Preamp for BAT VK-60 s and ML Requests

I totally agree with Jkphoto. The BAT VK-50SE is the perfect match. Dead quiet with a huge soundstage and great tonality.

I'll second (and third) the previous replies.
VK50SE is the way to go. After you hear this piece, nothing else comes close.

Paul

I cannot say which is the best preamp for you. What I can tell you is this: you really MUST get a preamp. I used to use a dCS Elgar without a preamp (as brainwashed by my dealer, Jonathan Scull, and others). I then decided to acquire the Aesthetix Callisto preamp (upgraded with double outboard power supplies). The improvements were immense: the digital front-end suddenly became musical, soundstage became huge and the loss in transparency was so miniscule as to be barely noticeable. In sum, there is nothing to replace a high quality tube-preamp.

I am running an all BAT system with vk5d into vk5se into vk60 mono's. I tried the EVS attenuators (which I bought used on Audiogon) bypassing the preamp and found that they work just fine. In fact they may work too well as there was a tinge more clarity with them compared to the 5se, but you loose the flexibility of using other sources.

Thank you all for you time and helpful information. I will now begin by search for a preamp, most likely a BAT. It sounds like (no pun intended) in addition to sounding better (going into a preamp) I will also get to enjoy other music sources available; vinyl and radio.
Hungryear, I too was beginning to feel a little brainwashed, thank you for clearing up that mess. It's nice to hear from people with similar experiences.
Drrasta, I sounds like that I am building a system not too unlike yours. I can't believe how great the Requests sound with the BAT's. What speakers are you using?
Thanks again everyone.
Zippyy