BAT VK3500 vs. Hegel H590

Having owned all three, you really can’t go wrong. The BAT gives you tubey goodness. The Hegel gives you a bit more grunt. The HV is a beast, a bit more analytical than the other two but not in a bad way. I don’t think the power of the others will make that much difference overall. All three have excellent current output and can drive pretty much any speaker you throw at them. It would really depend more on where you sit with what you like to hear. Seems Hegel is what Harbeth pairs with their speakers at shows, so that says something. 

@geof3 Thanks for the insight.

Curious what you have now for power and what speakers you own?

@macg19 The Hegel H590. It’s a great one box solution basically. Wilson Alexia V1.

@geof3 Nice! Thank you.

I had one of the Hegel entry level integrated in my house for a weekend and thought it sounded great.  If I was going to collapse my separates Hegel would be at the top of the list. 

@macg19 

The only way to scratch that curiosity itch is to try it out yourself, only you know what your sonic preferences are.  I’m a fan of Hegel+Harbeth combo.

T+A PA 3100HV - excellent choice, great price/performance. 

@kennyc @geof3 I decided to go for broke (pun intended) and trade the BAT in on the T+A.

I'll have it in my system Tuesday and report back. (I've never heard one.)

@macg19 curious, where did you get the T+A?

@geof3 Used, from TMR

@macg19  small world… you bought mine!

@geof3 Too funny! Now I’ll know who to bitch at if it breaks!

Although I didn’t need the MC phono, I am curious how it sounds. Did you use it?

I did, it’s quite good. But I’m a tube fan when it comes to phono stages. The unit as a whole is excellent. I let it go as I needed a new cartridge and wanted the Hana Umami Red and a couple of other things, so selling it to TMR allowed me to cover all my bases.

@geof3 Cool. I’ve got a GoldNote PH 10 which is quite good but eventually I’ll try a tube phono. If you have any suggestions pls let me know.

Thank you for your time.