Digital Drive: REVIEW: Balanced Audio Technology (BAT) VK-D5 CD Player/Recorder by Lukasz F.

The decision to change my Wadia 16 was not easy. I had it for two years, and allways thought it is the strongest element of my system. After all, Wadia "the company" is considered by many the best CD maker in the world. It is considered a blasphemy to even criticize it.
When I first bought it, it was so much better than any other CD player that I ever heard, that I thought it was really "untouchable".
Compared to other good players, and especially the Levinson 39, it is much easier to listen to. Bass is just legendary. Deep as the ocean, there is excellent detail retrieval, natural soundspace, never fatiguing sound.
Everything sounds just so damn right. All elements of music blend naturally and are presented in most coherent way.
In all 2 years I could not even once "catch" the Wadia. Never I was able to identify a single smallest problem.
The mechanics are trully phenomenal, remote is perfect, you know the story.
Only the volume control is not too good. It is audibly screwing up the magic. I use a good pre, so it never bothered me.

I am in love with tube products. And of all companies in the whole high-end business the one I admire most is BAT.
I always thought, that it would be great to have really ALL TUBE system. And to own something from Victor and Steve.

An unexpected offer came to me via email - VK-D5SE is for sale and with home delivery and audition.

I decided to give it a try.

First - the difficult part: after living with Wadia it is not easy to adjust to Bat mechanics. Especially the drawer is horrible -light, wobbly, and it jumps out at me like a mad frog. I dunno, maybe I have a broken sample, or maybe they all are like that.
Anyway, this kind of drawer belongs in a 200 dollar CDP.
Also the display is quite unreadable from where I sit.
Knocking on the top produces ugly tin-can sound.
Still if I never had Wadia or Accuphase (briefly) at home, I would call this unit built like a tank etc.

Now you probably already suspect that there was something I actually LIKED about it right ?

The sonic difference to Wadia is very difficult to explain.
If we choose 10 typical hifi criteria, Wadia will probably win in all of them.
The sounds produced by Wadia are extremely atrtractive and sellable. these sounds are spectacular. Notice, I use the word SOUNDS.
But they are much less natural and less musical. They are less involving, less emotional.
There is something unbelievably RIGHT about the accoustic instruments and human voices.
I get connected to the performance much easier and faster.
The difference is not subtle.
(now I will use the single most common description of great sound that is used by audiophiles)
My wife, who is not an audiophile but she likes listening with me and has better, more sensitive ears, could tell the difference from another room.
"Honey she shouted, whatever it is you are testing over there - I love it and you should buy it."
Could it be any better ? I could shell out 4 grand without even feeling guilty.

The first night with BAT was very educating.
I simply could not evaluate the unit in hifi terms. It was so obvously magical, so superior to Wadia to my ears, that I could just sit and enjoy it.
10 years ago I would definitely choose Wadia, but I spent so much time in serious high end, that I learned the hard way.
It is like with women : Pamela Anderson, even looking perfect, is not a candidate for a deep and lasting love.
Your first CD is for an enemy, the second one for your friend, and the third is for you.
BAT is the CD for me. Again, I will use this terribly overused diagnose: "BAT is the nearest thing to analog I ever heard." Maybe a CEC TL1 with Audionote Dac3 is very close.
The bass is its "weakest point" in relative terms. It could go deeper and 1 db louder. On the other hand, it sounds much better than Wadia bass.
Wadia bass is deep and loud, but without timbral facture, rather monochromatic.
BAT bass contains tons of information missing from Wadia.
You can tell, if the congas drumskin was actually a buffalo or an anthylope. If it was synthetic - you could tell from another room. I hope you get the picture.
I will just adjust the speakers to be a little louder in the bass and all will be perfect.
The voices are shockingly real.
If I was pressed hard to find the shortest description of the most apparent feature - here it goes:
From Wadia I hear for example a well defined vocalist standing in the centre, and in the background there are some sounds, some instruments.
Wih the BAT it is a group of 4 or whatever musicians. The accompanying people are just as real and present as the soloist.
You can feel the presence of all musicians in most natural way. They are just playing together.
Here is mister maracas, here is misss tambourine, over there is mister guitar.
With Wadia, there were very good sounds similar to instrument sounds, but detached from people who were playing.
It all sounds like b.s. I know, but I tell you as I hear it.
Nuff said. Now I am going back to Frank Zappa. His sense of humor is definitely coming through better via BAT.

Yours sincerely
Lukasz F.

REVIEW: Balanced Audio Technology (BAT) VK-D5 CD Player/Recorder Review by Lukasz F. at Audio Asylum