Herron VTSP-3A

I loved my VTSP-3 and felt it was perfect in every respect. When I learned that Keith Herron had redesigned this wonderful preamp and was offering an upgrade to the new VTSP-3A status for a very modest charge, I initially hesitated because I did not see how he could improve on perfection. Despite my doubts, I took the plunge and sent my VTSP-3 back for the upgrade. In less than three weeks I received my new VTSP-3A and could not wait to reinsert it in my system. What a stunning product! Keith did not upgrade my VTSP-3--he transformed it into an absolutely incredible preamp. He is selling himself short by calling his new preamp the VTSP-3A. It should be the VTSP-5 [the number "4" is bad luck in some parts of Asia]. This new preamp is superlative in every way. Anyone who is looking for a preamp--regardless of cost--must audition this product. Anyone who owns a VTSP-3 MUST take advantage of the upgrade Keith is offering. You will find the modest charge for the upgrade to be the best money you have every spent in this hobby. I have owned some very good preamps over the thirty plus years I have been in this hobby including top of the line preamps from companies such as CAT, First Sound, Sonic Frontiers, Krell, Pass and others. I have auditioned for extended periods of time other top preamps from Audio Research, Conrad Johnson, Levinson, etc. The VTSP-3A is hands down the best of the best. It is dead quiet, absolutely transparent--crystal clear in its transparency--extremely detailed, a champ in sound staging, tonally perfect,and VERY musical. My favorite aspect of this preamp is the truth and accuracy of its tonality. A bell sounds exactly like a bell. A wooden instrument sounds exactly like it should. The preamp has incredible bass and beautiful treble that extends beyond the limits of your hearing. This preamp does not reproduce sound--it is a transducer that conveys the actual true sound that your brain recognizes as the real thing. In addition to my spending a great deal of time listening to music, I have an extensive collection of movies on DVD that I play through my stereo system. The VTSP-3A makes the movies come alive. I am hearing ambient sounds and details that I never knew existed on various sound tracks. The realism of the voices and of the sounds produced by the Herron is uncanny and greatly enhances my enjoyment of music and movies alike. I have no ties to Herron Audio and I am not a dealer. I merely am a very appreciative customer who would encourage anyone who is looking for the best to give the VTSP-3A a listen. You will be hooked if you give it a try. Keith Herron is to be commended for his undying search for perfection. He is a genius in engineering who happens to have a love for music. His products are dead reliable, and his design is kind to the tubes--they last forever in his preamps. The VTSP-3 and VTSP-3A are preamps that you can and should leave on 24-7--without any worry about tube wear. Herron preamps do not need tube life meters like the Reference 3 or Reference 5. At 4,000 hours, the Herron's tubes have not used any appreciable percentage of their useful life. There are no gimmicks here--just a wonderful product that is worth every dollar of your investment.

Kclone and Sflazor,

What amplification are you using with your VTSP-3A's? I', running my VTSP-2 with Herron M-150's right now and I'll tell ya, there much be some sort of synergistic effect going on because the M-150's sound like they've been put on steroids since introducing the VTSP-2. I was using an Ultraverve with very good NOS tubes before introducing the VTSP-2 into the mix.

Bill

Bill, I bet there is no doubt there is great synergy between the VTSP-2 and the M-150s. For me, I am using the Modwright KWA 150. I thought about maybe getting the M-150s, but now I just do not see the need, since introducing the VTSP-3A I don't see the need to do anything to my system. I had planned on playing around with speaker placement, not now, everything sound so good. I am planning on doing some room treatments, but again I don't see the need(however, I'm still going to go through with room treatments.) It is kind of like the VTSP-3A took care of all the sins in my system. How about you Bill, are you thinking about moving upgrading to the VTSP-3A?

Slazor, good post. like you I have heard my fair share of preamps. I have had preamps from Thor, Unison Research, PS Audio, ASL Twin Head II, Pathos, Audio Research REF 5, Red Wine Audio Isabella, and Musical Fidelity. I'm not ready to say it is the best out there, but it is certainly better than anything else I have heard or had in my system.

Agree on all the comments about the spectacular sonics of the VTSP3a (Disclosure: I sell Herron gear, Departure Audio). What I think doesn't get recognized enough with this piece is how intelligently it's designed and how good the ergonomics are. There are really useful features in this pre, i.e. balance, mono, phase, hi/lo gain, more than enough inputs/outputs, etc. It's also a joy to use with a large, readable remote-controlled volume display in fine increments. As noted, the tubes are run very conservatively and produce almost no noise. Reliability is also first rate. This is a very easy tube preamp for any music lover to own. It can assimilate easily into most any system and deliver its special magic immediately.

Billspecfoc inquired regarding what amp I am using with my VTSP-3A. I am using a Jeff Rowland Model 10, which is a two chassis (separate control unit and power supply) 150 wpc solid state amp that I love. The synergy with the Herron is perfect. I have also used the Herron with an Reference Line amp that has 100 WPC pure Class A output. The Herron was perfect with the Reference Line also. One nice feature of the Herron is that it affords the user the ability to switch the preamp between a low gain and a high gain setting. With the Reference Line amp I use the low gain setting, but with the Rowland I prefer the high gain setting. The preamp is dead quiet on both settings. It is easy to switch between the two gain settings. One merely holds down the "phono" button for three seconds and the preamp switches from one gain setting to the other. When the preamp is switching from one gain setting to the other, it automatically mutes itself. Keith Herron thinks of everything.