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In Reply to: BAT for the long term? posted by Abu Djibril on April 5, 2007 at 15:12:20:
...not for the long haul anyway. Yes, their gear sounds good and the company is fairly stable. As stable as one can be in high end audio anyway. Their customer service is good, but pricey. Build quality is questionable at best, IMHO.
Follow Ups:
My impression is that BAT is some of the best quality available on the market. I can't remember reading about quality issues on BAT gear here, and my VK-31SE preamp is built like a tank. It's laid out very nicely internally, and the parts are top notch. All of the controls operate smoothly and with precision, and the remote is made of aluminum. The only bad thing I can remember about reading about BAT quality was someones criticism about the sled motor in the VK5D CD player being cheap - not sure if it is well founded. What is your beef w/ BAT quality?
Ken
......quality issues in the archives...funny how they dissapear. How do you suppose that happens?
FWIW, I do like the BAT sound, and I have owned a VK-31SE, VK-50SE, VK-51SE, VK-P5, VK-P10SE w/ Super-Pak, VK-D5SE, VK-D5SE w/ Super-Pak, and a VK-600SE. I've also had demo's of VK-3iXSE and VK-32SE.
I currently own no BAT gear.
If buying a BAT unit now, I would only consider buying new, with the 5 year warranty. Then I would sell after 4 years.I won't bother with details, as they will just mysteriously vanish into the abyss. ;^)
I own a VK-60. It has provided countless hours of enjoyment. I do not agree with your BAT quality assesment and neither does Stereophile. The following is a quote from their review of the VK-5 and VK-60:"Examine the insides of the VK-5 and the VK-60 and you'll see neatly-laid-out circuit boards (0.093" thick, with 3oz unplated pure copper traces), premium metal-film and foil resistors, custom oil-filled capacitors, gold-plated Neutrik XLR connectors, and high-quality parts throughout. Tubes are mounted in ceramic sockets with silver-plated contacts. The VK-60's toroidal transformers are made by Plitron, supplier to Krell, Mark Levinson, Spectral, and Bryston." This can be found at:
http://www.stereophile.com/tubepoweramps/766/You suggest that you need not provide any details as they "will just mysteriously vanish into the abyss". If that were true, how do you explain that both of your postings in this thread which slam BAT quality are still here?
I've just been inside my VK75SE and you are spot on regarding the high build quality. I've also had the VK5i & VKP10 with no problems well past expiration of warranty. The principals of this firm are always available by phone if you do need help.BTW if you want to take that VK60 up a big notch, try V-Cap TFTF in place of the stock BAT OIP coupling caps.
Well if you owned all of those pieces, you're definitely a better authority on BAT quality than I am. I have no warranties because I purchased mine on the used market, and so far, no problems.If you don't mind, could you share the differences in sound presentation between VK-31SE and VK-51SE?
Ken
I thought the 31SE was more dynamic and powerful than the 50SE. However, I felt the 50SE was a tad smoother. The 51SE retained the best qualities of both. It shares the dynamics/power of the 31SE with the slightly smoother sound of the 50SE.
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