Love this. I am an amateur at best trying to muddle my way through this to find what I love. Room treatments always fascinate me. I have a ton of great gear (I’m from Cave Creek so have a D’Agostino Momentum HD preamp, phono, and Momentum M400 mono locks running a lot of Nordost to Aurender W20 and Chord DAVE to older B&W 802Ds, my next upgrade). But because I want to stay married most is in a closet with ventilation and in a big room (combined family room, living room, and kitchen. Big open space, with a tv in between. I wish I could figure out the best way to treat that space without my wife telling me it’s ugly, or worse yet, no :). My preamp made the biggest difference. But I’m certain treating my room would make a huge improvement.
That Transformational piece of Gear We All Wish For
I suspect most of the music/audio lovers on this web site have wished for that piece of gear that literally transforms their system? I know i have. I have been going down this audio rabbit hole since the mid 70’s, and there have been a few pieces that made a really nice improvement to my system (the PS Audio P20 Power plant being one of them). However (and this comment only applies to pre-amps and amps and no other category), nothing that I can ever recall has so energized and improved my system in so many ways as my new pre-amp. I have owned some really fine brands in the past including Pass, Coda, ARC, PS Audio, Rowland, and more, but now I am a BAT Man for sure. The new pre-amp is the BAT VK-80 and I love that beast. I hope everyone reading this will get a chance someday to try one in their system. I know he is a controversial figure, but Kevin Deal's review of this piece is so right on. He really loves it too and rightfully so. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv2swa55JXo
My system consists of:
Thiel 3.7 speakers
Coda 16 power amp
PS Audio DSD DAC MK II
PS Audio Perfect Wave transport
PS Audio P20 power plant
BAT VK 80 preamp