Three cheers for Keith Herron


A good friend of mine in Saint Louis is building a system centered around a new pair of Vandersteen Treo CT speakers. He has a nice Sota turntable, with a Lyra Delos on a Syrinx PU-3 going to a recently purchased Herron VTPH-2A phono pre. Currently he is using an old BAT 300SE integrated amp.  

Keith Herron was nice enough to bring over his new VTSP-360 Reference tube preamp and a pair of his M2 Monaural Power amplifiers and sit with us for several hours listening to music. 

We listened to digital and all analog sources. I noticed an improvement in the detail and clarity with the addition of the Herron electronics.  This led to more lifelike presentation. Very well controlled sound even at high volumes.  No sense of smearing during complex passages. There was neither a overly tubey nor a sterile solid state presentation. 

Keith talked about his top design priority of preserving the musical timing. Indeed there may have been some special synergy here with the time and phase accurate Vandersteens. Surely there is also the advantage of the chain from phono pre through amplification being all an Herron pathway.

It was a pleasure to spend time with Keith and listen to some fantastic stories of his time in the crazy hifi world.  He is such a nice down to earth guy who is truly in it for the music but uses his deep engineering expertise to get there. Fantastic stuff.

-Karl
 
128x128karl_desch
There is always Herron gear in my home. Currently driving Larsen 8.2 speakers with Herron VTSP-360 and M2 monos in my living room. Great gear from a great guy.
Keith totally rocks! Haven't met him in person but I've talked to him on the phone and emailed back and forth; I bought both a VTPH-2A phono preamp and a VTSP-360-Reference from him; they're about fully broken in now, and my goodness do those sound great!!!!!!
Coming around to read this late.  I would say I first achieved a higher end system with my previous use of the Herron amplification, VTSP-1a and M150 amps, which are still stored in my basement.  Keith is a self-effacing, true gentleman and was very helpful to me.  When a problem developed with my pre-amp (purchased used), he took it in and my sense was that he worked personally and diligently to find a loose connection.  No charge.  He and his company are a model in this industry.
I have owned Keith's gear in one form or another since 2001.  I recently upgraded to his new pre amp and M2 amplifiers.  His equipment sounds excellent and doesn't break.  His service is the best in the industry and I try and support North American manufactures.  I just hope he has a succession plan for his company!
A friend has Herron electronics in a very good sounding system.

I had the chance to chat with Keith a couple of times at CES/THE Show. He is very knowledgable about both electronics and music, plus seemed to be an all-round nice guy.