, there seem to be pluses and minuses but it may be a bit early for me to declare one preferable to the other.

I can say, with absolute certainty, that Keith Herron is among the very best people in audio with whom to deal. He is honest,  accommodating, low-key and knowledgeable. He makes me - and others with whom I have spoken - want to own Herron gear. As I think about it, maybe I have undersold Keith as only being "among" the very best people in audio.

Any experience of users of the Cary SLP-98 phono compared to the Herron phono VTSP-2 or VTSP-3A?   I am not satisfied with the Cary and find it noisy and want something that is dead quiet when playing vinyl.  Any recommendations appreciated.....

How does Herron compare to Luxman EQ-500 or Luxman CL-38uC's phono stage?. I have a 2M Ortofon Bronze cart on Rega P6. The phono output will be going to Legacy Wavelet processor to Line Magnetic 805 to Legacy Aeris.

I am seriously considering Herron.