Should I buy a VTL Siegfried mk1 basically new 700 hrs?

I would take them home on trial. They look great, reviewed vey well. I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t sound better than what you could buy today for $17K. I am pretty sure they will be far more detailed without being harsh than your current amps.


Can you imagine buying those, and not using them? Impulse purchase?

Yup biggest concern is VTL support which is well documented as being poor. Not something I'd want to gamble on given the price.

If you have concerns regarding VTL service.  Call them and ask if they support this previously owned product.  It sounds like the seller is a VTL Dealer which is always a plus.  I've owned VTL amps for most of this century and never had an issue with customer service. 

Same here I owned VTL for many years, Bea is a PITA BUT their service is fast. They will NOT give out any information other than "Send it in" for service.

Call them with the model and see if they still support it. If not there is more than one that can fix their products. As long as thing like transformers and boards don't get hurt they can be serviced at other places. They are 50 miles from me.

20 year old electrolytics is something to be aware of for sure.
They are not real easy to work on the way they mount the boards either if you plan on doing your own work.. I always did my own.. They used some Point to point and a thick (double sided) board with thick silver traces.. They are tough.. I had 750, 300, 350, and 225 EL34s MB. Fun for sure.

Regards

20 year old VTL amps?   Run !!!!!

hiendmmoe
Should I buy a VTL Siegfried mk1 basically new 700 hrs?

Nice amp when power was affordable, and you live where it’s cold.

Today that thing will cost a fortune to run, and a fortune to keep your house cool. And a fortune to service and re-tube. Depends how wealthy you are.

Cheers George

Years ago one of the dealers I dealt with told me that as much as they liked their products; they dropped the line, because they were impossible to deal with.

At that price, I’d look into a used Convergent amp.  A new JL-5 is about $25K, so you stand a decent chance of finding a used one within budget.   You’ll be hard pressed to find better.