VTL ST-85 Repair

Regarding VTL..My mom always would say if you don't have anything nice to say about someone don't say it...That being said, I would check your bridge rectifiers and make sure they are not shorted. It would be helpful if you had a Variac. That would allow you to vary the line voltage to the amp. If you can find a way to vary the line voltage and run the line at 110/115 Vac you can pull the output tubes and see if the fuse holds. Do not pull the output tubes while the amp is on. If the fuse holds you know it's an output tube. The reason for dropping the line voltage is to protect the filter caps from being put in an over voltage situation. This can happen if the output tubes are not in the amp. I don't remember what the caps are rated for. Hope that helps...G

I had nothing but the best experience & very fast turnaround time getting service. Not only did they do the service but included a few free upgrades. I was blown away. VTL of past is something I never experienced. I had a compact 100 20 years ago with no issues. But currently my VTL equipment has received phenomenal service when needed.

I agree Luke Manley is the rudest, most arrogant person I have ever had the displeasure of speaking to in my life. An absolutely horrible experience dealing with him after he renegged on his "lifetime warranty", what a scumbag.

Thanks Oddiofyl & Samujohn for these tips.

Regarding Mr. Manley, its not hard to find some fairly venomous opinions of him at various audio sites. VTL definitely builds some sweet-sounding equipment, but seems fairly disdainful when it comes to customer service. My local dealer has even quit carrying their stuff because of the hassle. C'est la vie.

I'll definitely consider other tube manufacturers next time around.

The VTL book (the original one if possible), and Valve Amplifiers by Morgan Jones ISBN 0-7506-4425-7.

Luke Manley is a nasty piece of work. I had VTL's but no more.Too bad cause David was an excellent designer.

First check the cathode resitor between the tube socket and the test point. I have had these go out of spec and cause the tubes to draw excessive current, blowing the main fuse. I had a few tubes get red hot and the bias seemed OK at the test point, the resistor was out of spec and was something like 18 Ohms instead of 10 Ohms.

I would never buy another VTL again, it sounded great when it worked but they don't even want to service older products.