Just picked a used pair of MB-185 Sig. mono's, and they both went dead simultaneously within 3 hours after working in the last owner's system with no problems for a year. Since last weekend, I've left 2 messages for Luke with no response. I've talked to Bea twice, but she can't help a lot with technical issues. I think it must be the B+ fuses, because the heaters still light up, but what could make these blow at the same time? These amps had the tetrode/triode switch removed by the first owner, which I would like to restore, but Bea is not giving me any help with this issue other than to suggest I ship the amps to VTL, at a $300 cost plus $120 for new cartons, not including the repairs. Why she couldn't just sell me the switches and send a schematic for a local tech to do the work, I don't know, but she won't. I'm disappointed that the only person in the company who can talk to me about tech issues is the owner/president, because he obviously hasn't got enough time for this kind of stuff. Most companies I've dealt with have people on staff to handle this kind of thing. |
I've gotten my response from Luke, and it is the same story. He doesn't want to speak by phone, or help me to fix the switches or get the fuse issue diagnosed without sending everything back to the factory. They will not consider selling parts or schematics that would make this easier. In fact, he even declined my invitation to describe to me upgrades they might be able to do if I ship them to the factory, saying he would talk about that if and when the amps arrived. And he also wouldn't comment on my asking for any recommendations about whether to use the balanced inputs, or aftermarket AC cords, saying if I had a dealer, I should ask them. He did, however, scold me for buying his amps used. I replied that this is diametrically opposed to the attitude they should be taking, and indeed to the one that most manufacturers I've dealt take. I'll try to get the amps running again on my own, because I need to audition them at length before making a commitment to spend over $1,000 on service at this point. Wish me luck! |
Well, Hakan, where you are in Sweden, you would presumably be dependent upon the local distributor anyway, not an American company such as VTL itself, so don't let this disuade you from checking out the reputation that disributor might have in your country if you really like the amps. As for the rest of your post, it just makes me glad I didn't grow up in the shadow of the Soviet Union! You are right about the market forces and the internet thing, though, and I reminded Luke Manley of this in my correspondence to him - not that it helped. In fact, I invited him to search for this and other similar threads on Audiogon, and I hope he does. I still think he makes fine amplifiers, and for the money too, but I definitely have encountered more helpful service elsewhere. |
I've gotten my MB-185's running with new tubes and higher-rated B+ fuses (now standard on the amp), and have experience no further operational problems. Luke finally talked to me by phone, after deciding that my emails were too long! He was still of very little help, though. "Send them to us" is all VTL will comment, basically. They still refuse to assist me in restoring the missing switches, and seem annoyed that I bought my tubes elsewhere. Frankly, they probably would have already gotten my business on a coupling cap upgrade, if they weren't so guarded and unhelpful about my need to continue auditioning the amps *before* deciding to invest big $ in cartons, shipping costs, time out of the system, etc., not to mention the repairs and parts. I wouldn't want to do an upgrade if I decided to sell the amps, but I would want to do the switch restoration - but at a reasonable cost, which means locally! VTL, however, is emphatically not sympathetic to this logical position, something I will remember before recommending their products to anyone else. |
Hi Steve: Just let me add that I haven't had any issues with the reliability of the MB-185 Sig's themselves, just the now-replaced and amperage-uprated fuses (which are uprated for better performance [amperage-wise] and protection [voltage-wise, which I don't have yet] on current production), and the switch removal business, which I knew about when I bought them. Oh - and they sound pretty darn good, too. |
Asa, the only MB-185 Signature I'm aware of is the model I own with 6550 output tubes. I don't know which of their amps may have used the tube you refer to, but I believe VTL streamlined their range down to 6550's and EL-34's at the time they introduced the "Signature" transformer models a few years ago. |
Phillyleggs, I actually went to VTL's factory in CA this summer and met Bea Lam. She is really a very nice person who loves music, and was extremely accomodating and helpful to me in person, but their philosophy does seem to be to play everything close to the vest, especially when it comes to owners of second-hand VTL gear. Trying to talk to them on the phone or through email can be a frustrating experience in certain ways, yet I wouldn't ever say that owners of new (or even used) VTL gear would be left out in the cold. Part of it is, I think, simply a communication problem - Bea's first language was not English. And part of it seems like there might be a bit of corporate paranoia that I presume may be some fallout of the history with Luke's father David (Darth? ;^) Manley and the company bearing his name that is now VTL's competitor. It's not that their service is bad in any way, but they always want you to go exclusively through them, even if you're not under warranty, and they don't seem particularly forthcoming about anything. I don't think this is actually too unusual in companies where the principles are responsible for customer service, rather than them having someone on the payroll to act as the service liason. I will say this: VTL's service, while not cheap, is definitely thorough. And I'm not too sure that anything Cary makes would give you the combination of qualities present in the 450's (and vice versa, I've no doubt) - apples and oranges, to some degree. Listen and see, and if you like the VTL, I'd still go for it, 'cause when the needle hits the groove, it's good stuff for the money. |
