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As I mentioned in my listening report, the Baron offers 32 different combinations of its settings, meaning that for measurement purposes it is 32 different amplifiers. To supply a full set of measurements for every combination wouldn't leave room in this issue for any other reviews! Accordingly, I only thoroughly measured the Baron's all-triode and all-pentode modes, from both the 8 and 4 ohm transformer taps, with the negative feedback set to none or all (labeled Stage III). Other than spot checks on other settings, I'll leave you to infer what happens for the…

Balanced Audio Technology's Victor Khomenko, late a citizen of Leningrad, emigrated here with his wife Anya in 1979. Most of his working experience has been in the field of instrumentation for the military and aerospace industries. He and soon-to-be partner Steve Bednarski met while pursuing careers at Hewlett-Packard. They found their commonality, high-end…

"...so you do nothing but diet and exercise like crazy; you have no life, but you get down to 160 lbs. Or you don't do anything drastic, enjoy yourself, and wind up at 170 lbs, a little above of your target. Which would you prefer, Jonathan?"

Yup. So BAT builds symmetrical, bipolar power supplies that let their equipment breathe. (Symmetrical means the power supply generates both plus and minus 150V rails rather than relying on the ground—full of schmutz as it often is—for the return…

That would be Patricia Barber's Café Blue LP (Premonition 737). Small adjustments of VTA brought her into astonishing focus and presence. It was a snap finding the balance between sharpness of focus and harmonic…

I began my auditioning with the VK-P10 sitting on its own rubber feet atop a Signature ClampRack. As I began to listen, I mixed and matched components and adjusted gain and loading.

The final optimized playback chain included the Symphonic Line RG-8 on the Forsell Air Force One, XLO 3.1 phono cable with single-ended RCAs at both ends into the P10, then balanced runs of TARA Labs Decade line-level interconnect to the VK-5i preamp. The Forsell Air Force One, after a small service by the factory, was once again spinning its magic tune. (The self-…

Jonathan Scull: Victor, why balanced circuits, if you please?

Victor Khomenko: I remember reading an article that said balanced topology is inherently much more complicated than single-ended. They felt it was a cumbersome way of building circuits. And they provided proof in the form of a very ugly circuit representing "balanced" configuration.

Now, of course, a balanced circuit can be ugly. But that doesn't mean that every balanced circuit has to be like that. On the contrary, when properly implemented, a balanced circuit…

The BAT VK-P10 was measured as delivered: set up for a typical low-output moving-coil. All measurements were made from the balanced inputs to the balanced outputs.

The BAT's voltage gain measured 55dB (1kHz). S/N (ref. 1V) was 64dB from 22Hz to 22kHz, 61.2dB from 10Hz to 500kHz (both unweighted), and 78.7dB A-weighted. Pin 2 of the balanced configuration was positive. The input impedance was 46.7k ohms in the left channel, 47.2k ohms in the right.

Fig.1 shows the VK-P10's frequency response/RIAA error into the Audio Precision System One's 100k ohm…

Description: Tube phono preamplifier. Tube complement: two 6922, two 6SN7. Inputs: RCA single-ended and XLR balanced. Outputs: XLR balanced (RCA adapters available). Gain adjustable between 50 and 78dB. Loading switch adjustable for 100 ohms to 47k ohms. Capacitance switch adjustable between 100pF and 1000pF. Power consumption: 150VA maximum.
Dimensions: 19" W by 5.5" H by 14" D. Weight: 35 lbs.
Serial number of unit reviewed: OP100050.
Price: $4000 (1997). Approximate number of dealers: 42. Warranty: 5 years if registration form sent in within 30 days…

At the end of the last century—before phonograph records, television, "talking" films, and video—the world's concert halls and opera stages enjoyed the music of real live…

There are five individual categories: Loudspeakers (including subwoofers), Amplification Components (preamplifiers, power amplifiers, etc.), Digital Sources (CD players, transports, processors), Analog Sources (phono cartridges, turntables, tonearms, FM tuners, etc.), and Accessories (everything else).

The two most important categories, however, are the "Product…