atelier 13 audio
BALANCED AUDIO VK-85
Preamplifier
Introduced simultaneously with the REX 300 power amplifier, the Balanced Audio Technology VK-85 preamplifier blurs the lines between the finest tube and solid-state sound. VK-85 features BAT’s trademark high-current Unistage topology with transformer-coupled outputs that anchor the full line of Balanced Audio Technology’s preamplifiers
MADE IN THE USA
BAT VK-85
Sublime, Rich Musicality
VK-85’s second-generation output transformers work in conjunction with a symmetrical N-channel Unistage gain block to provide the high-current operation that is a BAT hallmark. A revised connection scheme for the SuperPak Quattro technology used in REX 300 offers beguiling levels of musical finesse and textural beauty.
SuperPak Quattro
The revised power supply of VK-85 incorporates the same fourth-generation SuperPak used in REX 300. In addition to providing four levels of filtration, it is connected in a new manner that dramatically lowers the preamplifier’s overall noise floor. The parts used in SuperPak Quattro include premium silver foil/oil capacitors that improve harmonic accuracy — and go far beyond the red chiclet-style caps found in most power supply bypass designs.
Unistage Design
Simplicity of design, especially in the direct signal path, remains a hallmark of Balanced Audio Technology’s purist approach to circuit topology. The signal in VK-85 is transmitted through only one gain stage — one free from the negative artifacts attributable to both extremes of modern preamplifier design: passive preamplifiers and multi-stage buffered active circuits. BAT’s trademarked Unistage circuit provides the ultimate simplicity of amplifying the incoming signal just once while using no global feedback to double-back on the integrity of that signal.
High-Current N-Channel MOSFET Circuit
The VK-85 circuit is based on N-Channel MOSFET devices. Solid-state designs customarily use complementary N- and P-Channel devices in the gain stage. Such configurations are easier to build but suffer from an important drawback: P-Channel devices are inherently inferior to their brethren because they are much slower. In VK-85, both sides of the waveform are handled by identical devices – in identical circuit configuration – assuring symmetry of the resulting signal.
Specifications
Inputs
3 XLRs + 2 RCAs
Outputs - Main
2 XLRs
Outputs - Tape
1 RCA
Maximum Gain
20dB
Global Feedback
None
Volume Control Resolution
0.5dB
Volume Control # of Steps
140
Frequency Response
2Hz to 200kHz
Input Impedance (minimum)
100k each phase
Output Impedance
200 ohm each phase
Noise (unweighted)
-96dB
Distortion at 2V output
0.01%
Maximum Output Signal
20V
Absolute Polarity
+/- via front panel switch
Power Consumption
250VA
Dimensions
19" x 5.75" x 15.5"
Weight
40 lbs.
VK-85
$12,500
Contact us for a full Quote
No Sales Tax for non - TN residents
