Professor: Have you ever owned/heard a manley chinook? I'm trying to sell my McIntosh C22 reissue, which I use for phono duties, as I rarely listen to vinyl and can't justify that much capital sitting idle. I'm planning to replace with a chinook or the Herron. Can you compare the two?
First impression: Herron VTPH-2A phono preamp
I got my VTPH-2A this morning and it's up and running. After about five hours of spinning vinyl, I'm pretty sure I've wet myself, MULTIPLE TIMES! I've primarily played vinyl that I've had for decades, music that I thought I was intimately familiar with. I was wrong. There's nuance I never knew existed. Everything about the VTPH-2A is "right". The bass is tight, vocals superb, instruments have places, etc. All that I've listened to sounds new and fresh and the most masterfully recorded vinyl sounds live. What I've read about on this forum concerning the VTPH-2A (pretty much all stellar) is true. I've had five different phono preamps and nothing can compete with this, NOTHING. It's a bad ass and definitely a keeper.