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VTV Amplifier - Terrible Quality Build and Customer Service

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echopraxia

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I thought some of you considering VTV amplifier would want to know this before you buy. I ended up ordering amps from both VTV and March Audio, since I’ll have two pairs of speakers I can power with upgraded amps.

In short, the March Audio amps are built to perfection, as far as I can tell. They were clearly assembled with care, they seem perfect both cosmetically and functionally. Connectors are very solid and secure, etc. And, Alan March via email was extremely helpful and patient throughout all my questions.

VTV was the opposite. Assembly quality is among the worst I have seen in my life for a product of this price, and VTV’s communications demonstrate an utter lack of care whatsoever for the quality of their products. There is zero attention to detail here.

Here is a photo of the VTV amplifier undersides as they arrived:

9CC29FE8-34BF-4AE8-A9CC-E6023092993E.jpeg


Notice lots of scuffs, scrapes, sloppy custom drill holes all over the place, loose screws, missing screws. Here is a close up of a loose screw:

4957740A-A5F4-4E2D-9058-14DAA5DE922B.jpeg


Here is an entirely missing screw:

E74D1D2B-7ECB-4BD1-9D19-B728888CFC1B.jpeg


So opening it up, here’s what we see:

1AEB0C14-2EA6-4A52-BEE0-7B853549CCC7.jpeg


C9E5CA38-64CA-46BF-AF7A-02AC9CE2DEC6.jpeg

15440D27-8EEA-4974-BA1F-C4F164C44142.jpeg


5C497C58-D8BF-4337-AAAE-0FC055CA9F27.jpeg


I’m no expert in electrical engineering or amp builds, so I’ll let others comment on the quality or correctness of the wiring. However the dangers of a frayed ground wire near a signal cable are pretty clear, I think.

Also, all the connectors are of shockingly low quality. Plugging into the XLR connector quite literally causes all the wires inside to wiggle around, as the terminals are very loose. When the AC and XLR cable are attached, they are very floppy externally, and do not feel very secure. The AC socket wiggles around in place as you’re inserting the cord, so it does not seem very well secured to the chassis.

CA4-F8-C65-5-D39-4-BE4-9608-5597748911-A8.gif


In contrast, the March Audio amps are very solid and all connections feel snug, secure, and solidly mounted to the device.

So at this point, I’m thinking this is just some bizarre case of abnormally bad build quality somehow slipping past with no validation/QA (even though both amps have these problems, to differing degrees). Giving VTV the benefit of the doubt, I contacted them with photos, and VTV responded promptly with the following (exact quote):

Unfortunately I drill those myself (I am obviously not a metal smith haha) and there are holes for different combinations. I apologize but unfortunately because of that there can be some underside rash. Nothing should be loose.

But if you are unhappy and it bothers you, please return it for a refund. I apologize for any misunderstanding of how the underside may look.

Frankly I have never had a complaint but I understand if you are looking for something cleaner.

I pointed out the loose and missing screws. He said it should be fine to use with missing and loose screws:

Hmm...there should be screws where there are holes and threads for them. They should be OK to use but it might make sense for me to send a label and have you return them so I can look the loose screw issue over. The photo showed a screw that looked loose as well

Rather than send them back on warranty for missing screws issue, I asked if I could return them for a refund. He then said in that case he takes no responsibility for the return shipping, and that would be on me.

Feeling generous and hoping I wasn’t being unreasonable here, I then decided I can probably make these work with some DIY myself. So I said I can consider keeping them if he can send over a replacement screw. To his credit, he did promptly send over a letter containing three screws.

Except... He sent over the wrong kind of screw. (I am now past the return period as well, though that’s not VTV’s fault.)

Build Quality Review Summary: Needless to say, I do not recommend VTV. You will get worse results than buying kit parts and assembling an amp yourself.

In very stark contrast, the amps I received from March Audio had extremely good build quality, perfect fit and finish, very solid connector quality, and exceptional communications customer service.

Edit: P.S. Also, just in case there is any confusion, I want to be clear: This post is meant as a quick build quality review, to share useful info with others who might be researching Hypex/Purifi amp product choices. I am not seeking any sympathy from anyone, or any special treatment from VTV at this point (since I have decided to salvage the Hypex units and pursue my own path to resolve the build quality to my satisfaction). The one and only goal of this post is to provide useful information to ASR readers in the market for such amps.
 
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pozz

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Sorry to see that.

Do you mind giving the VTV model number and cost of the unit?
 
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echopraxia

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Sorry to see that.

Do you mind giving the VTV model number and cost of the unit?
Two VTV NC1200 monoblocks with 12V trigger, which is $900/each or $1800 for the stereo pair.
 

Tom C

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That is really disappointing, and so frustrating. Thank you for letting us know, though.
 

AudioJester

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Despite Mr March's "take no prisoners alive" posting style, he certainly makes awesome products at great prices!
Never hear of these kind of stories with his amps.
It probably has set the bar too high in comparison to your VTV amps.
 
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echopraxia

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Despite Mr March's "take no prisoners alive" posting style, he certainly makes awesome products at great prices!
Never hear of these kind of stories with his amps.
It probably has set the bar too high in comparison to your VTV amps.
For $1800 of stereo amplification, I like to think that expecting no screws missing or loose should go without saying.
 

Matias

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And to think it is said that Hypex kept the NC1200 modules for $10k+ amplifiers and decided to drop the restriction. I wonder if they are starting to regret that decision.
 
