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.

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.

Mitch2, the VTSP-3A has incredible bass. I have auditioned/owned many of the top contenders from CAT, Conrad Johnson, First Sound, Modright, Audio Research, etc. and none of them matches the bass I get from the VTSP-3A with my Rowland Model 10 amp. I am using Proac speakers and one would think that I have a subwoofer given the terrific bass in my system. Your interconnects and speaker cables are two variables you must consider also. I have found that the quality and quantity of bass will vary greatly with changes in your interconnects and speaker cables. I am using Shunyata Antares speaker cables and the newest Wireworld Silver Eclipse interconnects and have found they are both champs in detail, clarity, and frequency extensiion (bass and treble alike).

Luna, the VTSP-3A is head and shoulders above the VTSP-3. It is far more musical. I find myself saying over and over, "That is a beautiful piece of music." The 3A is so perfect that I never feel inclined to use the word "neutral." Neutral is far too sterile a term to use when describing the 3A. I would not use the words "tube like" either because those terms can imply that a preamp is warm and slow. The 3A just sounds like the TRUTH. When I listen to the 3A, I feel like it is perfect in every way. You certainly know that you are listening to a tube preamp rather than a solid state preamp because no solid state preamp sounds this liquid and life-like. The 3A is not lacking in any respect. As you listen to it, you will find that you finally will quit looking for more or for better in any aspect of its performance. The bass is fabulous; the treble is extended beyond the capabilities of one's hearing; and its voicing is just plain SWEET and BEAUTIFUL. If any of you have not yet heard the 3A, you absolutely must listen to this wonderful preamp. Keith Herron should have called it the VTSP-5 rather than the 3A--he deserves the recognition that such a change in numbering or name would have garnered. He did not merely upgrade the 3A; he took his already great preamp to an entirely different level of performance. I have listened to the Audio Research Reference 3, the Conrad Johnson CT-5, the Krell Evolution 202, Parasound Halo JC2, VTL 6.5 and 7.5, Modwright 36.5 and many others--none of these can touch the Herron VTSP-3A for accuracy of timbre, for sonic realism, or for beauty and clarity of sound. I am not a dealer, and I have no allegiance to Herron Audio other than the fact that I LOVE this preamp and highly respect the gentleman who has put so much effort into providing the best piece of equipment possible. The VTSP-3A is an absolute steal at its selling price. Billspecfoc inquired about the use of tube dampers or footers. I have not tried tube dampers and would not recommend them. If they would be a source of sonic improvement, you can be sure Keith Herron would ship the VTSP-3A with tube dampers. They are inexpensive and there would be no reason not to use them if they mattered on this preamp. Footers are another story--I highly recommend Stillpoints. I have installed them under every piece of gear in my system other than my Rowland Model 10 amp. This amp is so inert in its design that I did not notice any improvement when it was used with Stillpoints or any other footers or isolation devices. The Stillpoints add a worthwhile touch of clarity and focus to every other component in my system. Again, the clarity and focus that they add comes with no negatives--they do not instill any sterility or any clinical sound. They just sound RIGHT and true to my ears. As you undoubtedly can gather from my remarks, I highly value accuracy of timbre, clarity, detail, beauty or sweetness of sound in the sense of realism and liquidity, deep bass, and extended treble. The VTSP-3A and the Stillpoints exhibit these characteristics in spades. Give them both a try--you will not look back.

Luna,

I have the 3A and it is dead quiet. Indeed, it is as quiet as the best of the solid state pre-amps, but is far more musical than any solid state pre. I bet you have a noisy tube that is causing the sound that you are hearing. You will not need to replace the tube. You merely will need to swith its position with one of the other tubes. Call Keith and ask him which two tubes you should switch. He will know. In the past I developed a similar noise in my VTSP-3 after a year of use, and I checked with Keith. He told me to switch the positions of two tubes and that resulted in absolute silence--like magic. I asked about my replacing the formerly noisy tube and he told me no to do so. It said it had years of use left in it, but that it merely needed to be in a different location so that its noisy characteristic would not affect the sound of the pre-amp. Keith is a part genius and part magician. I have not encountered any issues and certainly no noise with the 3A. I bet your issue with background noise or "fuzz" is the product of a noisy tube. The 3A is a superlative pre-amp. Let me know what happens.

Sflazor

I apologize for all of the mispellings in my prior post. In the future I will proof read my posts before hitting the submit key. Oh well....

Sflazor