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BAT to BAT - What's Best?

In the wild and wooly world of subjective 'discernment' or taste with system synergies, and the uproarious and ridiculous costs of cables these days. I am at a loss in deciding upon the appropriate IC between a BAT VK5i and VK500.

I suppose what I am trying to figure out here is how to narrow the "must try" IC's for the BAT gear.

Any experiences from previous BAT owners that have had tube preamps, and solid state amps, would be more than appreciated.. . for there are far too many to go through as far as I am concerend.

the end I seek is one with richness, and a quality sound. with emphasis on the mid and bottom ends.....naturally the highs should be natural and sweet. Great imaging and tonal balance is most important.. . given the above info.

....and cost IS an object.

ones I've already tried, or currently own...
Monster M1000, - just not for me...
Nordost Blue heaven - far better but still lacking...
shunyata Aries - a definite NO
Harmonic Tech Magic - Not bad but lacks the imaging thing
MIT Magnum 3 III - thus far the better cable overall, with little compromise

...and the one I am using now
Cardass Neutral Ref - Just a real good value, but lacks bottom end, and only average in imaging. Nothing outstandingly good or bad here. just not what I'd like....

So what's your experiences? It would be a real help for me to "cull the herd" so to speak.

MANY THANKS
blindjim

Showing 4 responses by jafox

jafox
1,470 posts
 
If you want to retain the harmonic richness and 3-dimensionality so strong to the BAT products, NBS Signature is a phenomenol value on the used market. It often sells for the same price as the Cardas Golden Cross and the NBS is far and away more resolving and tonally coherent. I too liked the Harmonic Tech Magic One but it was a little too mellow and indeed did not quite have the "stage presence" that my system was capable of bringing out. I have since bumped up to use NBS Statement but I have a great desire to try the Purist which seems to get high praise from everyone. For longer cable lengths, the MIT 350 REF or EVO cables are also an outstanding value and retain the ambience and bloom of the BAT products.
John
jafox
1,470 posts
 
People don't spend thousands of dollars to get the 3-dimensionality, decay of notes, ambience, bloom, etc., inherent with BAT gear only to have it destroyed by cheapo cables. I tried 2 pairs of Belden XLR cables and they worked ok from sources to my then line stage, ARC LS5. However, they so dramatically reduced the above qualities when used from the line stage to the amp that you're better off just using solid state gear and leave behind the extra attention needed with tube gear if you are going to go with such a cable. There's only voodoo in cable land when other links in the chain have not been properly addressed first.

And the issue of whether or not the cable is balanced or single-ended also has little to do with this. Sure, running some truly-balanced products like the BAT or Aesthetix or some ARC in balanced mode vs single-ended can make quite a dramatic difference in dimensionality. But just changing from SE to balanced is not suddenly going to bring on the 3-dimensionality if the cable's topology/materials/design does not have this ability in the first place.

John
jafox
1,470 posts
 
I do wonder why the Aesthetix Calypso at $4,500 comes stock with a full function remote, while a Aesthetix Callisto Signature at $11,000 comes with no remote at all......seems strange.

I went with the Callisto simply because it has far more tubes. These Minnesota winters can be quite brutal so having a space heater helps much. And with me having to stand next to the Callisto to stay warm, there's no need for a remote.
jafox
1,470 posts
 
Not having a remote or an active linestage is stupid in today's world..the best gear yields nada to the would be purists.

Thanks Dave_b, but I get along just fine without a remote, thank you.....nothing stupid about it. I had an ARC LS5 and a BAT 31SE line stage (both remote driven) before the Callisto Signature. The remote capability was nice, especially on the BAT, but not at all mandatory. The Callisto Sig which so handily destroyed them both sonically made the need to get up and adjust the volume a moot issue. And now the Callisto has remote volume capability but I am fine without the need to incorporate this new feature.

As for systems needing an active line stage, there are plenty of people who swear that they do not need one and prefer the purity of their system without one. And I respect that rather than to refer to this as also stupid.

You've made a point in a number of your posts that you have heard a lot of gear and most likely more than the rest of us. GREAT! We're not here to win a contest but rather to simply share our experiences with others. What you're after is likely to be very different than the next person here.
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