Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Balanced Audio Technology (BAT) VK-P10 Phono Preamp by grinagog

Model:	VK-P10
Category:	Phono Preamp
Suggested Retail Price:	$4500
Description:	Balanced Phono Stage
Manufacturer URL:	Balanced Audio Technology (BAT)

Review by grinagog on December 06, 2008 at 04:17:17
IP Address: 202.213.139.125 Add Your Review
for the VK-P10

Reviewed: VK-P10SE, purchased 2nd hand, I've owned this for a month

BAT has the latest (Huge/Black) In-house Capacitors Upgrade; latest circuit board upgrade + Lundahl stepup transformers; I believe this represents the state-of-the-Art for this product ( as of Dec. 2008 ) So this is the "Shelby Mustang with Race stripes" version, not a standard BAT, but the factory Hotrod

Associated equipment: Micro Seiki RX-5000 with Graham B44 Phantom + Lyra Titan cartridge Audiocraft tonearm cable converted from RCA/XLR's

Woodham ( Balanced ) Tube PreAmp, Marantz 8B + 12" Tannoy Reds

After a couple of weeks use I have upgraded 4 of the Russian tubes under the hood as follows: Pair of RCA Black plate VT231's ( WW2 era ) + E288CC Philips SQ Pair replace the tubes closest to the Lundahls ( the pair closest together at the back of the Amp )

The Unit sounds superb with it's Stock tubes; the NOS tubes adding a different flavor of sound with the slightest increase in extension + dynamics rather than being a "night + day" difference

Pluses:
can handle anything that's thrown at it: Speed Metal, Rock, Jazz, Vocals, Classical, Piano

Space, Grace + Pace, without a hint of tube roar or background grain
A very neutral component that does not seem to impart a sonic signature per se as much as stepping aside from the musical event + let you experience the music, dropping many veils along the way
Very slightly on the warm side of neutral

I use Balanced input + Output to/from the BAT into a balanced PreAmp
The "Balanced" part greatly reduces background noise + makes choice of Internet cables, + Phono cables less critical than with Unbalanced I cut the RCA's off the AudioCraft Phono cable + soldered some Vampire XLR's on, a 10 minute job + well worth the improvement in detail over Unbalanced; tho' the BAT will work with Unbalanced Phono cables + adaptors for XLR-Unbalanced, which BAT supply; I give 2-thumbs up replacing RCA's with XLR's with the BAT

I've heard the Manley Steelhead, which is not as expensive as the BAT, and I'm glad I bought the BAT; had I been the BAT manufacturer I might have been tempted to compromise the product in an attempt to compete with other ( arguably ) similar components; but the BAT is aiming at being a superior product + is well worth the extra cost. I have heard the Boulder PhonoStage ( currently $37.000 retail ) and the BAT in this configuration delivers 90% of the Boulders clarity, detail + slam

I've heard an AudioCraft ( Japan, solid state ) Phono Preamp that is slightly more expensive than this BAT-with-Upgrades, the AC not being anywhere near the same ballpark, nor anywhere near the BATs league, for that matter. Glad I didn't buy this ( ! )

The manual for the BAT is spare but well written; adjusting gain + capacitance by flipping switches under the hood is well described; and it's very easy easy to dial in the right gain by ear
The capacitance takes a little longer to dial in by ear, but once you've done that its set + forgotten

Minuses:
Having more than one tonearm on my Turntable means running the BAT with the hood off so I can flip internal switches to compensate for different output levels + different cartridges, something I wouldn't be doing with the Manley as switches are external. On startup, the ( 6C45 ) tubes oscillate for a few seconds, then settle down. Rolling in a spare set of tubes made no difference. I can live with this, + it seems to do no actual harm; this type of tube is prone to oscillation, period

Neutral:
The external On/Off switch + 0/180 degree phase switches stick out + look like they will bend or break easilly
The blue LED in the front of the BAT ( *I HATE Blue LEDS!* ) is dazzlingly bright + I have centre punched a small screen which I've stuck over this to hide it
Both minor quibbles

Summing up: The BAT steps into that rarified HiFi territory where the very best of Tube gear + the very best of Solid State gear exhibit similar characteristics + neutrality
IE; don't expect that slightly smoky, rounded + rolled off sound that is typically associated with Tube gear
No disappointments here!

Summing up; I love the BAT to bits; it fully complements the rest of my setup + I can't imagine upgrading this ( unless Victor Khomenko has a VK-P20 on the drawing board ) If you can afford a BAT Phono Pre; get one
If you can afford the Upgrades, get those too

GW

Product Weakness:	Internal switching means taking the hood off, delicate switches protrude from the front, laser strength Blue LED on the front
Product Strengths:	Build Quality is as good as it gets; a World Class component that offers value for money No disappointments here

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Marantz 8B
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Woodham 300 Balanced tube ( UK )
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Micro Seiki RX-5000
Speakers: Tannoy 12
Cables/Interconnects: SAEC XLR's, Ensemble spkr ( Swiss
Music Used (Genre/Selections): all types, all eras
Room Size (LxWxH): 20ft x 10ft x 9ft
Room Comments/Treatments: Tokyo 8 mat room with tatami mats!
Time Period/Length of Audition: one month
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): numerous CSE power conditioners
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner
Your System (if other than home audition): Marantz 8B ( USA )Graham Phantom, Lyra Titan

Amplifier:	Marantz 8B
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Woodham 300 Balanced tube ( UK )
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Micro Seiki RX-5000
Speakers:	Tannoy 12
Cables/Interconnects:	SAEC XLR's, Ensemble spkr ( Swiss
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	all types, all eras
Room Size (LxWxH):	20ft x 10ft x 9ft
Room Comments/Treatments:	Tokyo 8 mat room with tatami mats!
Time Period/Length of Audition:	one month
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	numerous CSE power conditioners
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner
Your System (if other than home audition):	Marantz 8B ( USA )Graham Phantom, Lyra Titan