First of all I would like to thank Jerry (jandl100) for advertising his Herron VTSP2 preamp for sale just as I was beginning to look for a replacement for my EAR 802, which is a preamp with an extremely quiet mm stage but to me it is a little too even-handed and unexciting. It lacked drama in my set up which you may see further down in this post.
Although Jerry had already decided NOT to sell, his sales ad made me start looking for information about Herron Audio. Just a few hours later, I had located two other Herron VTSP2 preamps for sale - a black one in Norway and a silver one in Belgium. I ended up going for the silver one in Belgium since the seller was very responsive and accomodating. I had also considered many other offerings around the £1250 mark. Some less than that, some quite a bit more than that.
Now that the Herron VTSP2 is here, all worries are now in the past. Until it arrived, I must admit that I was afraid that I had made a mistake in selling the EAR 802 when I heard back from a very enthusiastic buyer who found the MM-stage in the EAR 802 + "the Head" SUT better than a Rega Ios and a combination of a EAR 88PB and "the Head" SUT.
But in my set-up the Herron sounds as if a bit of fresh air and boucy showmanship have entered the man cave, a dark place that tends to smell and sound like ... a man cave. It just works wonders.
My audio chain is as follows:
Computer ---> bog standard USB out ---> Nuforce S192U (uSB-Spdif-converter powered by linear psu through Paul Pang usb splitter cable) --> coax out --> Line Magnetic 502CA DAC --> Herron VTSP2 ---> EAR 516 Stereo amp --> My flying/dancing ... Quad ESL 57s ... placed on top of shelves.
Turntable:
I have a Thorens TD 147 Jubilee turntable that I try not to dampen to death fitted with the standard TP16 armbase and an updated arm from Schopper.ch. My cart is a Benz Micro Gullwing SLR MC. Currently I am without a phono stage but in a few days I will have an Arcam rPhono standing in for my final phono stage. I also have a Partridge 977 SUT that I will test with the Arcam rPhono.
Cassette deck: Bang & Olufsen Beocord 6500
Tuner set-up: Leak Stereo 70 / Leak Stereofetic FM Tuner / JBL LX-310.
So which phono stage will I end up getting?
These are early hours with my Herron VTSP2 and it remains to be seen if my initial infatuation will last.
2 photos: