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The original VK-60 was already an excellent power amplifier when it was introduced in 1995, and BAT has continued to improve it in a variety of ways technical and sonic (see my Follow-Up in the April 2000 issue). The VK-75 continues on this evolutionary path, with a re-engineering of the power supply, power-supply transformer, and circuit design. It's still a fully balanced, all-triode, bridged single-ended amplifier, now with power increased from 60Wpc to 75Wpc. And the price is up, from $4950 (unchanged…

Balanced Audio Technology VK-5 Line Preamplifier: Frequency responses: 1.59Hz-1.5MHz (typical: volume control at 11 o'clock); 1.59Hz-240kHz (worst case: full volume); -3dB points. Distortion: 0.02% at 2V RMS output; second harmonic: -72dB; third harmonic: -85dB. Maximum gain: 13dB, balanced or unbalanced. Gain adjustment range: 4dB each channel. Noise: -100dB (unweighted, ref. 2V RMS output). Input impedance: 120k ohms typical, 100k ohms minimum (single-ended). Output impedance: 1100 ohms balanced; 850 ohms single-ended. Maximum output: 40V RMS balanced, 20V RMS…

If Sue Grafton, author of the Kinsey Millhone series of mysteries (I've just finished "M" is for Malice) were writing this review, the title would have to be "I" is for Improved. But there's no mystery here: the folks at Balanced Audio Technology (BAT) have simply taken what was already an excellent design and applied some refinements to it while incorporating a highly convenient remote control. Case closed; Kinsey can go back to her peanut-butter-and-pickle sandwiches, and we can continue to wonder what's going to happen in…

Listening through the Jeff Rowland Design Group Synergy preamplifier, I became aware of fine details, like flutist Chris Norman's inhalations on his Beauty of the North CD (Dorian DOR-90190), and the precision of Hyperion Knight's piano technique on Stereophile's Rhapsody CD (STPH010-2). The low-level noises and the sense of ambience on the recent Delos recording of the Berlioz Te Deum (DE 3200) were delineated with a clarity that was superior to that of the otherwise excellent, $4495 BAT VK-5i.

Instruments…

The well-regarded Balanced Audio Technology VK-5i, first reviewed by Robert Deutsch back in December 1995 (Vol.18 No.12), is no longer a "shipping product," as BAT partner Steve Bednarski put it. But there are a lot of units still out there, some floating around for sale on rec.audio.marketplace—usually, I've heard, because their owners are upgrading to the impressive VK-50SE, which I reviewed in the December 1999 Stereophile. I'm sure many 5i owners are still scratching their chins, wondering if the long coin is…

It doesn't happen very often, but Holt's Law—that the sound quality of a recording is in inverse proportion to the quality of the performance that recording reproduces—has been broken again. Big time.

The last time this statute was so soundly flouted in a major classical work was in 1987, when Reference Recordings released Minoru Nojima's performance of the Liszt B-minor Sonata—…

TOMMY FLANAGAN: Lady Be Good...for Ella
Tommy Flanagan, piano; Peter Washington, bass; Lewis Nash, drums
Verve 314 521 617-2 (CD). Jacques Muyal, Diana Flanagan, prods.; Lou Holtzman, eng. DDD. TT: 61:07

FRED HERSCH: The Fred Hersch Trio Plays...
Fred Hersch, piano; Drew Gress, bass; Tom Rainey, drums
Chesky JD116 (CD). David Chesky, Fred Hersch, prods.; Bob Katz, eng. DDD. TT: 63:21…

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Description: Solid-state monoblock power amplifier. Inputs: 1 unbalanced (RCA), 1 balanced (XLR). Outputs: 2 pairs of binding posts. Maximum output power: 1000W into 8 ohms (30dBW), 2000W into 4 ohms (30dBW), 4000W into 2 ohms (30dBW). Voltage gain: 33dB. Frequency response: 10Hz–280kHz, +0/–3dB. Signal/noise ratio: >120dB ref. full power. THD: <0.01%, 20Hz–20kHz, at 1W. Input impedance: 24.9k ohms. Input sensitivity: 1050mV for full output. Output impedance: 0.01 ohm. Damping factor: 800. Slew rate: 160V/µs. Power consumption at idle: 60W.
Dimensions:…

Analog Source: VPI TNT HR-X turntable & tonearm; Lyra Titan, Grado Statement Reference cartridges; Sutherland PhD, Ensemble Fonobrio phono stages.
Digital Sources: Burmester 001, Ensemble Dirondo, Cary 300/303 CD players.
Preamplification: Burmester 011 preamplifier; VTL TL-7.5 active line stage; Placette, Sonic Euphoria passive line stages.
Power Amplifiers: VTL S-400, VTL Ichiban, Mark Levinson No.20.6.
Loudspeakers: Thiel CS6.
Cables: Interconnects and speaker cables: Nirvana S-X Ltd., Audience Au24, Nordost Valhalla, Silversmith…