Review: Balanced Audio VK-31SE Tube preamp

Category: Preamps

It looks like I'm the first to post a review of yet another component which I imagine many are curious about (the first review I did was for my speakers, the JM lab Mezzo Utopias). I hope my review is helpful.

First, I'd like to state I am a musician as well as an audiophile. I play the piano every day, and find that recorded piano is one of my favorite types of music. I also enjoy female vocalists enormously. Also, I absolutely prefer the sound of vinyl and have decided to wait on investing in any new digital format. These are but a few attributes that led me to prefer tube preamplification.

My first serious auditioning of a preamp was the Hovland HP-100. As you'll see, it was wonderful in almost every aspect; however, much to my chagrin, it does not offer a remote control option. Also, the built-in phono stage did not impress me as much as what I ended up purchasing. Still, the soundstage, palpable presence of the performer, and liquid presentation was very inviting.

The next audition was the Audio Research LS25MkII. This preamp has gotten several positive reviews on Audiogon, but it seemed just a bit thin to me and offers no built-in phono stage, requiring a substantially more expensive outlay to enjoy vinyl. Also, the factory and web support from Audio Research pales in comparison to Balanced Audio Technology.

Finally, I thought I owed it to myself to listen to the Mark Levinson 380s, even though it is solid state. Though extremely smooth for a solid state preamp, coupled with my Krell solid state amps (for which I use to bring absolute control beautifully to my Mezzo Utopia speakers), the goose bump factor was less than with the unit I purchased.

This brings me to the wonderful VK-31SE. Wow. Listening to this preamp is so incredibly reminiscent of listening to live music, it's breathtaking. It's obvious to me, at least, that the BAT principals treasure live music because the 31SE uncannily reproduces nuances found only in live music--not hyper detailed, but not veiled, soft, or muddy either--it's just right. I've never had so much fun listening to music. I've read elsewhere that to some people, BAT equipment (though perhaps not the 31SE since I think this is one of the first reviews out there!) sounds "dark." I now believe this is exactly wrong; rather, this preamp nails reality, and compared to some equipment (for example, as I've listed above) that may artificially saturate the sound for dramatic impact, the 31SE just sings naturalness. It's everything I dreamed of in a preamp--tubes that bring the reality and natural timbre of instruments and vocals to life.

This may interest some--I seriously auditioned the VK-P5 separate tube phono stage, and in a blind test, I correctly identified when each was playing. The shocker is...I preferred the built-in phono stage! I couldn't believe that the built-in sounded more natural, but to my ears, it did, especially in correctly rendering sibilance in vocals. Go figure. It was fun to save the money, though!

Finally, it's worth noting the 31SE includes improvements that may better it over the older VK-50SE, and at a much lower price than the current 51SE. I can't recommend this preamp enough.

Associated gear
Basis Audio 1400 turntable
Krell 350Mcx monoblocks
JM lab Mezzo Utopia speakers

Similar products
Hovland HP-100
Mark Levinson 380s
Audio Research LS25 MkII