Dartzeel or Audio Research VTM200???

Serpentine comment: I demo'd the VTM 200's as well as the Ref 300 MKII, and purchased the latter. These were replaced by the Tenor OTL's which were better to me. After 2 years with the Tenors, I moved to the Tenor 300 Hybrids, which I thought bettered the OTL's. About a year ago I demo'd the DarTZeel and A/B'd it in house against the 300's, sold the latter and purchased the former. Ergo, unless the Verity's are a herculean load from hell, which I happen to know they are not, to me the DarTZeel would be the unequivical choice. It is the best sounding amp I've had in my system, and although system matching always needs to be considered, I can recommend the DarTZeel without hesitation. It is music.

Wow Mes, that's a lot of amp changes with some very top models. Out of curiousity, did you ever try the CATs?

Yep, not my cup of tea :^)

Lamm's work exceptionally well with Verity's; specifically Parsifal Encore's. The ML-2's aren't enough but the M1.2 or ML-1.1 would be superb.

i have the DarTZeel stereo amp in my room now in addition to my long term reference Tenor 300 watt mono's. the DarTZeel is in the same league as the Tenor Hybrid's to my ears......but a little 'different'. that 'same league' is at the very top of amplifier performance. i have not personally had the VTM200 in my room but have listened to them enough to easily prefer the DarTZeel. both of those amps would have similar speaker needs as far as current driving capability.

as Verity speakers are typically a little forgiving on top i would expect the DarTzeel with it's more extended high frequencies to be a better match than the VTM200's.

Cupka: Where in the thread did Jjwa ask about LAMM amps? :) Also, you had mentioned that I should disclose my status as a dealer, do you?

Jtinn: Jjwa is looking for amps that are well suited to Verity loudspeakers. I have heard the Lamm gear on Parsifal Encores with excellent results and wanted to share this with a fellow audiophile.

I would disclose my status as a dealer for Lamm or any other manufacturer if that was the case, and BTW, it's not.

I think the VTM 200's have been discontinued. The new Audio Research Reference 210's represent a level of sound qualitiy not previously attained by ARC. They are $20,000 for the pair. I would certainly consider the DarTZeel as an alternative if I was in the market for an amp. It is less expensive then the ARC (not that it matters at this level) and I've spoken to people who have the DarT and they are just in awe.

Here are some interesting comments on dart vs ARC 200.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1134143410&openfrom&1&4#1