BAT VK-51SE in the rig!
I was hunting for a balanced Tubed pre to replace my Levinson 380s. I had a short list of contenders, ARC Ref1 / Ref3, Aesthetix Calypso, Allnic L-1500 and the BAT VK51SE. The more I kept reading about the BAT the more I favored it. Long story short, I found one in absolutely pristine condition, locally no less!
I’m sitting here listening after about an hours warm up and ouffa! What a completely different animal compared to the 380s. The BAT crushes everything that impressed me about the 380s. I’d appreciate any advice on this unit or BAT gear in general. Quick question for anyone in the know; does this unit benefit from tube rolling? Think I read somewhere NOT to mess with the OEM’s.
Any advice on using Standby vs leaving the unit powered on when not listening? One thing that obvious is that the unit definitely requires a few hours to sound its best from a cold start. Does standby negate the warm up period completely? Given the super durability of the 6H30’s I’d consider just leaving it on. |
@jl1ny Congrats, like we discussed, it's a great preamp. No need to worry about tube rolling...there are no vintage 6H30s out there with sonic advantages over current production unless many other tube types. My only advise is when changing other components, go for ones that are truly balanced designs vs. just having XLR outputs...to best take advantage of the VK51SEs benefits. When you have an impressed visitor ready to buy one too, you know where to find me. Cheers, Spencer |
