VTL 7.5 series 1,2,3

[Bergm@nn]

Lots of praise for the S3 but how much of a genuine and significant improvement over the S2 and S1 is it?

Been offered a used 7.5 S1 at a reasonable price whereas the S3 used is about double that.

I understand that the S1 can be upgraded but from the UK will that mean shipping the whole 40 kg to the US and back?

Or should I be looking at an alternative?

 

[dan31]

I think Marty had a few versions of the 7.5. I remember him contributing at WBF on the upgrades. Search the forum or contact Marty. He would know best. My guess is it’s still a fine preamp.

 

[XV-1]

I owned the 7.5 series 1. If you have a power amp where the gain is over 26db, I would take a pass.

The stupid way the gain stage was designed on S1 was that for power amps over 26db gain you would get audible tube rush noise. so you couldn't use with cj or Lamm amps for example

I complained to Luke Manley and he said nothing wrong with his preamp design and don't buy amps over 26db gain as they are poorly designed. He is an arrogant man. I sold the 7.5 shortly after and will never consider VTL again.

see the issue explained in the soundstage review - changing tube types was a waste of time and it sounded worse.

SoundStage! Equipment Review - VTL TL-7.5 Reference Preamplifier (3/2005)

Funnily enough, VTL changed the gain stage for S2 - obviously I wasn't the only person who complained and the Soundstage review called out the design fault.

 

[Bergm@nn]

I owned the 7.5 series 1. If you have a power amp where the gain is over 26db, I would take a pass.

The stupid way the gain stage was designed on S1 was that for power amps over 26db gain you would get audible tube rush noise. so you couldn't use with cj or Lamm amps for example

I complained to Luke Manley and he said nothing wrong with his preamp design and don't buy amps over 26db gain as they are poorly designed. He is an arrogant man. I sold the 7.5 shortly after and will never consider VTL again.

see the issue explained in the soundstage review - changing tube types was a waste of time and it sounded worse.

SoundStage! Equipment Review - VTL TL-7.5 Reference Preamplifier (3/2005)

Funnily enough, VTL changed the gain stage for S2 - obviously I wasn't the only person who complained and the Soundstage review called out the design fault.

Very helpful.

My amp is a Pass XA30.8 which has a gain of 26db so maybe this isn’t the best combination?

 

[XV-1]

Very helpful.

My amp is a Pass XA30.8 which has a gain of 26db so maybe this isn’t the best combination?

From a noise perspective, it should be fine I think. 26db gain is normal. It's the higher gain amps that cause issues.

 

[Bergm@nn]

Also, upon enquiry it appears that the previous pledge to upgrade S1/2 units to S3 has fallen victim to rising costs and availability of components. In short VTL are no longer going to offer this.

This makes previous series of the 7.5 less attractive propositions.