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RE: VTL 5.5 II sig. Preamp - good, bad?

Posted by E-Stat (A) on August 20, 2014 at 13:16:11

In Reply to: RE: VTL 5.5 II sig. Preamp - good, bad? posted by LWR on August 19, 2014 at 17:14:15:

I too, replaced an SP9 (MKIII flavor) with a new full function preamp in the the same class as the 5.5 - an SP20. I think it would be hard to go wrong with either one, but I see you are matching yours with a BEL solid state amp. That might provide a better balance than using a unit with a more analytical character like current ARC product with JFETs and 6H30 tubes.

I'm firmly in the Abe Collins camp of matching pre and power amps often with different personalities themselves to produce a balanced result. If you've followed his many combinations over the years, he has found that the key is all about the end result. In my case, I use and am quite happy with a pair of VTL MB-450 power amps that tend to be on the yin side of the tonal fence. Perhaps a touch dark and slightly tubey. I found that the SP9's somewhat leaner yang character worked well in concert and I find that the SP20 does as well. I'm not as sure if I would be as pleased with an all VTL or all ARC combination even though I have the greatest respect for both companies. Having said that, I have heard a VTL 7.5/Siegfrieds combination that sounded superb.

Similarly, the SP20 provides better low level dynamics, more resolution and a wider soundstage than the SP9. It's really nice having a remote and I switched over to using balanced connections for both the DAC source and to power amps. Some day, I might use its clever line stage driven headphone amp as well.

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