CJ vs. BAT vs. THOR preamps, who's best?

Well Jim, I owned a VAC Ren MK 2 for a couple of days, I bought it used on AudiogoN, but it must have been defective.
While it did sound very good musically, I could not touch anything on the front panel, mute switch, volume control, selector switch, nothing without getting a loud crackling sound come through my speakers. So I sent it back....long story.

One note though, the VAC is not fully balanced, only psuedo balanced. That means it doesn't have a fully differential design (same circuitry for + and - legs of each channel). It merely has balanced input jacks which it then converts to single ended once inside the preamp/amp.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm just making sure that you know.

Regards,
John

John- Either you have a very highly charged personality ;~) or the pre must have been defective. During dry days this winter I get a little static "snap" when I touch a switch on the front panel nothing through the speakers, thats for sure. Too bad you had a problem with yours; my system is really singing these days.

Swampwalker, I'm sure it was defective, as my wife assures me that I certainly do not have a highly charged personality ;~)

It's a shame, because when listening while using the remote and not touching the unit, it definitely had big potential. I thought it sounded better than the CJ 16LS mk II that I had, but I prefferred the BAT VK-51SE. The VAC was a bit more refined, while the BAT was more dynamic and powerful. It comes down to personal choices and system matching me thinks.

John

In terms of your initial inquiry and the concept of mating tube pre w/ SS amp, my dealer has successfully matched VTL preamp with Ayre amp for a very involving sound. Lots of detail, good extension at both ends of the frequency spectrum, and a really musical midrange.

The VTL 7.5 is amazing, but very expensive. I've yet to hear but would be really interested in their new 6.5 which is supposed to get you much of the way there for much less coin (comparable to the units you were looking at.) Ayre to me seems to present the best of both worlds -- an almost tube-like musical presentation with plenty of SS oomph. Cardas cabling, I think.

All in all, a sound I could live with happily for a good, long time!

You just thought you were safe and satisfied. In the words of Michael Corleone, "every time I think I'm out, they pull me back in!"

Happy listening

I am not sure I can add much more to the above posts (particularly jmcgrogan's), except that I've owned both the BAT Vk-5i and the Thor TA-2000. To give you an idea of my sonic biases, I preferred the Thor over the VK-5i in all categories (e.g., tonality - which was more natural and extended, particularly in the upper midrange to treble- imaging, micro and macroynamics) save one: the Thor was just a touch noisier than the BAT VK-5i. In my system, I also found the Thor was a little more versatile when used with other amplifiers (including everything from an Aragon 4004 Mk II to Conrad Johnson Premier 8XS's to CAT JL-1's), whereas the BAT performed at its best for me only when paired with BAT amps in a balnced configuration. However, either one could be used with a solid state amp, particularly given the matchings that you propose. I never had any problems with either preamp, and found their respective companies to be both very accessible and willing to answer questions.

As to BAT's and CJ's top of the line units, while I demoed the VK-50se (one of BAT's previous top of the line), I was not sufficiently enamored of its sound to pursue further investigaion, and felt that the cost difference in upgrading from the VK-5 to the VK-50 was not justified. Moreover, given your stated preferences, I think the VK-5i more closely matches your desire for a euphonic-romantic presentation than the VK-50, which was more neutral and detailed than the VK-5i. (However, these opinions are based on one extended listening session with the VK-50se, so take that opinion with a large grain of salt).

The CJ ART/ACT preamps, on the other hand, are among the finest, if not the finest, active line stages I have heard. They provide everything you are looking for - sweet, balanced, a touch romantic, with natural sounding mids and authoritative bass, - but still are outstanding at resolving low level information, and present an extended, airy, and grain free treble. Thus, I would urge that you give tham a listen, if possible. (I would also suggest you skip the CJ 16LS, and go straight for the top of the line CJ units.)