jng92130

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $2500.00 from audiogon

Summary:

The VK-500 is in absolute terms one of the very best amps I've ever heard and owned. It's ever so slightly warmer than my Classe CA-2200, a paragon of linearity and neutrality, but only to the degree that it has character rather than color. It's an enormous brute, a true dual-mono design; moving it, all 106 lbs of hulking steel is exhilarating, terrifying, and exhausting.

But the sound... after an hour or warm-up you will forget how much it weights, the waves of heat it produces at idle, its intimidating appearance... and hear Perfection. I could certainly have spent more (and more, and more) on interconnects and speakers and source and preamp and on and on and heard even better sound, but the addition of the VK-500 to my system made more difference than any other component had made.

Bass is bottomless and limitless. Highs are extended and sweet, gentle and detailed. Mids are warm (though not overly so) and inviting. And it all comes together in a remarkable aural experience. The VK-500 is an amp of virtually unlimited power, and will obey whatever command you issue.; it is like the genie that grants any wish. You sometimes have to be careful what you ask for (e.g. earsplitting, house-shaking, neighbor-angering loudness), as the 500 will deliver precisely that and do so without apparent effort.

I had to sell mine to pay bills. I miss it and hope to have another someday.

Strengths:
Character, strength, magnificent sound.

Weaknesses:
a monster of a beast of a brute of an amp... moving it is challenging. that's not really a weakness, per se, just a fact of having two monster (1000 VA) transformers in one case.

Similar Products Used:
VK200
Classe amps (many)
Conrad Johnson amps (many)
Forte 4a
see other amps in my review of Classe CA-2100...

levir

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.67 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
This is the most musical amplifier I have owned to date! The BAT VK-500 bettered my VK-200 all across the entire frequency range. It can show plenty of nuance in the recording. You will be suprised how natural sounding this amplifier is. You need to do is listen.

Strengths:
Smooth sounding, excellent mids, tube-like in character without the euphony. It is musically engaging. Fun.

Weaknesses:
Sonically none.

Similar Products Used:
BAT VK-200, Bryston 9B-SST, Classe Audio CAV-180, McCormack DNA500, Monster3250, Aragon amps.

Price Paid:  $8000.00 from Audio Suite, Singapo

Summary:
This is a first class amplifier that demands good source and speakers to reveal their best. I only recently replaced a pair of Sonus Faber Grand Piano Home with a pair of Audio Physic Virgo III, and what a world of a difference. It almost seems that the potential of the amp is flowing thru the Virgo III''s.

Strengths:
Good imaging, solid bass, perfect midrange and treble that does not ''shout'' at you.

Weaknesses:
Gets hot when driven hard.

Similar Products Used:
Audio Research D200; Quad 306; Audionote Quest monoblocks.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I shared Joseph''s experience (the review just prior to this) that the VK-500 needs over 200 hours of burn-in before you could start some serious listening. Mine did not break in until 250+ hours. I was surprised by the level of differences before and after the said period. Continue to 300 hours, you start to hear a more expansive sound stage that you will not hear it from out-of-the-box unit. So if you audition the VK-500, you may want to check if it has clocked not less than 300-400 hours before you draw the conclusion. I have reported under B&W 802N which could not be driven by VK-60 monoblocks. The VK-500 is a much better match. I have compare with some Bryston (500wpc) gears, but I have found the VK-500 is a better match for the 802.

Price Paid:  $5000.00 from Glenn Poor Audio

Summary:
Do you want to read a true story about awakening into Audiophile reality? I’ve owned a Wadia 860x CD player and Martin-Logan reQuest speakers for 3 years, all hooked up through a Sony receiver. I thought they sounded great, but was I wrong! Recently, I bought a VK500 amplifier, a VK50SE preamp, Nordost Quattro Fil interconnects and Red Dawn Rev.II speaker cables.

After 200 hours of nasty noise from my XLO break-in disc, the system sounded good, really good. The system sounded better than my own very high expectations (validation of my buying decision – MARVELOUS!). I found the system utterly engaging. I poured through every CD I owned and rediscovered music I had long forgotten. Every CD I played sounded good beyond my expectation. In fact, the performance of the Wadia and Logans, leapt to a mind-boggling level of sound quality, driven by the BAT equipment. Detail that I never new existed on my favorite CDs suddenly appeared! Let me rephrase that, Detail that I never thought could be placed on a CD suddenly appeared! The balanced Audio Technology equipment caused a glorious transformation!

As 300 hours passed, the system progressively sounded better! I realized that the language I began using to describe the sound to my friends mirrored that of Stereophile magazine’s finest reviews. Laser focused detail, lifting veils, musical fluidity, palpable sound, blackness, air, extended highs, clearly defined lows, invisible speakers, live breathing musicians on a wide, deep, clearly defined sound stage- suddenly I understood exactly what those colorful descriptors meant!

As 400 hours passed, the soundstage expanded and fell backward off the speakers, instruments developed a tightly defined focus around which complete blackness formed, and, on a good recording, the soundstage emanated from a point behind the back wall and spread easily beyond the side wall. At the same time, a breathtaking, gently articulated back to front reverberation attached itself to focal voices and instruments that continues to send chills up my spine every time I hear it. I had no idea this level of engineering and sound reproduction was possible!

As I write this, I feel I risk sounding foolish. I feel as though I’m describing the sound characteristics of the high 5-figure systems utilized for many of Stereophile’s component reviews. Yet, the sound of this low 5-figure system conveys a level of musical clarity I’ve never heard in any audiophile showroom in Chicago. The BAT equipment mated to Martin-Logans through Nordost cables is stunning. The ReQuests turned out to be better than any speaker I’ve heard under $15,000. Nordost cables are magical, and I’ve never heard anything more neutral than Quattro Fil in their price range.

I’m not forgetting the Wadia 860X. It is the source – say no more. Every time I hear the sound of my system improve, I feel a deeper respect for the astonishing quality of Wadia products. Without the ability of the Wadia to produce an audiophile source signal, the downstream components would be fighting a lost battle.

So, here’s the point about awakening into audiophile reality. Reliable information is the key to making the right investment and getting the most from your investment. It is clear to me, that without the information I obtained from Audio Review, Stereophile, manufacturer’s websites, and discussions with experts, I would have either made a purchase mistake, or, even worse, never heard the true potential of the equipment I purchased. You just read reliable information.