BAT Thoughts.....

BAT stuff just runs hot. that's all there is to it.

I used a VK5i with a VK500 BP. Tube pre + SS amp.

I used a vk5i with a vk 60.

I sold the BAT stuff eventually and wish I HAD KEPT THE AMP, DESPITE THE HEAT IT PRODUCED.

btw... the VK 60 was hotter than the SS amp

Bigger tubes produce more heat.

The BAT gear sold me on the mono block factor.

I then bought a pr of Dodd mono's and still have them. Using EL34s (4 per block) I get 120wpc, better sound than the vk60, as good as the vk500, and in some respects better still, and save for the lower end impact twice as much power will deliver, and near no heat to speak of... warm, yes. Leave the room hot? Nope.

I love the flexibility of the Dodd MK II monos. Roll the input tubes only (3 per block) and the whole sonic product can be migrated into something 100% different. About $300 to retube w/NOS & new CED Winged C 34s.

I can go from creamy buttery smooth to incisive and quick via input tube massaging alone.

They sound to me superior to Cary & Manley EL34 amps too.

There are other options I'm sure and better units overall than the vk5i + vk55 too I'd think. With lesser heat throwing as well.

I sincerely dig the flexibility and tone tube amps allow for inherently. SS amps however do still have appeal to me too.

Class 'A' SS amps too yeild goodly amounts of BTUs, so remember that in your search.

If I can't live with the heat... it's time to live with something else. BAT's a great company and I like 'em a lot, but they aren't the end all be all in music.

Good luck

I tried a BAT32 pre for a day in my system. It raised the room temperature 15 degrees. Way too hot for Texas! It also blew a tube and I returned it to the understanding seller (local sale) because I didn't want to mess with tube issues. I guess I am a confirmed SS guy despite my brief forays into tube stuff. I am running a Pass XP10 now-- tubelike sound with class A solid state reliability and quality. It's a beautifully built and engineered preamp. Warm in sound but not temp!!

My first really high-end system consisted of the following:

BAT VK-500 Amp
Two VK-60 Monoblock amps
BAT VK-50SE Preamp
BAT VK-D5SE

The temprature in my room would reach 100+ degrees within an hour or so. It was unbearable. To say that BAT gear runs hot is an understatement!

Besides frequent tube replacements, heat wreaks its havoc on other surrounding circuitry as well.

BTW... I'm in the "Sunburn State."... but we have a new thing here that helps us get thru our nine month summers....

Air conditioning.

I enjoy it, but don't enjoy paying for it.

I can place my hand over the top of my current tube preamp and hold it there a very very long while, I can do nearly the same thing with those Dodd MK IIs blocks, just to a tad lesser degree.

There are mini fans designed to run near silent or silent indeed and cool off such appliances. I've seen them and seen them talked about here in the forums.

Some appear to be small enough to attach to a rack, or reside nearby and should help immensely.

The coolest running amp I've ever owned was/is the Odyssey Stratos. By Far. Maybe the newer Stratos mono blocks or whatever Odyssey is calling their top tier blocks these days will run similarly.

I could use it as a pillow if it would just fluff up more.