I have only recently purchased a VTL product ( TL 5.5 Series 2) preamplifier and upon auditioning was immediately sold just on the sound of the preamp. I had only listened to ARC preamps to compare ( REF 5/6 Se) and liked the VTL best to my ear. Mind you I've had no previous experience with tube amps or preamps and was looking for a replacement to my Bryston BP 17 Cubed preamp and the VTL sounded hugely better when mated to my present SS amplifier Bryston 14B 2. I've been thinking about switching over to tube amps now and was keenly interested in the MB 450 Series 2 or 3 to purchase this year. I have a very good VTL dealer in Toronto who always maintained they will honour the VTL warranty even if they have to fix it themselves. So with some confidence in VTL I tried to reach someone at VTL months ago to answer some basic questions on the above amplifiers and I also wanted a recommendation on upgrading or purchasing new tubes for my VTL preamp. Neither me or my dealer have had any luck getting a response from "customer service". So I have now decided not to pursue purchasing any more VTL products which is kind of sad I think since it seems to be such a good product. I'm a little spoiled by Bryston customer service and 20 year warranty but they don't do tubes at Bryston. Anyway I was a potential high end client with bucks to spend but it all ended badly. I'm happy with my current VTL product but won't be purchasing anything else from them at this time.
