General Asylum: REVIEW: Balanced Audio Technology (BAT) VK-75SE Amplifier (Tube) by Steve

Normally I laugh at reviews carried out in the first few hours of owning a product. With 100 or so hours under its belt a product is bound to change quite radically, so why bother reviewing anything a few hours old?

Well it just happens that I spent the greater part of this last weekend throwing on CD after CD, thoroughly enjoying my VK-60's new found fidelity brought about by a complete re-tube. The sound was gorgeous and I was having serious second thoughts about a brand new VK-75SE wending its way towards me through a maze of airports and Fed-Ex sorting centres.

Why was I bothering to upgrade when my current system was giving me so much pleasure?

Well this am the unit I'd tracked for the past week arrived and I helped the lady driver carry in a rather heavy and severely battered packing carton. Ironically, the fragile label had a hole punched right through it.

Thanks to the well designed double packing the amp itself was fine and I unpacked a frigid VK-75SE and a box full of tubes.

With some genuine regret I disconnected the VK-60 and placed the VK-75SE on its Symposium Acoustics Ultra Rack, connected all the cables and left it to equilabrate for a couple of hours. I then switched on and let it play all afternoon, planning to spend the evening gaining a first, cautious impression of the new amp.

First thing I noticed was that the amp looks better 'in the flesh' than one would suppose from the photos. Whoever did the industrial design made a nice job (at least to my taste). The amp looks very solid, sculpted and sophisticated.

I listened to a few tracks and was surprised that I could immediately hear several significant improvements over the VK-60, to the point I went and got my pad and jotted down the following notes. With the 60 so fresh in my mind I though someone may be interested in a very rough and ready comparison, silly though it may seem with so few hours on the clock.

Bear in mind that the VK-60 had been making wonderful music all weekend, with its huge soundstage, warm, full midrange and beautifully coherent frequency extremes.

Compared to a warm, well run-in, freshly tubed VK-60, a cold, brand new 75SE lacks bloom, air, some soundstage width and projection and a certain degree of ease, especially with female vocals at full tilt. In most every other category however the 75SE surpasses the 60 right out of the box. I was most surprised as I do not usually respond well to new electronics.

Firstly the 75 offers greater soundstage depth, increased layering and better defined depth gradations. Instruments are better seperated in the mix, are more solid in space and have more life and vibrancy.

There are far higher levels of timbral information and the listener is given greater insights into each individual musician's performance.

Pace, rhythm and timing (PRAT) are greatly enhanced and the music has more bounce and energy. Instruments are better able to communicate their individual rhythms. Overall, the performance is more believable, less like a recording. The music has more 'expression' which will probably translate into much increased listener involvement once the unit is well run-in.

Height definition is enhanced and surprisingly, while the overall sound is not yet 'relaxed', the midrange is beautifully warm and natural (this is usually the area I can't stand with new electronics). In general, instruments sound more complex and harmonically rich.

Microdynamics is another area where the 75SE excels. The music really swings, with finer graduations between changes in volume more clearly delineating and communicating how a musician 'finesses' the notes.

Here my notes read "dynamic, expressive, finesse, warmth but not glow or coloration. The music has far more of a human quality". On Cirrus's Lands End album on Opus 3 the sax is truly seductive. On Diane Krall, the piano more percussive, the bass warm and sensuous.

To put things in perspective, the VK-75SE does not make the VK-60 sound flawed or lacking. It simply takes the music to an altogether higher level of performance and detail that wasn't apparent by its absence but once its there, adds considerably to the enjoyment.

If music is soulfood, the VK-75SE lays on quite a banquet.

Maybe this time I'll avoid the PPP (post purchase paranoia).

Nice one Victor. Very nice indeed!

REVIEW: Balanced Audio Technology (BAT) VK-75SE Amplifier (Tube) Review by Steve at Audio Asylum