Amp upgrade over BAT VK-500??

Accujim, Funny to note that I actually bought the VK-500 from you a few months back! My local dealer carries Lamm so I'll demo if possible. Thanks.

I second the Lamm M1.1s suggestion. I too had a BAT VK-500, a pair of Plinius SA-100s a cj and Macormack DNA before getting the Lamms. It bettered all of them - most by a large margin. My speakers (Hales T8s) neeed juice too. FWIW, I too have the SFI T3/P3, a Hovland HP-100 and SFI Line 3, all Nordost cabling (Quattro fil and SPM Ref speaker cable - soon to be Valhalla), a Magnum Dynalab 102 and and a VPI TNT-V. You MAY want to try the SPM speaker cables - I had Cardas Golden Cross before the SPM and the difference in MY system was NOT subtle. The Cardas sounded slow, thick and rolled off in comparison - just a thought - YMMV!

Is the LAMM not worth about $10K more than the BAT? If so, I would hope that there would be an audible difference!

Dtwomey, we were NOT bashing the BAT, but Metaphysics WAS asking about and UPGRADE to the BAT and, since he was already going to spend around $5k used, Acuujim accurately pointed out that for about $2k more he could have the Lamms. After all, we ALL know that the higher up you go in price, the smaller the incremental improvement, if at all, over the previous price point.

I would look at getting a used ARC VT 200. You can find them for $5-6k here on Audiogon. I feel ARC builds some of the best tube gear on the market and ARC loyalist are upgrading, so used gear is plentiful right now. VT 200 can drive just about anything and the reviews by everyone were extremely positive.