VTL TL-7.5 Series II upgrade anyone?


Has anyone taken their VTL 7.5 Pre-amp through the Series II upgrade announced in March? (http://www.soundstageav.com/audiovideonews.html).

I'm curious to know the sonic difference as experienced at home and whether it might be worth the $2,500 upgrade cost.

Or pehaps now might be an opportune time for me to explore the DartZeel NHB-18NS pre-amp.

Any comments appreciated.

Andrew
stevecortez
The system is as follows.
EMM CDSD & DAC6
VTL TL7.5 Series II
BEL1001 MKV
Audio Artistry Vavaldi (w/ Brown Mod.)
BEL The Wire interconnect and speaker wire
I did not listen to the Series II side by side w/ the origional 7.5. However I listened to the origional 7.5 for three years as an employee of Audio Concepts, and w/ two sets of tube replacements along the way. I know it's sonic character very well. It took all of two notes of the Messiah (Robert Shaw Telarc) to hear the difference. NOT SUBTLE.
I am no longer w/ Audio Concepts. I am pursuing a different career. In fairness, I think that you should know that. I am no longer in the industry, but I feel very strongly that Luke Manley has done something wonderful w/ the Series II.
Yes it is. I sent it in for the Series II upgrade and it was worth every penny, and quite bluntly I would be very happy if it cost another $1K. The noise floor is dramatically reduced with the resulting increase in musicality. I hear the lack of noise every time I play the system, and hear more music as a result. One can use all the adjectives, added depth, air, etc. and they all apply but I believe that comes about primarily as a result of lowering the noise floor. I did not expect to discover such a large difference. In case anyone is wondering, I do not work for VTL, I have never met anyone from VTL, I am not in the industry in any way nor do I have any economic connection with VTL, directly or indirectly. If I sound like a shill it is only because I am that happy with the upgrade.
I was considering it while I sent it to VTL for service. However, many audiophile reviewers says new upgrade somehow sacrifices the sonic signature of original VTL although it definitely decrease the white noise. I tried VTL ii but preferred the sound of original VTL. Best solution would be "keep the original VTL with low voltage gain amplifiers!!!"