I’ve had a brand new VTPH-2A for a few weeks now. It’s done a brilliant job in my SOTA/Stax setup, handily dispatching my Rogue Ares Magnum (filled with exotic NOS tubes); I feel that the performance gain with the Herron well exceeds its $800 MSRP price premium. Very happy with this phono stage!
I also run a rather pricey VAC Renaissance SE phono stage in my main rig. I wouldn’t have dropped that kind of coin (more then 3x the Herron) if I wasn’t completely blown away by it (I auditioned the non-SE base Renaissance in my system before purchase, a year ago). I tried the Herron in that rig, thinking perhaps it could match the VAC - but no not quite there yet; the VAC still has some extra magic. I’m going to let the Herron burn in some more, then try the VAC match-up again with some additional experimentation of SUT’s, etc. If it can match or even exceed the VAC in the end, I'd have no problem buying a 2nd unit. But I'm already exceedingly happy with the 2 setups I've got now.
I also run a rather pricey VAC Renaissance SE phono stage in my main rig. I wouldn’t have dropped that kind of coin (more then 3x the Herron) if I wasn’t completely blown away by it (I auditioned the non-SE base Renaissance in my system before purchase, a year ago). I tried the Herron in that rig, thinking perhaps it could match the VAC - but no not quite there yet; the VAC still has some extra magic. I’m going to let the Herron burn in some more, then try the VAC match-up again with some additional experimentation of SUT’s, etc. If it can match or even exceed the VAC in the end, I'd have no problem buying a 2nd unit. But I'm already exceedingly happy with the 2 setups I've got now.