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VTL S-200 Signature Stereo Amplifier

VTL S-200 Signature Stereo Amplifier

My original review of VTL’s S-200 Signature stereo amplifier appeared back in early 2019 (Issue 290), and the amp’s been in my reference system ever since. In that article I spent some time discussing how the amplifier’s two easily switchable (via a front panel button) playback modes—tetrode and triode—differed sonically.

Although the triode mode has plenty to recommend it—an impressively deep soundstage, as well as a seductively warm tonal beauty, which can soften and indeed make far more palatable some less than great recordings—I decided to stick with the tetrode setting for what I ultimately perceived as its greater tonal accuracy, wider dynamics and frequency range, more robust bottom end, and livelier musical energy.  

Moreover, my power-sucking Maggie 1.7s were far happier with the tetrode mode’s 200Wpc output versus half-power triode operation. 

I happily lived with the S-200 in this configuration until—in what turned out to be a happy coincidence—VTL’s Luke Manley visited one day to install the company’s 6.5 Series II phono preamp, and we encountered a rare failure with one of the S-200’s 6550 output tubes. Neither Luke nor I had a replacement tube on hand, but as luck would have it, Luke did have a full complement of eight Russian-made Genalex Gold Lion KT88s stashed in his car. 

“Let’s try them,” Luke said, “you may even prefer them to the 6550s, because the Europeans and Japanese love the KT88s for their naturalness in the midrange.”  

Intrigued by Luke’s words, I thought to myself, “Why haven’t we tried this before?”

Because the S-200 has an auto-bias circuit and swapping out tubes is easy via screw-off side hatches, we were up and running in no time. 

Luke’s prediction about my possible reaction proved accurate.

From the first bars of Prokofiev’s Violin Sonata No. 1 (the glorious MusicMasters recording featuring Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg on violin and Sandra Rivers on piano), it was evident that the S-200 had, to these ears, hit another level of musical expressiveness and sonic refinement. From the piano’s brooding, half-awake opening statement to the violin’s tentative, scratchy reply to the off-kilter waltz-like section and on, the instruments simply sounded more true-to-life, dynamics gained nuance, the air of the recorded space as well as around each instrument bloomed more, and the presentation was notably more immersive. 

Bass response, too, if not perhaps ultimately as punchy, was more nuanced both tonally and texturally with the KT88s on, say, Paul Chambers’ upright in Analogue Productions’ stunning UHQR pressing of Kind of Blue, or on Roy Haynes’ rollicking drum break from the same company’s 45rpm-set of Monk’s Thelonious in Action, where one simply hears/feels more of the skin, sticks, and volume of individual drum parts. 

Rather than unspool a further list of musical illustrations, let me state that I can’t think of a record—from a Beethoven piano sonata to a Mahler symphony to the vocal genius of Cécile McLorin Salvant—that I didn’t prefer with the KT88 tube set. 

That said, there’s a slight price to pay for this extra musicality. Although the KT88s are capable of cranking more volume than the 6550s in triode mode, they don’t quite match that tube complement’s tetrode muscle. So, one will, on occasion—especially if in a mood to crank some heavier rock—cause a tube to draw excess current, which activates the fault-sensing system to protect the amplifier by shutting down. A deck-mounted LED next to each of the output tubes indicates which one is having a problem, and rebooting takes about a minute. Now and then a tube may completely fail, requiring replacement, but that’s rare and, in any case, is something all tubes are prone to.  

Regardless of which tube set or mode one selects, these past few years with the S-200 have only increased my appreciation for what Luke Manley and his team have accomplished here.

Specs & Pricing

Power output: 200Wpc into 5 ohms (tetrode); 100Wpc into 5 ohms (triode)
Number and type of inputs: 1 pair single-ended RCA; 1 pair balanced XLR
Tube complement: 8 x 6550 or KT-88, 2 x 12AT7, 2 x 12BH7
Dimensions: 18.5″ x 9″ x 18″
Weight: 105 lbs.
Price: $12,500

VTL
4774 Murrieta Street, Unit 10
Chino, California 91710
(909) 627-5944
vtl.com

Tags: AMPLIFIER POWER TUBED VTL

Wayne Garcia

By Wayne Garcia

Although I’ve been a wine merchant for the past decade, my career in audio was triggered at age 12 when I heard the Stones’ Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! blasting from my future brother-in-law’s giant home-built horn speakers. The sound certainly wasn’t sophisticated, but, man, it sure was exciting.

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