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echopraxia

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And to think it is said that Hypex kept the NC1200 modules for $10k+ amplifiers and decided to drop the restriction. I wonder if they are starting to regret that decision.
Not if you buy them from @March Audio. Sure, it’s a bit more expensive than VTV, but definitely worth it for a quality build you can trust.

Just because VTV has proven to be incapable of delivering a product with any semblance of quality or attention to detail (now counting multiple reports of multiple members here), doesn’t mean others can’t for under $10k. March Audio proves that I think.

For those in need of eye bleach after seeing those VTV photos... here are some photos of quality products, in contrast :)

6AADD76C-EF8A-4745-ACE0-1296FF002AA0.jpeg
 
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Matias

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Yes, I know, don't take this the wrong way, what I meant is that a bad implementation may damage the reputation of the brand and all the other good implementations along.
 

Hemi-Demon

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Terrible QC on a US based manufacture. Maybe not "all" American companies are worth defending :D:eek:. Just a joke, referencing all the anti Chinese posts lately, which seem mighty ridiculous.

To the seller's credit he gave you the option to return, the damaged items, if for a full refund. All it would have cost you was return shipping, with insurance, which is pretty standard. $200 or so in shipping costs would have saved you sitting on $1,800 in equipment.

Sorry for the debacle.
 
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What I see there doesn't look too terribly bad to me. If the bottom plate is drilled for multiple combinations of AMP/PS, it wouldn't be unexpected to see a bit of a "swiss-cheese" look.

The pins wobbling inside XLR connectors is not really a problem. In fact, many of them are designed that way on purpose.

I imagine he assembles these fairly quickly and is moving them quickly. Not an excuse, but maybe an explanation.

At least you don't have the amplifier outputs wired with incorrect polarity like another manufacturer has been doing. :)

Dave.
 

March Audio

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Despite Mr March's "take no prisoners alive" posting style, he certainly makes awesome products at great prices!
Never hear of these kind of stories with his amps.
It probably has set the bar too high in comparison to your VTV amps.
:) I just tell it like it is, very much Doc Martin style. I appreciate some find that confronting ;) but life is too short.
 

Sal1950

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Rather than send them back on warranty for missing screws issue, I asked if I could return them for a refund. He then said in that case he takes no responsibility for the return shipping, and that would be on me.

Feeling generous and hoping I wasn’t being unreasonable here, I then decided I can probably make these work with some DIY myself. So I said I can consider keeping them if he can send over a replacement screw. To his credit, he did promptly send over a letter containing three screws.

Except... He sent over the wrong kind of screw. I am now past my return period, as well.
I would make the most polite call possible to him and see if you can work out a return for refund. Even paying the shipping and if you must offer a small restocking fee. Thats some pricey gear that gives me very bad vibes for long term reliability and all the rest.
I've paid for a few mistakes over the years myself, it hurts but put it behind you and move on.
 
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echopraxia

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What I see there doesn't look too terribly bad to me. If the bottom plate is drilled for multiple combinations of AMP/PS, it wouldn't be unexpected to see a bit of a "swiss-cheese" look.

The pins wobbling inside XLR connectors is not really a problem. In fact, many of them are designed that way on purpose.

I imagine he assembles these fairly quickly and is moving them quickly. Not an excuse, but maybe an explanation.

At least you don't have the amplifier outputs wired with incorrect polarity like another manufacturer has been doing. :)

Dave.
Did you not read the part about the missing screws? The loose screws?

The wobbly connectors are really bad. I can wobble each one about 20 degrees left and right with no force at all. It is very loose for the entire connector, not just the pins inside.
 
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echopraxia

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I would make the most polite call possible to him and see if you can work out a return for refund. Even paying the shipping and if you must offer a small restocking fee. Thats some pricey gear that gives me very bad vibes for long term reliability and all the rest.
I've paid for a few mistakes over the years myself, it hurts but put it behind you and move on.
I’ve already put this behind me. This post is for everyone else here to not make the same mistake.

I had the option to return it within the return window, and I decided I would give it a shot and try to repair it myself and use replacement screws VTV sends.

It’s very disappointing though the way VTV handled this; there seems to be no actual care for the quality of their product when the response to seeing a missing screw was essentially “huh, that’s funny... well it should still be okay to use”. If it was my product, I would immediately send out a perfect replacement no questions asked, apologize profusely, and immediately begin investigating how quality control could fail so catastrophically.

The fact that the replacement screw he sent me was the wrong type is just icing on the cake.

At this point, I consider this just a very overpriced DIY experiment. I’ll probably I buy my own case, connectors, etc. and assemble it again properly myself.
 

CDMC

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It is rather disappointing, as the assembly quality is worse than my NC252, which was built several months earlier. It seems like VTV is trying to hit the lowest price point possible and likely killing his business in the process. For an extra $50 per amp, I am am sure that he could find a tech that would assemble them properly. Also, Ghent now has NC1200 cases so no hand drilling is necessary (which could be done correctly with a template, punch, $129 drill press and countersync drill bit). Frankly, I would rather purchase these at the price charged with no assembly and do it myself.

For those that have bought them and want to correct the Pin 1 wiring, you can purchase a replacement harness from Ghent. For how the Pin 1 should be wired, see the following:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/slight-buzz-rca-to-xlr.15174/#post-478264

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...its-all-amirs-fault.13195/page-14#post-467536 (photos and part numbers for replacement XLR plugs)

I guess on the bright side, the quality is consistent. Here is another NC1200 amp that VTV sold as posted by a member here:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/slight-buzz-rca-to-xlr.15174/#post-478468

In the meantime, I think I will look to March or Nord when it is time to replace my Sunfire Amp.
 
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