Tube vs. Solid State Pre Amp

So you gave your dealer a heart attack eh :).... that is funny.... enjoy discovering your new pre and new amplifier!
 
The VTL sounds like a nice amp. If I ever went back to tubes self bias would be a feature I'd like to have. It also sounds like you are able to tailor the presentation to taste to some extent using the damping factor and tetrode/triode.

I'm not a tube guru, I always thought kt-88 and 6550 were pretty much the same thing. What really changes the sound is the brand of tube.

Trust your ears, you are the bes judget and most familiar with your system and what you are used to hearing.
 
Only about another ten days for the KT-88's to arrive, then I will have my new S200 in place. From what I can gather about the difference in a KT-88 and 6550, the 6550 has better bass but also has a bit of graininess in the mid and highs. As my Totem Element Metals with the accompanying Thunder II Sub have such powerful bass already, I have no concerns about the low end. The characteristics of the Element Metal are a nearly holographic, highly detailed mid and upper end, and this can exacerbate, at least to my ears, the issues of digital, even from the No. 27.5 ML amp, and my desire is for a warmer sound, which I think the KT-88's can give vs. the 6550.

And, from the folks at VTL, "I highly recommend the Gold Lion KT-88 tubes which is a premium quality tube and offers a top end that's more extended and less grainy than the 6550. I personally prefer the Gold Lion KT-88 for its richer tonal quality. However, the 6550 tube does go deeper in the bass and may have a tad more control of the bass than the KT-88. In the end this is very much a personal preference determined by the user's musical taste."

So, thee you have it....just sitting here patiently waiting....and of course listening to some Leonard Cohen.....
 
Too bad the real Gold Lion/Genelex/M&O KT-88 tubes are no longer in production. They do not take a backseat in the bass department to any 6550 and they outperform them everywhere else in the audio spectrum. The Russian Gold Lion remake of the KT-88 tube is pretty good and I would take it over any 6550 tube in current production.
 
Tubes have shipped from VTL.... seven days and counting......
 
After a couple weeks of waiting, the new tube set (KT-88's) for the S200 arrived, have been installed, and are functioning well. I am now hearing with the VTL S200, after replacing the Mark Levinson No. 27.5, a solid amplifier which has served extremely well for nearly 25 years, is an expanded sound stage, better spacial delineation front to rear, but most of all, an increase in the fullness of the notes, the lack of any harshness in the upper range, and detail even in the quietest passages.
My favorite sound stage test cut currently is The Ballad of Bill Hubbard, the first track on Roger Water’s Amused to Death CD. While the beginning dog bark was previously out to one’s right at 2:30 or 3:00 o’clock, it is now nearly behind the listener at 4:00 o’clock. And, the initial voices instead of on the left at 10:00 o’clock, now are out at 9:00. With the volume up loud enough to hear the voices well, the first big note was rather cutting and harsh with the Levinson, now it is simply large and clear, with a warmth and sweetness even at a level which tends to move one back in their chair. The remainder of the track follows with such roundness to the notes, a filled in sound stage which was clearly lacking with the solid state amplification previously used. And, this, I am told, is what tubes are all about.
The convenience of the VTL set up is in the programming. The 5.5 Series II pre amp controls the power to the S200 amp and triggering of the S200 occurs after the pre is fully warmed up. The sequence electronically for the Signature VTL line is designed so as to take care of issues folks have apparently complained about with tubes for years. Even the bias issues are covered with the programmed warm up in both units. So, what we end up with is all the wondrous musicality of tubes, but without all the previous headaches, VTL has it covered.

Now on to more listening, which of course I have done. Female vocalists not only have more detail, especially the breathiness which is a primary character of feminine voice, but the gentle nature is more present, something which the solid state amplification did not seem to have. And I tested a high end solid state amp considered to have much in the way of tube qualities, but this did not even come close to the results with the VTL S200.

Chet Atkins, well he may have some folks who are his equal, but nothing can top him, my opinion, of course. And, his notes are so beautifully reproduced with the tubes, they sound to me very close to classical guitar, rather than electric. Leo sounds fantastic as well.

When Ruthie Henshall sings Pilgrim on her album by the same name, one hears her voice gently crack as she dips down low, and the softness when up in her range, such an addition to the listening experience, like being in the same room.

In summarizing my early experience with the VTL 5.5 II and S200, for my ears this sounds better than anything I have heard previously, including some speakers in the >$100,000 range. Am I happy? Your guess....
 
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