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Bat vk31se and vk120 vs Simaudio I-7

Can anyone share some insight into how the two systems compare?

I have the BAT vk31SE and VK120 monoblocks and the sound is very nice and musical with Esoteric player. However, recently I had the opportunity to hear Simaudio I7 integrated amp with their Nova Super Nova player and was very impressed. For an integrated SS amp, the sound was full, really nice and Jazzy. Ofcurse, this was at the dealer, our speakers are the same but rooms, PLAYER, cables and treatments are completely different and they won’t let me connect my gear to the I7 unfortunately which would provide for a better frame of reference :(

Obviously these two systems are quite different (BAT tubes and i7 integrated), but I am considering the i7 based on the cost savings and ease of operation (class A preamp, class A amp to 5 wpc class AB at over 5 wpc), without the Super [expensive] Nova.

Perhaps, someone already had both and did the compare? Appreciate your thoughts..
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jmarshak OP
157 posts
 
Jfrech - you are probably right :), my ears could be deceiving me, especially since the dealer had a dedicated, completely treated 'dead' room where I auditioned the integrated amp/player. I must admit that the music was not quite as airy as with the BATS, but I did like it allot. I am sure you are right about going up the BAT preamp chain - but that’s $$ too.

Dawgcatching - thanks for the tip about Karan ... Interesting - never heard of it to date - It looks nice. Not sure it its class A. Will see if I can come across it to listen.
trcnetmsncom
431 posts
 
Hello Jmarshak,

I would have to agree with Jfrech on this. One guy I know who moved away from BAT for something supposedly better only found himself down the road coming back and saying it was a mistake. Wish you all the best with whatever you decide on.

Good luck,
Tom
dawgcatching
139 posts
 
Supposedly the Karan is heavily biased into Class A. Having seen one, it has a huge power supply, and I mean huge, for an amp of this size. My DNA-125 has probably only 1/3 of the available current with the stock transformer.

I have one of the Karan integrateds on order to try in my system next week. I will be trying it against my Herron separates. I will let you know how it works out....
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jmarshak OP
157 posts
 
Thanks Trcnetmsncom,

It’s definitely not going to be easy to upgrade from the BATS. Ultimately, I don’t know if I will. So far, they sounded like 'cleaning dust from the instruments' compared to anything else I tried at home (compared to SS only thus far). Very musical amps. Perhaps going up the BAT preamp line is the best way to go in the future but I am still hoping for a cheaper alternative :). I want to look into cabling and room treatments before doing anything else. My room may be too live. I think I prefer a dead room with higher resolution and base response. I plan on adding a few panels at time, staring from the front...

Dawgcatcher - Sounds exciting. Wish you luck and look forward to your observations...Thanks.
dawgcatching
139 posts
 
Unfortunately, I won't be able to draw comparisons to your BAT separates, but will borrow my friend's ARC separates as well for a head-to-head in my system.
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