That's a shame. My BAT dealer is awesome! I can't say enough about him. The dealer really does mean everything. He has me considering a VK-75SE amp. Could be fun!!!
After some initial dissapointment, I'm now very happy. Right out of the box, the BAT was not much of an improvement over my VK-P5 phono stage. Then someone recommended the Granite Audio MC Phono burn-in cd. After 96 hours of repeat play at a much higher output voltage than my cartridge (4mV), the new BAT moved up several levels. It now sounds incredible! Similar to Mikey's review, eerily quiet with a huge soundstage. Focus within the soundstage is spooky good, and perfect timbral balance.
I can't believe how good my analog is sounding now, goosebump city. I had a long time audio buddy stop in for a listen recently, he was blown away. He has been to many more audio shows and dealers than I have. He says this is the best analog he's ever heard....anywhere. The only downside is now my digital sounds much worse in comparision. I used to be able to listen to digital after listening to analog, it wasn't as good, but it wasn't embarrassed either. Now, it's embarassed. I can no longer listen to digital after playing some vinyl.
FWIW, I also upgrade my Lyra Helikon cartridge too. I'm now using a ZYX Airy R1000 3S SB, which is smoother and a better soundstager than the Helikon. Not too smooth like a Koetsu, but more relaxed than the Helikon.
I haven't had an opportunity to hear the PH5 yet. The only AR phono pre I've heard was the PH-3SE, which did not impress me. I felt the VK-P5 was a better value. I know the PH-3SE was a much older design though.
Now I'm considering sending my VPI JMW 10.5 tonearm in for the plus upgrade, Nordost wiring. I love the 1 meter Nordost Valhalla from my tonearm (RCA) into my VK-P10SE (XLR). Extremely transparent! I'm wondering what it would sound like if I had the tonearm wired with Nordost cabling...
Shane, well, my BAT VK-P10SE w/ Super-Pak is on order. My dealer says about a week to 10 day wait. I had to tell you that I traded my Shunyata Anaconda Alpha power cord to a gent for a Nordost Valhalla power cord. I placed it on my BAT VK-51SE.....I'm still stunned at how much this has transformed my system. It is absolutely incredible! The speed is unreal! This made a much bigger change IMS than switching from copper ic's to silver ic's. I've long been a power cord believer, but this was a revelationary switch.
Raquel, I have a lot of respect for the Jena's, as I had them up against many challengers, and they really stood out. They are very musical, warm, sweet, engaging, but with superior imaging and definition than the Cardas Golden Reference (eg). The Parsifal's have many of the same qualities though, and combined with the Jena Labs, became too much of a good thing.
After speaking with my dealer, and many Parsifal owner's I tried silver cables, and have had terrific success, for the first time in my life. I've experimented with silver cables several times over the last 15 years, with no success. The most recently was with the Strauss last year. The Parsifal's love silver cabling though, so yes, it is all system dependant.
I currently have one pair of KS-1130 between preamp and amp, and two pair of RSA Poiema!! from sources to preamp. I only received and inserted the KS-1130 yesterday, so it's too early to judge. They are used though, so I've no idea how many hours are on them.
FWIW, when my buyer came to pick up the Strauss last night, I unpacked and demo'd them for him. He noticed the sound was slightly siblant, and I felt the high's were thin and edgy. Once again, I didn'T like the silver with my BAT equipment and the Strauss. The Parsifal's love the silver though, go figure.
Of course I'd love to try some Vahalla's out too. :-)
Shane, I've considered the Valhalla, but it's a bit too pricey for me at this point.
I just sold my Strauss, and I'm debating on whether to spend the money on cables or a new phono preamp. Right now I'm leaning towards the phono pre. I'm pretty happy with the RSA Poiemas!! that I'm currently running. The PAD Proteus and the Kimber KS-1130 are too new to me, I haven't formed an opinion on either yet.
Right now, I think I'd be better served upgrading my BAT VK-P5 to the BAT VK-P10SE w/ Super Pak instead of trying the Vahalla cables at this time.
I will have to try the Valhalla's at some point down the road. So many toys, so little time. :-)
Raquel, I had both in my room. First of all the Mahlers list for $9800 and the Strauss for $6595, both in the Rosewood finish, meaning the Mahlers are 49% more, not as close to twice the price as you might think.
