Upgrade from VK-30 to VK-90 BAT Preamp.
As a follow up to my OP, I have subsequently purchased a VK-90 and replaced the VK-30 in my system. For anyone interested now or in the future, I am sharing my thoughts.
Why Did I Upgrade?
My primary motivation for upgrading was not sonic per se, but rather I wanted more balanced inputs as I have a variety of balanced sources. The VK-30 has two balanced inputs while on the VK-90 all inputs are balanced. I had been using an adapter, but this was always intended as a short-term solution.
The VK-30 is a SWEET Preamp
I must say that while the VK-90 is clearly an upgrade, listening to this world-class preamp reminds me of how wonderful the VK-30 really is and that I will miss it in my system. The VK-30 is extremely musical and has a wonderful tube warmth to it that I don’t find in the VK-90. However, as I suppose I don’t really want my preamp to add its own sound signature, the warmth of the VK-30 could be viewed as a negative – personal choice I suppose, but the VK-30 has a lush and very pleasing sound that I could (and have) listen to for hours.
The VK-90’s Power
A quality of the VK-90 that really jumps out at me is how ‘powerful’ it sounds. As compared to the VK-30, this is most evident in the lower frequencies. My system includes a REL S/810 Sub which has always been tuned very conservatively. I find with the VK-90 I need to tune the REL down even further – which is difficult as it was already set to ‘almost off.’ The VK-90 has amazing power and forcefulness across the audio spectrum with no discernible roll-off in the very low frequencies.
The VK-90’s Speed
The VK-90 also seems ‘faster’ on the attack. The leading edge of the music seems to come with more dynamics and punch. I notice this most in tracks with a strong percussive line.
The VK-90’s Quietness
Did someone say quiet? I don’t know, I didn’t hear anything. The VK-90 is dead quiet, amazing really.
The VK-90’s Display & UI
It’s a little thing, but I sure like being able to dim the display – not available on my VK-30 which was either on/off. I note a number of small quality-of-life updates to the UI – all of which I appreciate. The updated remote is, well, updated. I think I liked the feel in hand of the old one slightly better, but it’s neither here nor there.
The VK-90 is HOT
This sure does run hot – my goodness. The manual recommends 6” of clearance on all sides of the unit (same recommendation for the VK-30 which doesn’t run nearly as hot). Unfortunately, I am only able to provide 2” on the sides but the top is unrestricted, and it is sitting on a hard surface (not stacked). Even so, after playing for a couple of hours the top rear of the unit is VERY hot. I hope this does not become a problem in the future. I recall the very early VK-60 amps had issues with heat – I believe the tube sockets were plastic and not ceramic and therefore not up to the heat that could be generated. As a result, the sockets and nearby components and/or the PCB would suffer heat damage/burns, etc. I hope that the thermal engineering on the VK-90 is better and there will be no ill effects over time on components adjacent to the tubes.
VK-80 vs VK-90
I recall in a conversation I had years ago with Victor (from BAT) that he said the 5-series of preamps were really intended for people planning to eventually upgrade to the REX, and that if that was not the intent of the buyer they should really consider the 3-series instead. With this latest generation, I have the sense that this may still be true. It appears that the VK-80 (the successor to the 3-series) has tubes rather than sold state (rectification) in its power source (The benefit of which can be argued. Some would say that the primary benefit is less wear and tear on other components in the system from a more gradual startup – this is perhaps a non-issue with BAT as they have a controlled 50 sec. warm up sequence. I don’t know.). If a designer was presuming that the customer would ultimately be going to a two chassis configuration than the VK-90 (successor to the 5-series) would only need internal power circuitry sufficient to get by until the customer upgraded to the real end point – the REX. Of course, this is all conjecture on my part, but it makes sense that the VK-90 is intended as a stop along the way to the REX rather than an end-point in itself. I would certainly encourage anyone shopping for a new BAT preamp to listen to the VK-80 preamp if they are only looking for a single chassis preamp as it may well deliver all the goods. In my case, I require the greater number of balanced inputs so the VK-90 or the REX are the only options from the BAT stable.
VK-90 Component Matching
While owning my VK-30, I used it with a variety of power amps and I noted that it seemed very picky about the power amp pairing. With my VK-60, it was WONDERFUL, but with other power amps it could be hit or miss, sometimes really great, sometimes not so much. (The worst was a pairing with the McIntosh MC 275 Anniversary Edition. Outside of terrible and recurring quality problems with the McIntosh, it never sounded good. So much for an easier to lift amp. – Lbs=Sounds!) The VK-90 is currently paired with a VK-76SE and sounds spectacular. My hope is that with the VK-90’s transformer coupled outputs I will in the future have an easier time matching it with different amps should I choose to do so.
Conclusion
The VK-90 is a world-class preamp with a long and venerable pedigree. I am very pleased to own one and I can foresee no reason I would ever want or need to change this component in the future. The VK-90 is certainly a candidate for end-game preamp.
