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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..
jmarshak
jmarshak OP
19 posts
 
Thanks for the update Dawgcatching. Sounds like you found a winner! (Good luck with you wife). Definitely something to look into. I wonder how the aforementioned equipment would all compare with the BATs..

BTW, I moved my speakers apart by a foot and the sound became much richer and deeper (I had done it before and had not noticed - perhaps something else also changed) - no idea that '1 foot' would make such a difference. I have become very content with the BATS over the last couple of days. - Can’t wait to listen again.
dawgcatching
139 posts
 
Great! Also try tuning your room, if you haven't already. In my room, that was by far the biggest bang for the $. I listened to a system that retailed at $40,000 today at a dealer (Dynaduio C-2 speakers), and it couldn't hold my system's jock strap, so to speak. The reason was they had no acoustic tuning whatsoever. It sounded thin and tinny: I have no idea how they sell anything with it sounding like that.

jmarshak OP
19 posts
 
That's the next thing. I want to get some wall pannels and see how that goes.

Like in any field, some dealers know what they are doing more then others. Thanks for the info.
trapper
6 posts
 
Sell all the BAT gear and go with ASL components. I replaced Four VK60's with two Hurricane Monoblocks and never looked back.My new Flora pre amp blew away the BAT 52SE pre amp by a long shot
classical1
168 posts
 
Trapper with due respect, you'd have to do a lot more to convince me to just sell all my BAT gear when you use terms like, "my new pre 'blew away' the BAT 52SE pre amp."

..but I'm glad you're happy with your new gear:)
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