BAT Equipment vs Audio Research

I have just recently had both the BAT gear you are interested in, and the ARC gear in a direct comparison in my home. It was not even close. The BAT stuff is simply more like real music. It is much more natural sounding, just beautiful. Needless to say I bought all BAT equipment.

The ARC Reference equipment is more power than their other products with little or no difference sonically. If you guys want to be impresssed by a company putting the "reference" label on their equipment and fall for it go right ahead. The differences between the VT200 and REF 300 comes from one being a stereo amp and one being monoblocks. There is a bit bigger soundstage and slightly better control in difficult passages of music, but that is where it ends. The ARCs still have the "thin, cold, sizzly house sound." I am not an ARC basher, I actually like the products, but after listening to the BAT equipment, I realize that ARC misses the boat when it comes to reproducing the sound. It is of course about system matching and the Eidilons have a very complex cross-over which makes it difficult to drive. 300 watts may be what those speakers need to drive them effectively where the BATs may be slightly under powered for those speakers. I would bet the farm that if you stacked 2 sets of BAT VK-150SEs, they would spank the ARCS.

Mes: I have compared the entire line of ARC. The VTM200s vs. the Ref 600s was the most recent A/B and I hold firm that tonally they are the same... thin and cold. There were slight differences which are attributed to nothing more than 400 watts differnce in power. This is what I heard. The 300s are less harsh than the 600s but again have the same incorrect tone.

I know you have a lot of money invested in your Reference 300 amps and I do think they are wonderful, although not accurate. If I had not heard the BATs, I might have gone with the Ref 300 or the VTM200. Enjoy!