Bat VK-P10 and Sonic Frontiers SFP 1 Signature

The unit was shipped back to BAT and found to have a defective regulator. i was told that this would definetly cause the preamp to be noisy. It's on its way back and I'll report on the results. By the way, they fixed the unit at no charge to me.

you're not the first i hear having complains and issues about BAT units but they can realy sound great.

due to their lack of built quality i would never buy any BAT used unless Viktor will make a transferable warranty on his units(face the fact that units loose its value by more than half after being used one year!). they certainly won't offer you to remedy the problem without $$$ for used unit.

i just only hope that True Sound Audio gave you some warranty or return policy on that unit so you won't be hurt.

otherwise hissing noise is a problem that shouldn't take place in either configuration or setup balanced or unbalanced. that could be caused by a bunch of reasons that none can reveal unless this unit tested internally.

that clearaudio ground noice issue in balanced configuration tells me that the negative pin has a zero polarity and disconnected from the ground one. please check polarity to clarify.

please, make sure that you rolled the right tubes(meaning a genuine ones), placed them on the right places and the tubes are trully matched for your unit.

jfrech, I beg to differ with you, but I brought the VK-P10 into True Sound Audio and Nick spoke with Victor and someone else at BAT and both indicated that the input circuitry eas modified on later VK-P10s to make the inputs truely balanced,

I'd go to a good solid state front end or a transformer for low output MC cartridges, especially if you are using a tube ine preamp. I use an updated Pass Ono. The Ono has a true balanced output as does its follow on X ono and sounds great single-ended or balanced. BTW, I am not anti tube, I just received my Wolcotts and they are wonderful and quiet as "the proverbial tomb."

the Bats are truly balanced...

i've never looked inside the bat units and also wonder if BAT makes tru-balanced design especially on units where both options are available.

The problem existed with both a Clearaudio and a Koetsu. In actuality it also exhibited a ground hum with the Clearaudio that only was there in the balanced mode. I switched back to an RCA phono cable and solved that problem. BAT acknowledged the issue with Clearaudio cartridges and earlier VKK-P10 that did not have truely balanced inputs. They did not offer to remedy the problem. The noise I am now referring to is an amplifiable hiss that is more of a problem with both jazz and classsical music. The preamp has been moved to isolated locations that would preclude other equipment from being the cause. As stated, the Sonic Frontiers Signature costing one third the price and also a tube preamp is much quieter.

I have a VKP10. I'd never describe it the way you are. I am running it with a VK50SE preamp. I'd send Victor a email or call BAT. Maybe something is up with yours. Bad tubes, cartridge mismatch, cap, gain, or resistance set way off. Hard to tell, bet you should be happier than what you are. Read the reviews on Balanced.com. Even with single ended gear the p10 is loved.

Some other good advice above...

I am not sure what kind of noise you are getting. If you are getting low level hum, you might want to move around or switch the position of the P-10, your preamp, and your turntable. The transformers in the P-10 are mounted vertically in the front corners. If you put it side-by-side or on a shelf directly under the turntable, the transformer will be very close to the cartridage. I don't know if this is your case but it might be something worth considering.

Good luck

as a rule of thumb the input sencitivity of phono preamp is higher on balanced inputs than on un-balanced and so the s/n ratio is higher.

it's ok to use adapters(Neutrik RCA-XLR pro-grade is OK Cardas is certainly better but$$).

i heard from different people that bat mates good with only bat.
some cases i believe are true.

is there two sets of inputs/outputs balanced/unbalanced?

if yes you should only use balanced connection and newtralize the unbalanced with cardas caps available at needledoctor.com. inverting polarity might also help as well.

in general very few all-tube phono stages have low noise floor and it's upto the consumer to judge wich ones are the best-suitable.

i possess arc ph3 that is as you might know has hybrid designe with driving sovtek 6692 and mosfets on the output.

No wonder. I sold my VK50SE long time ago.
You should try the NEW Sonic Frontiers Phono 1 SE.
I'm very happy with this preamp. Good luck