Twelve years after VTL released its Siegfried Reference monoblock, the California‑based company is poised to launch its little brother, the Lohengrin Reference monoblock ($100,000/pair). Smaller though it may be, with fewer tubes and less power, VTL says that Lohengrin amounts to "a new benchmark for musicality and realism."
The Lohengrin, which should start shipping in the fall, has an eight‑tube output stage that delivers 400Wpc and sports the same driver stages and power supply as the Siegfried. Output impedance is lower, "reducing the necessary step‑down to the loudspeaker load and accommodating a simpler, more effective output transformer," VTL claims. It's a zero global negative feedback design with broad audio bandwidth (‑1dB at 100kHz) that includes auto‑bias, multiple fault sensors, and an adjustable damping factor to suit speaker load and listener preference. One cool feature is that tubes are now visible through the front and top.
If Lohengrin famously had a swan to carry him away, VTL relied on the mighty Wilson Alexx V Carbon loudspeakers ($157,000/pair). Also in the system: VTL's TL‑7.5 Series III Reference linestage ($40,000) and TP‑6.5 Series II Signature phono stage ($17,000); Kuzma's Stabi R turntable with Safir 9 arm ($35,000); a Lyra Etna Lambda SL cartridge ($10,995); the dCS Rossini Apex DAC ($34,500) and matching clock ($12,000); a QNAP HS‑264 SilentNAS; dCS Mosaic on tablet; Bassocontinuo Cymbalon and Lyra racks; and Nordost's QNet switch/stand ($3800), QBase 10 ($18,000), QSource LPS ($2750), Odin 2 signal cables and power cords, and Valhalla BNC and Ethernet digital cables.
It was the balance of the sound, top to bottom, that stood out. When Bea Lam—VTL's operations manager and a trained classical pianist—cued up an LP of one of the Beethoven Piano Concertos, I felt my body relax for the first time that day. Once I re‑engaged my critical faculties, I noted that the Wilsons, in this room, produced more convincing bass than most speakers in most rooms.
I stayed for Charlie Haden & Pat Metheny's "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" and Ahmad Jamal's Marseille. I didn't take notes. When sound is this satisfying, even the harshest critic deserves the opportunity to zone out.
The Lohengrin, which should start shipping in the fall, has an eight‑tube output stage that delivers 400Wpc and sports the same driver stages and power supply as the Siegfried. Output impedance is lower, "reducing the necessary step‑down to the loudspeaker load and accommodating a simpler, more effective output transformer," VTL claims. It's a zero global negative feedback design with broad audio bandwidth (‑1dB at 100kHz) that includes auto‑bias, multiple fault sensors, and an adjustable damping factor to suit speaker load and listener preference. One cool feature is that tubes are now visible through the front and top.
If Lohengrin famously had a swan to carry him away, VTL relied on the mighty Wilson Alexx V Carbon loudspeakers ($157,000/pair). Also in the system: VTL's TL‑7.5 Series III Reference linestage ($40,000) and TP‑6.5 Series II Signature phono stage ($17,000); Kuzma's Stabi R turntable with Safir 9 arm ($35,000); a Lyra Etna Lambda SL cartridge ($10,995); the dCS Rossini Apex DAC ($34,500) and matching clock ($12,000); a QNAP HS‑264 SilentNAS; dCS Mosaic on tablet; Bassocontinuo Cymbalon and Lyra racks; and Nordost's QNet switch/stand ($3800), QBase 10 ($18,000), QSource LPS ($2750), Odin 2 signal cables and power cords, and Valhalla BNC and Ethernet digital cables. 
