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Sonic frontiers Line 3? vs. BAT?

Wnated to hear from any satisfied (or not) owners of the Sonic Frontiers Line 3, and especially from anyone who might have auditioned it vs. a BAT VK%i or VK%iSE. I own onw of the latter anbd, though I love the sound, the ergonomocs and remote contrl functionality leave a bit to be desired. If I could, I would upgrade to the VK50SE without a blink..but that'll have to wait a while. In the meantime, I see a lot Line 3 on sale, brand new for very reasonable prices. Since the Line 3 has the ergonomics and functionality in the remote I am looking for, considering selling my BAT and buying one. Would appreciate any inputs. Auditioning is, as usual, out of the question since I live in the Cinti wasteland (as far as hi fi goes, anyway)
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deano
77 posts
 
I love my Sonic Frontiers. It adds absolutely nothing to the sound of my system-exactly what I want.
shockg
9 posts
 
I auditioned the line 2 and the BAT VK5i and preferred the line 2 because of it's neutrality and overall presentation. I then traded the line 2 for a line 3 and love it. It does exactly what I want it to do; get out of the way of the music. The cute little hockey puck remote is a bonus. My line 3 is feeding a SS amp if that helps you at all. You can't go wrong waiting to buy a 50se.
sm_fung8639
12 posts
 
I have auditioned the Line 3 with 300B feeding Mezzo Utopia and Line 3 into Bryston 7B into B&W 801. Both have provided a top notch presentation. Have heard BAT into Thiel and don't think it compares anywhere close to the L3. I guess it depends on your system too.
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lesteryoung
7 posts
 
I have both BAT VK50-SE and SF Line 3. I listen mainly to jazz(and a lot of female vocals at that) and classical. Only occasional Blues, Rock, new age. I perfer the BAT over the Line 3 as BAT has a bit of warmth without losing any detail. However, SF Line 3 is a very good pre-amp it is very, very detailed and neutral. On some types of tracks (jazz and classical gutiar) I believe I would go for the SF Line 3, but overall I prefer the BAT.
alexc's avatar
alexc OP
265 posts
 
I spoke with Kevin at Upscale Audio, and he said the SFL3 could be "voiced" by changing just 2 tubes. Wondering if you tried this and whether this would improve the warmth. I listen mostly to classical (orchestral and opera) and jazz (including big band music), though I will also play rock, pop and blues occassionally. Since you have both pre's...any differences in terms of soundtaging (depth, width, instrument placement), perceived image "size", and perceived image "placement" (laid back vs forward, in the "good" sense of the word).
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