Looking for a new phono preamp

I'm looking forward to find out what kind of effect it will have on my system.
Prediction: transformative. Mine was a revelation. Read my review. My wife did not know what I had done, or indeed if I had done anything at all, but just kept asking me, "What did you do?! It is so much better!" On and on. This was hearing through the closed door! When I told her, she came in and sat down, her eyes wide open, could not believe it. This was after years with the ARC PH3SE, hardly a budget phono stage. The Herron made it sound weak, thin, distorted and colored- and not by a little, by a LOT! 

Hook it up, enjoy, let us know. When you are ready and funds allow, put it on some Townshend Pods, stick some fO.q tape and SR ECT in there, you will be yet another level higher. There's even better stuff you can do in there but for that sorry to say but for now we have to keep that off-line so PM and I will hook you up.

Herron, all the way. The VTPH2A is so good, for the money, it must be recommended to anyone with anywhere near the budget. It just seems you have to spend an awful lot more to be even a little better.

Yes it uses a FET, so not an all-tube design. But it does not sound SS, nor does it sound exactly tubey. It just sounds great. Keith runs his tubes conservatively and uses warm-up circuits, a combination that results in very long tube life. 

You can call and ask, he will know. When it comes to tubes there are three kinds of people. Those who replace them way more than need be, those who don't, and those who worry. Tubes last so long, look at it this way, my ARC PH3SE was used 15 years and sold with original tubes. So tube life is not a factor. Either you replace more often, or you worry. Never seems to be anything anyone can do to change this, it's genetic or something. Saves a lot of time and trouble if you can figure out which one you are.