Opinions Bat VK500, Mccormack DNA 2, Levinson amps

Levinson. It is a more refined and IMO a better sounding amplifier than the McCormack or the BAT. The McCormack would be third on the list. I never liked the sound of the DNA 2 compared to the smaller DNA amps and I'm a huge McCormack fan. It always seemed to have a little roughness around the upper frequencies and didn't do voices as well as the smaller DNA's.
I listened to the BAT with a pair of B&W Nautilus 802's a few years back with a BAT preamp. The BAT was ok but nothing that special.
I have sinced moved on to Theta.

Among the 4 or 5 amps I've owned in recent years, my most recent included the BAT VK-500 w/BATPACK, then the SimAudio Moon W-5, and then the McCormack DNA-2 LAE (Limited Anniversary Edition).

The VK-500 had a powerful and contolling lower bass region, but the mids and highs were just kinda' there. Subdued with a lack of bloom in the mids and lack of air in the highs as well as possible rolling off. Overall, pretty dark and flat. In comparison, the Moon W-5 had a fast, open and airy, articulate, and somewhat sweet mids and highs (excellent in this area), but the lower bass regions just were not enough for my Aerial Acoustic 10T's.

Listening to the W-5 after the VK-500 was like flipping on a light switch. The W-5 was very detailed and transparent in the upper regions compared to the darker presentation of the VK-500.

Installing the McCormack DNA-2 LAE was like combining the very best attributes of the BAT VK-500 and the Moon W-5, only faster and more powerful than either of the previous two amps.

Only thing missing with the DNA-2 LAE was that certain little bit of sweetness (possibly a coloration but nice nonetheless) that the Moon W-5 presented.

For me, I wouldn't even consider a Levinson or Krell. Especially for what they charge.

-IMO

I really liked Levinson...seemed to do everthing right in my system (however at the time I was doing a side by side with Marantz MA500s in a biamp config. One would expect the much more expensive Levinson to outperform the Marantz). Never heard the BAT but have read a great deal of things in support of what others have said here. It seems BAT is best for electrostat speakers if what I have read is true, and I have no experience with McCormack aside from reading many positive things. It seems your price range would be sufficient to also look at Pass amps which seem to be very good amps.

I love my BAT VK-500 how ever I have panels and not point source drivers and have never heard it on a convential point source speaker. I find the levinson's to be unenvolving, and I hear nothing but great things from McCormack owners, if they will power your speakers I think you should try a McCormack in your system first. I have also heard a lot of great things about the gamut d200 how ever it won't work with my speakers so I have never tried it.