Opinions on VTL preamps

i concur with the opinion of Mythtrip...i and my best friend own vtl 5.5...no problems.mine is over 1 year old his is over 4 years...forget what mr. odd says....

Early on, VTL did develop a reputation for unreliability. Though that reputation may have been deserved years ago, the quality of VTL equipment has improved and that ought not to be an issue anymore. (I can only speculate that the reliability issue may have changed when Luke Manley, the son, took over VTL from his father, David Manley. David Manley is known as an outstanding designer and Luke Manley seems very focused on satisfying his customers.)
I have a VTL 2.5 and VTL 225 DeLuxe Monoblocks and am very pleased with them. The 2.5, a newer product, has had no problems at all and I am the second owner. I'm considering upgrading to the 5.5 because I am so pleased with the 2.5. The 225, an older product, is sonically outstanding, a former Stereophile Class A amplifier.

I have owned a few and they all had some problems

I have a 2.5 that had a tube go bad. The tube took out the power supply that fried the board. It took VTL three weeks to just make the diagnosis. They said they had never seen that problem before but if this is a design that is common to the 5.5, I would be hesitant to purchase VTL. They will fix this problem for about $800 and wil NOT warranty their work. They were not helpful. So, if you want a mint, rebuilt 2.5, you could get mine out of hock for the cost of $900, which would cover the repairs, shipping, remote, original box, and good luck! P.S. I had a ST-85 amp that didn't go bad in a year, but it was sold and replaced with SS. And yes, the 2.5 had that warm, tube sound but that combo lacked bass control and clear highs. Great mids though!

I have a 5.5 with a pair of 185 monos. No problem with the pre but have an intermittant hum with one of the amps. it is probably a ground problem because it goes away as soon as the power switch is moved. it is't bad enough to fix and hasn't gotten worse over 3 yrs. sound...with dunlavy athenas. killer tight deep bass as long as it's on the recording, wonderful mids, open highs. overall i could't think of anything i would change except for adding a phono section to the preamp. the cost there has had me on the fence for a long time...don't listen to that many LPs these days. if the guy with the one with the phono section still has his for sale maybe we could work a three way deal if you are interested