Thanks for the link Mrjstark. Bob is practically right in my backyard. I'll have to check him out.
Cheers,
John |
Anyway, I can not wait to hear what have been done
to my amps and how they sound now - after his mod.
Regards
Mariusz Stark
Mrjstark I can't wait to hear either. I know Bob must be a busy gent, but he hasn't returned my e-mail so far. I look forward to reading about your experiences Mrjstark. Cheers, John |
02-25-08: Mrjstark
John
do you have something in mind - mod or repaire? I'm considering a mod to my BAT VK-75SE amp. I will look forward to your experience with your amps. I still have not heard back from Bob, though I may try to call him this week. John |
Hi M. Stark, yes thanks for the update, please keep us in the loop. Steve Monte is one of the "good guys" in this hobby to be sure. I look forward to reading of your impressions.
FWIW, how long did it take? While I consider this, and I did call Bob today, he said his turnaround was about three weeks. Yikes! Maybe I should wait for the weather to warm up...
Seriously, I did schedule to visit him next week with my BAT VK-75SE amp. I am really intrigued as to what he can do with this amp.
Cheers,
John |
Well I finally met Bob and Gary today, and totally agree with Joe, they are very gracious and accomodating. Nice little shop they have set up in Bob's home. I dropped off my BAT VK-75SE and we chatted for a good hour. Bob really knows how to 'put you at ease'.
Now, as Tom Petty would say, "the waiting is the hardest part". :)
Cheers,
John |
03-18-08: Mrjstark
The only question is, if I had to remove the amps myself or take the speakers to Bobs' place. Well, he might think that I am crazy ..... Well the only one who can really answer that question is Bob. Give him a call. Cheers, John |
Well, I've had my BAT VK-75SE amp back from Bob for one week now, and only have about 14 hours on it, so I guess I should chime in here. I did just get off the phone with Bob, and I'll pretty much just sum up what I told him here. The most immediate difference that I noticed was in the bass, which went deeper and was better defined. Very impressive for a tube amp....or any amp really. The second impression that comes to mind is the speed/resolution/articulation improvement. Details that were before glossed over are now open for all to hear. Very exciting indeed.
The one nit that I had is that the amp seemed to lose a slight bit of warmth, or musicality. Bob said that this should return with another 75-150 hours of burn in for the caps/wires.
Overall I am very pleased with the modifications at this point in time, keep in mind that I only have 14 hours on the amp at the moment. The added bass and resolution are very amazing at this point in time. I look forward to letting the amp burn in more. At this point I would still highly recommend Bob's services.
For those interested, Bob did a mod on the input/driver tubes that supposedly takes the strain off of them and allows them to run in a more linear fashion. He also replaced the stock Belden input wire with gold plated silver wire, and replaced the coupling caps with V-Caps.
Total time, 23 days, total cost $1457.00, including taxes.
Cheers,
John |
Rodman99999, Bob actually advises against the playing pink/white noise on repeat. He says that the components will break in faster using standard turn on/off cycle methods....FWIW. I don't know, I used to use the constant pink/white noise method for breaking in cables, but Bob says the caps need to fully cycle...charge....discharge....we'll see.
Cheers,
John
PS: As for Mrjstark, I'm sorry, there is no hope for you. I can only hope that I can escape the elusive "Bug"..... |
Cpk, thanks for the offer, I'll keep it in mind. As I mentioned before though, Bob does not seem to be a believer in burn-in hours on repeat play, or even cable cookers. He says the unit needs 'cycling', turning on/turning off. Especially to break in the caps, but for the wire too.
I do have the Cardas/Ayre burn in cd, and always felt it did a good job. I may give it a couple of spins next week.
BTW, my Marantz cd player was also modded by Chris at pcX. It sounds great, though I bought it already modified, so I don't have before/after comparisons.
Cheers,
John |
Hey Chris (Cpk), I just realized from reading your posts and finally your for sale ads that you are Mr. Tel Wire.
I've heard good things about your cords from my AudiogoN friends Grant (Tvad) and Tony (Clio09). Since you are so close to me proximity wise (Abington, PA), I suppose I should take you up on your 30 day challenge. Do you have a website? I'd like to know a little more about the construction of your cords. I think I may want to try one of your cords (heaven knows, not that I need anymore power cords ;-) ). Right now I have 14 cords battling it out for 8 spots in the line up, most of them much more expensive than yours (I know that doesn't mean better).
Cheers,
John |
