Balanced Audio Technology VK60

[W WALDECKER]

I just bought this beauty from a guy on Audiogon.I had it delivered here yesterday. Its a Gunmetal grey, 60 Wpc, High current, dual mono, Zero feedback Beast. it uses four of the the same 6C33C-B power triodes that the Russians used in the MIG 25 Foxbat Fighter. it uses four 6SN7 driver tubes per channel.it is very heavy and the build quality is first rate.the Bass reproduction with this amplifier rivals high end sand amps in depth and definition.it sounds excellent thru the midrange all the the way to the topend. i think its a keeper.thanks....WCW III

[george daniel]

attaboy,William:)

[dorokusai]

Do you actually enjoy audio or do you just buy things to tell us about it? Just wondering. Thanks....MLN

[mulveling]

Congrats! What a beautiful beast. I was considering a VK-60 as my first foray into tube power - I like the sound of their low/0 feedback philosophy. In the end I went with some VAC Musicblocs (on their way to get upgraded at the factory), but I'd love to hear BAT power tubes some day.

[mulveling]

Do you actually enjoy audio or do you just buy things to tell us about it?

There must be something in the water...a few of us have come down with it pretty bad recently :D

[reeltrouble1]

congrats William, you beat me too this one, I have been eye-balling the BAT tube gear for a bit now, but am thinking of realigning all the rigs after the Fest, but very glad to hear you think it is worth the investment. I do know my BAT gear build quality has been excellent and that they really know how to treat their customers.

RT1

[engtaz]

Nice piece of equipment and I am talking about the VK60.

[madmax]

Pics!
madmax

[W WALDECKER]

Do you actually enjoy audio or do you just buy things to tell us about it? Just wondering. Thanks....MLN

Hey Mark,now you no longer have to wonder.I buy gear just to brag about it here at Club Polk. As a matter of fact i only listen to the gear that i buy once and then i return it to its box and put it in storage.thanks....WCW III :D ps i dont even like music ;)

[reeltrouble1]

Oh, I figured you just sent it back within 30 days, don't think I have not thought about it, you think music direct would get pissed if I did that with a set of those friggen 50,000 Avantgarde horns they have???

Return ship would be a killer though......

RT1

[W WALDECKER]

There she is.thanks....WCW III

[dorokusai]

At least you have a plan, good for you :D

[MillerLiteScott]

Now that's an amp. Where are the bass and treble knobs?:D

[W WALDECKER]

At least you have a plan, good for you :D

My plan is to get another one just like it. I will Replace the Paper in Oil capacitors in the signal path with teflon V-Caps of the same value and run a pair of Hot Rodded 120 Wpc monoblocks in my Tube rig.thanks....WCW III :)

[ben62670]

I don't know anything about tubes.
If you have a sand amp that is say 10watts at class A, and a tube at 25 watts will the tube out perform the class A sand at 25. Also tubes running at 8 ohms seem to put out the same at 4ohms. Is this true? Also are sand amps push pull?
Thanks guys

[mulveling]

I don't know anything about tubes.
If you have a sand amp that is say 10watts at class A, and a tube at 25 watts will the tube out perform the class A sand at 25. Also tubes running at 8 ohms seem to put out the same at 4ohms. Is this true? Also are sand amps push pull?
Thanks guys

Here's what I understand on these issues, someone more knowledgable please feel free to correct me:

* The answer to your first question is that it depends. It depends on perferences, it depends on the implementation (ie: hand wired vs circuit board?), and it especially depends on the specifics of the circuit design. There's still more to amp design than even the A vs AB and tubes vs sand debates can specify (ie: global negative feedback? number/types of stages, etc...) Either amp could sound excellent if the designer knew what he/she was doing :D I love tubes and I like to see class A operation where possible.

* Tube power amps are usually transformer coupled, meaning they have a big-'ol transformer at the output to the speakers. Often there will be a tap for 4 ohms and another for 8. I believe the power rating stays the same for 4/8 ohms if you use the appropriate tap. Sand amps typically have higher power ratings at 4ohms since they are not transformer coupled and thus run harder into low impedance loads - the transformer acts as a buffer to this. Of course once you try to run an amp harder than it's capable of, then you're going to encounter problems.

* Sand amps can run single-ended, I believe...Sugden and some of the Pass Labs amps come to mind. An amp that's single ended must be pure class A by definition. However a class A amp is not necessarily single-ended. The vast majority of sand amps are push-pull, and the majority of those are class AB.

[ben62670]

Thanks MV, and sorry William for the highjacking.
Ben

[reeltrouble1]

hear hear to execution of the plan William!!!!

RT1

[hearingimpared]

Good info in this thread. . . WCW great stuff! I want it!!!

[tonyb]

Very nice.....what time do you leave for work??:D

[W WALDECKER]

hear hear to execution of the plan William!!!!

RT1

I have eight more new 6C33C-B power tubes on the way From Anthony Welsh in the UK. i priced enough .22 V-Cap teflons to do two Amplifiers at $585.56 including the shipping for eight total.I am looking for another VK 60 in 8/10 or better condition to do the monoblock thing. I might Mod this one 1st just to be sure that this is the direction that i want to take with my Tube Rig ;) .thanks....WCW III

[reeltrouble1]

cool, no doubt the BAT gear is high fidelity, I toyed with the idea of getting another vk-500 and having both of them upgraded to the VK-1000, but in the end I really though it was overkill but they would of made a hell of a sand castle.

Good luck in the hunt, I see them come up from time to time.