Something I Dreamed Last Night: VTL
TT-25 Tiny Triode Monoblock Amplifiers
 As part of my lifetime search for the absolute best barbecue on earth, I visited
the fine folks at MartinLogan, Ltd. a few years ago -- strictly to examine Gayle
Saunders’ claim that Arthur Bryant’s was the high holy shrine for the serious
BBQ fanatic, you understand. So far, he’s right, but I continue my search disirregardless.
After a hard day watching MartinLogan
employees build loudspeakers (a fascinating process, by the way), we retired to
Saunders’ home for a restful evening marshaling our strength for the next day’s
journey to Bryant’s. While relaxing in Saunders’ comfortable extended kitchen, I
did what audiophiles always do in a new house -- I checked out the owner's hi-fi.
Naturally, it had a pair of ML speakers: Aerius IIs with retina-searingly red side
panels. But the shocker was the source, a B&O music system, the kind with the sliding
glass doors. And the Beosystem was connected to a pair of the smallest monoblocks I’d
ever seen -- a pair of VTL TT 25 "Tiny Triodes."
They were soooo cute! And they had that butch,
Tonka Toy-miniature-bulldozer kind of build quality going for them, too. Best of all, they
kicked some serious ML butt. The kitchen was rockin’, and I don’t mean with that
refined "listen to those highs" kind of audiophile appreciation of sound --
there was some serious booty wriggling going on. People were having fun! Man, I
thought, I have got to get me some of these!
My funny valentine
So, in time, I did. And I still wasn’t
prepared for how small they were. When the single box that contains a stereo pair arrived,
I was convinced that UPS had lost half the shipment. But upon opening the box, they were
both there -- and once again I was amazed by the heavy metal quality of their build.
They are small and cute and toy-like,
but they aren’t jokes. VTL lavishes the same level of care upon their construction as
they do on their flagship Wotan monoblocks. The Tiny Triodes are built like they used to
make ‘em -- in fact, they remind me of classic McIntosh tube gear in the level of
their fit’n’finish. These babies are solid.
 The amp's
appointments are minimal, but of high quality, as befits a product that retails for $1500.
There’s a full-sized power switch on the 1/4-inch-thick aluminum faceplate. The rear
panel has an IEC socket for a mains cable and a high-quality RCA input. On a slanted
"shoulder" below the tube cage, there are two fuse holders (for the 1.5-amp main
fuse and the .3 amp B+ fuse), hefty gold-plated speaker binding posts, and a switch that
puts the amp into triode operation at 25W output or tetrode mode at 40W. Each amplifier is
ten inches wide, eight inches deep, and five and a half inches tall and weighs 15 pounds.
I could write a book
The Tiny Triode circuit is a simple one --
it’s a solid-state-rectified class-AB1 design that utilizes a pair of paralleled
12AT7s for input. A long-tailed phase-splitter drives four EL84s in push/pull
configuration. The output is coupled through the transformer. VTL doesn’t use
regulation in this design, as they feel it has a negative impact on the liveliness of the
amplifier -- except when used for balanced circuits.
And, while there have been versions of the
Tiny Triode around for years, the current TT-25 is an all-new, substantially improved
model as compared to the old, open-chassis model Corey Greenberg reviewed in Stereophile
back in the day. This version has a newly laid out PC board with star grounding and a
beefier power supply (about twice as big).
You might not know the EL84 tube -- it’s
not used that much in audio applications. But you’ve almost certainly heard
the EL84 if you’ve listened to any popular music in the last 50 years. It has been
used in a wide variety of guitar amplifiers, ranging from the Vox AC-30s the Beatles
employed on stage and in the studio through 1964 or so, to the current line of Mesa Boogie
amplifiers used by tone conscious guitarists everywhere.
That signature Beatles tone of the Vox AC-30
actually gives you a pretty good indication of the personality of the TT-25. It’s
open and airy with lots of high-frequency detail and air and a crisp midrange with a
fairly lightweight bottom end.
In your own sweet way
The differences between triode and tetrode
mode aren’t day and night -- either way, the TT-25 has a sweetness that is beguiling.
That probably makes you think it’s syrupy and colored, but that’s not how it
comes across. It’s strictly a matter of personality. You know how some people are
just more charming than others? That’s the TT-25 -- nothing phony or forced about it,
it just makes you feel good about listening to music through it.
Whether to play in triode or tetrode really
depends upon the speakers you use. Triode is a little sweeter and more detailed in the top
end. Whenever possible, that’s the mode I listened to. But it was nice to have
the option of tetrode for a little more oomph on some speakers.
