This is so for a number of reasons. For one, founder/designer Keith Herron is conspicuously present on Internet newsgroups, where he usually displays impressive technical expertise tempered by an appreciation for good sound. For another, he makes an interesting pair of front-end products that have garnered the loyalty of "…
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This is an era in which products and websites are "launched," but in the past two years Herron Audio has sort of oozed its way into the public ear. With little visible promotion or splashy advertising, Herron is now spoken of within an ever-widening audiophile circle.
While Herron told me the attenuator was the best-sounding he'd found, its range was not nearly sufficient for adequate volume control at the low end. His solution was to incorporate a second set of external electronic switches to "downshift" the signal 14dB, while the attenuators are upped 13dB when the volume knob is turned below the 8:30 position (it reverses when you turn it above 8:30). The end result is a 1dB step, with 13dB of the attenuator's range reused at the lower level. Sometimes I could hear the downshift, but usually it was transparent, and never worse than a momentary blip.…
Both line and phono preamps are built with hand-matched circuit components, and all units are burned in for 48 hours before being run through a full set of measurements and a final listening test.
Listening: VTSP-1 preamplifier
The VTSP-1 is easy to set up and use---its switch-controlled AC polarity inversion is particularly convenient in minimizing hum---and sounded sweet yet detailed right out of the box, with no trace of glare, edge, or grain. Both the volume and balance controls were silky-smooth to the touch, while the selector switch had a solid, reassuring feel---as if I…
With six inputs (five on the selector switch plus a tape monitor), plenty of gain with low noise, and a sophisticated set of signal-control features (including a Stereo/Mono switch) to whose signal purity the designer has paid particularly close attention, the Herron VTSP-1 is an impressive product at a very reasonable price---especially given the careful matching of its hand-picked parts, and the final listening tests to ensure that every unit sounds right. It's one thing to build a great-sounding prototype, another to make real-world products in quantity that sound uniformly good.
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Conclusion
If you're looking for a minimum-hassle, tube-based line stage that's well-built, flexible (six inputs, mono switch), and engineered to pay careful attention to the purity of the incoming low-voltage, low-current signal, the Herron VTSP-1 merits serious attention---regardless of how much you're prepared to spend. It's that accomplished.
If you're looking for a minimum-hassle, tube-based line stage that's well-built, flexible (six inputs, mono switch), and engineered to pay careful attention to the purity of the incoming low-voltage, low-current signal, the Herron VTSP-1 merits serious attention---regardless of how much you're prepared to spend. It's that accomplished.
Nonetheless, in my system---with the Sonus Faber Amati Homage loudspeakers, which have an incredibly liquid, relaxed, natural, and highly resolved high-frequency presentation---I found that the addition of the Herron VTSP-1 made the overall…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
VTSP-1 tube preamplifier: Tube complement: four 6922s. Frequency range: 1Hz->100kHz. Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz, ±0.1dB (volume control at 9 o'clock). Maximum voltage gain: 14dB. Hum & noise: N/S. Distortion: N/S. Output impedance: 100 ohms nominal at 1kHz. Input impedance: 100k ohms.
Dimensions: 19" W by 3.5" H by 10" D.
Serial number of unit reviewed: LHE105.
Price: $3650. Warranty: 2 years, parts & labor; tubes, 90 days.
VTPH-1MC FET/tube phono preamplifier: Tube complement: four 12AX7WB, one 12AT7WC. Frequency range: 1Hz->…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Simon Yorke, Basis Debut turntables; Graham 2.0, Immedia RPM2 tonearms; EMT TU2 and TU3 (Geyger stylus), Lyra Parnassus D.C.t, Transfiguration Temper Supreme, Spirit phono cartridges.
Preamplifier: Ayre K-1.
Power amplifiers: KR Enterprise VT 8000 monoblocks, Musical Fidelity NuVista 300.
Loudspeakers: Sonus Faber Amati Homage, Audio Physic Rhea subwoofer.
Cables: Interconnects: Hovland Phono cable (Graham arm), Yamamura Millennium 6000, Electra Glide Tesla, XLO Reference, Wireworld Gold Eclipse. Speaker cables: Yamamura…
Sidebar 3: Measurements, Herron VTSP-1
I didn't notice any turn-on thumps with this nicely made line stage when I measured it. However, I did have to remove, then reinstall the tubes before I could get any low-frequency output from the right channel. Obviously, a tube had worked loose in shipping.
The preamp inverted absolute polarity. Its maximum voltage gain was 14.4dB, while the volume control gave unity gain at its 1:00 setting. The balance control seemed too sensitive in its operation, just a slight offset giving a 1dB difference in levels between channels. Input impedance…
Sidebar 4: Measurements, Herron VTPH-1MC
The Herron phono stage's voltage gain, driven by the Audio Precision's 25 ohm source impedance, was a high 67.7dB. Despite this, the VTPH-1MC's noise floor was very low in level (fig.6), with power-supply-related spuriae more than 86dB below a nominal 2.5V output. The A-weighted S/N ratio, ref. 1V output, was 87dB, this decreasing to 70dB unweighted from 10Hz to 500kHz---in other words, excellent.
Fig.6 Herron VTPH-1MC, spectrum of noise floor ref. 2.5V output, input physically shorted.
The phono stage inverted absolute…
TORD GUSTAVSEN TRIO: The Ground
Tord Gustavsen, piano; Harald Johnsen, double bass; Jarle Vespestad, drums
ECM 1892 (CD). 2005. Manfred Eicher, prod.; Jan Erik Kongshaug, eng. DDD. TT: 60:13
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
Tord Gustavsen, piano; Harald Johnsen, double bass; Jarle Vespestad, drums
ECM 1892 (CD). 2005. Manfred Eicher, prod.; Jan Erik Kongshaug, eng. DDD. TT: 60:13
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
Technique is the ability to translate your ideas into sound through your instrument. This is a comprehensive technique . . . a feeling for the keyboard that will allow you to transfer any emotional utterance into it. What has to happen is that you develop a comprehensive technique and then say, Forget that. I'm just going to be expressive through the…