Tube Power Amp Reviews

Editor: Upon reading Michael Fremer's review of our VTM200, we were alarmed when Michael first "had to juggle at least two additional variables so I could listen..." As he had never run his Ayre preamp from its balanced outputs, and his only balanced cable was "so old it was growing hair...I'd never used it," we had the feeling our VTM200s were starting the review facing uphill.

And we were right. Since Michael was working under a tight deadline, it would have helped everyone if he had asked us for a cable recommendation or two, since we are more familiar with our amplifiers than anyone else.

It has often been our own experience that when a new component of higher resolution is inserted into an existing audio chain, the "cleaner window" is itself blamed for pre-existing limitations the new component is in fact revealing. (Thus Mr. Fremer's sidetrack into interconnect and cable synergies. We also question whether Michael had sufficient time to fully break in the new cables, which could explain some of his findings.)

Dealers, consumers, and even other audio manufacturers testify that the VTM200s are the most open, dynamic, and "unelectronic" power amplifiers they have heard—but they require attention to removing limitations upstream. Regrettably, Michael didn't have sufficient time to fully bring forth the transparent musical balance residing in these remarkable amplifiers. Thanks, nonetheless, for getting most of it right.—Terry Dorn, VP, Marketing & Sales Audio Research