VTL TL2.5 Preamp

Excellent preamp and one of the biggest bargains in hifi. Very airy sounding with good details and musicality.

It's a great preamp that I can vouch for as well. Being my entry into tube gear I can say it's a blessing to listen to music through.

I used to have the 2.5 about 6 years ago, and I did the same thing, came from Rotel equipment. I remember the difference was astounding. This is an excellent step for you from where you were with Rotel, and it takes you in a completely different direction-in a good way. I eventually upgraded to the 5.5 brand new, which I have now and I couldn't be happier with it, well thats not completely true...I would be happier with a 6.5.

Enjoy this preamp, it is (as others have mentioned) an excellent bargain, and lots and lots of fun to own. I would disagree though with someone saying the difference between 2.5 and 5.5 is not worth the $$-it is The Caps are totally different and both pieces sound very different. A 2.5 is an excellent value and maybe best sounding in its class, a 5.5 on the other hand, can be the last Preamp you will ever need to own. Working in steps is the best thing to do and you made a great choice for this step. Enjoy!

I have owned mine for about a year and 1/2. About 6 months after having it I took it to Steve Huntley @ Great Northern Sound Co. and for $700 he transformed it. It certainly wasn't "bad" to begin with, he just said there was room for improvement, and he was right. I have not heard the 5.5, allthough may grab one just to try the balanced connections to compliment my new 185 signature MB's.
Through my local dealer there is about $1500 difference between the 2.5 vs 5.5 and if $700 worth of tweeks can get it sonically matched, I don't know if the balanced outs and phase reversal circuit is worth $800?
Time will tell as I am keeping my eyes peeled for a used 5.5.

What are the tweaks you did to the 2.5?