In either mode, it’s a trifle light on
its feet -- this just isn’t the amplifier to deliver gobs of deep bottom end. Forget
anything below low E on the string bass (40Hz). That said, it actually did a fine job of
reproducing Paul Chambers’ bass walk under Miles Davis, Red Garland, and John
Coltrane on Workin’ [JVC XRCD 60126]. It put Chambers clearly in the context
of the band and it gave him a fairly convincing heft. And it revealed Mr. PC’s
phenomenal sense of swing as few amps I’ve heard have done.
But where it really excelled was in
reproducing the cracked whisper of Davis’ trumpet. His tone had so much texture and
the air spilling from his mute had such body and immediacy that I was transported.
Possibly not to the original event, but to a place where Miles and I might be
present at the same time. Surely that’s magic enough for anyone.
And then, there’s Coltrane -- the TT-25
reproduced his burnished, probing chordal explorations with a bite and a presence
that were startling. This recording is nearly 50 years old and mono, fer Pete’s sake!
Yet the Tiny Triodes conjured up ‘Trane as physically as if he had just taken those
breaths seconds ago.
The TT-25s made me feel like the kid in The
Sixth Sense: [whisper] I can hear ghosts.
It could happen to you
Where the TT-25 totally lost it was in any
type of music that called for sustained, intense deep-bass energy. Massive Attack’s Mezzanine
(Virgin 45599-2) really stressed ‘em out -- the deep synth tones had ‘em
fartin’ like a boy scout after a bean-eating contest. Deep organ, the Ellington
Orchestra at full roar, any sustained and intense signal actually, was enough to make them
weak in the knees.
Of course, this varied from speaker to
speaker. My Dynaudio Microns, which like to be really dominated by an amplifier, never
sounded alive with the Tiny Triodes -- in triode or tetrode -- while my ProAc
Studio One SEs were nothing short of magical with them (and in triode, yet). The Linn
Tukans really smoked with ‘em.
When it comes to the air and texture and
give-me-goosebumps magical soundstaging at which tubes excel in, the TT-25s can deliver
more of it than just about any power amplifier in their price range. With the right
speaker, operating within certain limits, I’ve never heard better. Ever. They
can be scary.
The title track to Had Miles Met Maurice
[Dorian DOR-93198 CD] has some momentary dissonance as Peter Blanchette’s archguitar
and Charlie Schneeweis’s trumpet fight for key dominance. The TT-25s made this a
physical sensation. Not only did I experience that slight frisson that clashing
tones produce, but it also seemed as though the tones were clashing for the physical space
to exist -- they were too solid to blend. I’ve only had that reaction to a handful of
audio products -- and the TT-25s are by far the least expensive.
Well you needn't
The TT-25s are a magical product in many ways.
Yet, there are excellent reasons why they may not be the amplifier for you. In fact, they
probably aren’t the amp for you. While $1500 is a mere drop in the bucket
compared to the price of some high-end products, it’s still a substantial amount of
money to invest in an amplifier. For that kind of money, you have a right to expect a
product that doesn’t carry a laundry list of caveats against buying it.
VTL acknowledges this -- the TT-25s are being
manufactured in a limited edition of 500 pairs. About 250 have been sold to date, and
it’ll probably be years before the edition runs out.
Of course, these days, speaker manufacturers
are building speakers rated at 88, 89, even 90dB/W/m and they’d be great matches for
the littlest VTLs. And what about the trend toward using subwoofers with a main pair of
speakers -- or the use of speakers with internally powered bass drivers, such as the
Infinity Compositions Overtures? They’d really sing and they wouldn’t be
compromised by the TT-25’s bass lightness.
On second thought, maybe it won’t take
years to sell through the 500 pairs of Tiny Triodes.
When I fall in love
So there you have it. The VTL TT-25 is a great
product with some of the most enchanting sound I’ve ever heard and a flaw that would
be fatal -- no that is fatal unless you’re willing to work around it. But with
the right listener, the right room, and the right speaker, they are capable of sounding
soooo delicious that none of that matters. Well, not much. If you’re one of the few
for whom this amp will work, you’re in for years of musical enjoyment. They’re
some kind of special.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhifi.com
VTL TT-25 Tiny Triode Monoblock
Amplifiers
Price: $1500 USD per pair
Manufactured by:
VTL Amplifiers, Inc.
4774 Murietta Street, Suite 10
Chino, CA 91710
Phone: (909) 627-5944
Fax: (909) 627-6988
E-mail: mail@vtl.com
Website: www.vtl.com
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