speakers with BAT


I currently have a pair of Meadowlark Kestrel 2's that I'm driving with a BAT VK60 and VK3(the vk3 is going up for sale when my vk30 arrives this week!) and a Simaudio Moon Orion as the source. They really sound good at moderate levels but strain a bit at higher settings. The bass is also not the best, so I'm thinking of trying something else. I'm looking for opinions or experience with speaker matching with BAT, as I really like their products and don't want to switch components. Wilson Watt 3 Puppy 2's seem to be going fairly cheap, and I'm interested if anyone has ran them with BAT. Any advice would help.
mthieme
Hello. I used to have a VK60 driving a pair of WP 6's. I recently went to a VK75SE. The VK60 can drive the Wilson's pretty good. The midrange is incredible, ditto for highs, soundstaging, depth etc. The bass isn't as tight as a higher powered solid state amp. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, just more a tube amp sound. Before my Wilsons, I had a pair of Audio Physic virgo's.

My room is about 16x20.
Do you have any experience with the older versions of the WP's? I have heard great things with the newer, but can't find alot of info on older ones. Did the vk60 drive the virgos well?
One piece of advice. Make sure you hang on to that VK3 until the 30 arrives. I was in the same situation a few years ago with a VK-3i and a VK-30 that I won from the Audio Revolution website (that's right, it was FREE). I sold the 3i too soon, it was clearly better than the VK-30 which I kept for only a month. The 30 had an upper midrange glare that I could never get rid of. It sounded more like a poorly designed SS preamp than a tube preamp.

Just my thoughts.

Oz
Thanks for the tip. I don't plan on selling until everything goes through, but I'm curious if you tried different tubes (not that you should have to) to remedy the problem.
Sorry, don't have any experience with the older WP's. And yes, the VK60 drove the Virgo's incredibly well. I also used a VK200 on the virgo's. I like the VK60 better. But again, the VK200 had better bass control. Everything else, the VK60 did better.
Thanks, I really want to pick up the 3.2's and try them out. Half the fun to me is switching gear around in hopes of finding that sound we all seem to be in search of.
I did try several NOS tubes but could not achieve the sound I wanted. So I sold it and moved on.

BTW, the BAT can be bettered by a good TVC. I currently have a custom preamp using the TX-102s from S&B and there is no paramater you care to mention where it doesn't handily dispatch the BAT. And most other active preamps too.

Oz
Hi there, I used to drive my vk-60 with my dunlavy 4.i think it s a perfect match.if i remember correctly,i think mr dunlavy himself use this same combination in one of his show...another tip..Keep the vk-3i..
You guys have me second guessing my purchase here! I thought the dual mono power supplies, oil caps and better interface would add up to an upgrade, what is so wrong with the vk30? Although the sale of it would free up the funds to get some Wilson's......
I thought I read somewhere that BAT voices their equipment on, and shows with Avantgarde horn speakers. It's always an advantage to run equipment the way it was voiced.
I have heard BAT with Avantgarde at Upscale Audio and felt it was one of the better systems I've ever heard, Don't have the scratch to buy them though, or the room.
BAT demos with Wilson and WP's a lot too. The 3i is a great preamp. One of the classic tube designs. The vk30 is good to..but if I had a 3i, I'd spend some money somewhere else...not there. A vk50 or 51se however is a major step up. The vk30 is better...but again, your 3i for the $$'s is pretty darn good.
I called BAT once, and they use Dunlavy IVs and Avantgarde Duos to test equipment.