Herron VTPH-2A vs Rogers PA-2 Phono Preamplifier

Please describe what listening to an FET in the context of a tube circuit sounds like. ARC preamplifiers are certainly not known for warmth. FET/tube phono stages can be among the most neutral. I certainly don’t mention it as a criticism of the Herron. My Manley Steelhead is also a hybrid as are many other phono stages we like to think of as “tube” types. Typically you have at the input a cascode consisting of a FET on the bottom and a tube on top. That gives tremendous gain and very wide bandwidth. It also eliminates or drastically reduces input capacitance. My point was that in this topology much of the gain comes from the FET. Therefore shuffling tubes downstream would have less noticeable effect on SQ, compared to an all tube circuit. Alternatively the FET drives the grid of what would be the first gain tube in a conventional tube RIAA. The FET acts like an outboard head amp .

The Herron has two two gain sections - the FET front-end used only by the MC circuits, and tubed gain stages used by both the MC and MM sections.  You are not just listening to a FET through the MC stage but in my experience MC carts sound best using a quality SUT through the MM stage on the Herron.

A different topic. To SUT or not to SUT. I had just edited my previous post to include mention of the type of circuit that you describe for the Herron. My own SilvaWeld SWH 550 phono stage is configured the same way. The FET drives essentially an MM phono stage when you are using an MC cartridge. Less interesting but more adaptable to a MM/MC switchable phono layout than is the cascode topology.

There is a Rogers unit for half the MSRP on USaudiomart.
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649709740-rogers-pa-1a-phono-preamp/
Its overall construction and performance are at minimum equal or "better" than the Herron. Interesting looks with the red paint and meters.

The Rogers also uses FET in the circuitry. Most everything on the market employs a similar topology.

Either an FET or a built-in SUT or an all-tube or hybrid cascode, in order to develop enough gain to suit a typical LOMC cartridge.  All of them work and can sound fine.