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Perhaps the Journey Ends |
What did I like about BAT's VK-3? The most striking improvement was
transparency - a term I'd never really understood until I heard the VK-3.
I've spent a lot of time in recording studios. With other preamps, I felt as
though I was listening in the control room. With this one, I felt as though I
was on the other side of the window, in the same room as the musicians. Every
other preamp - and I tried a half-dozen others from more established brand names,
just to be sure--sounded cloudy by comparison
Sure enough, the VK-3i ... improves upon the VK-3 .... A new volume control adds even more fine detail and makes everything sound even better.... [With the] VK-200... I knew I had found my amplifier. Phenomenal transparency. Richness of instrument tones. Perfect timbre... No grain in the horns. No congestion when the going gets complicated...Bass was about nuance of tone, subtlety of color, precision and timing....
The all-balanced combination of BAT's VK-200 amp and VK-3i preamp and the RC Audio
cables brought out the best in the Thiel 3.6 loudspeakers. Along the way, I learned
to select equipment not by other people's advice or opinions, but with my own ears.
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Howard Blumenthal Stereophile, December 1997 |