According to the info on the Sumiko website, well, here it is:
Mahlers:
Driver Complement Woofer: 2 x 10 in. honeycomb cone Midrange: 2 x 7 in. ribbed, carbon fiber filled, air-dried paper cone Tweeter: 1.2 in. silicone-layered silk dome
Strauss:
Driver Complement Woofer: 10 in. paper and carbon fiber cone Midrange: 2 x 6-3/4 paper and carbon fiber cone Tweeter: 1 silk dome, center drilled Neodymium magnet assembly
So you can see, there are some differences in the drivers. A Sumiko dealer told me the crossover design was the same though. I thought the sonic signature was very, very similar. The Mahlers did have more bass though, better extension, with better resolution and power. It was too much power for my room though. The Mahlers could play VERY loudly with no strain at all. If I had a larger room, I'd have definitely taken the Mahlers'. I toyed with the idea of bass traps and such, but the Mrs. fought very hard on that. So I just went with the Strauss. :-)
Are you just getting RCA's on one end, or both of the Valhalla?
I'm currently overloaded with interconnects, I gotta sell some. Currently I have, in no particular order, Jena Labs Symphony, Purist Audio Design Proteus Rev B, Ridge Street Audio Poiema!!, Kimber KS-1130, and Tara Labs Decade. Obviously I'm not currently using all of them. The JL Symphony were my former reference, but are too warm for the Parsifal's. At the moment, I have all RSA Poiema!!'s in the system. After I'm done experimenting with the woofer direction, I'll play with the PAD and Kimber.
I guess the biggest factor was midrange palpability and micro-dynamics. What this means to me is basically that they imaged better, I'm better able to localize the players within the soundstage, as well as the instruments just sounding more 'live'. The shimmer of cymbals is startling realistic. I can now hear incredible detail on a simple thing such as a cymbal stike. It sounds like wood striking brass, instead of just a stick hitting metal. Vocals are 'in the room' goosebump material. I mean Patricia Barber is right in front of me, I don't have to stretch as much to visulize it.
I would say the Strauss could play louder, had more abundant bass, and a tad more detail in the high's. The Parsifal's have better definition in the bass, which does go surprisingly low for an 8 inch woofer. Verity claims they are only -3db at 25 hz, and I believe it. However, The Strauss (and I'm sure the Mahler's) will sound more relaxed at higher volume levels. Higher than I normally listen to anyway. Macro-details favor the Strauss/Mahlers, micro-details favor the Parsifal's. I would say the Parsifal's are warmer than the Strauss, which did require that I switch to silver cable for optimal performance. The Parsifal's are the first speakers I've ever heard where silver sounds better than copper.
All in all, much depends on what you listen to and how big your room is. My room, at 24 ft X 14 X 8.5 was too small for the Mahlers. That's why I had the Strauss. If you enjoy large orchestral or rock and roll, or if you have a very large room, the Parsifal's are probably not for you.
I listen to mostly jazz, folk, blues, much of it acoustic, and the Parsifal's just presented a much clearer 'picture' of the sound. They also like my high powered SS amp, the BAT VK-600SE. SInce they are a 89 db/ 4 ohm load, very similar to the Strauss (90 db/4 ohm).
BTW, the woofer cabinet can be set up firing forward or backward. I have them firing forward, like the dealer recommended. I plan on spinning them around this weekend for a listen. Artg, who also owns them, likes it better this way. He said he spoke with the designer, and the designer recommend the woofer firing rear as well. I'll hear for myself this weekend.
I've always thought that the Mahlers/Strauss sounded best with a powerful SS amp. I was running a BAT VK-600SE on my Strauss with very good results.
I say 'was', because I've moved on. I have a sale pending on my Strauss, with the buyer coming tomorrow night. I already have my new Verity Audio Parsifal Encore's
Shane, I love your system, it looks fantastic. I'll bet it sounds great. I'm a fellow Vienna Acoustics owner, Strauss, the Mahlers had too much bass for my room, but too often I see folks mating VA speakers with inferior components. They love quality source/amplification just like any other speaker. I have a BAT VK-51SE/VK-600SE preamp/amp driving my Strauss, and yes, I agree the VA's require a powerful SS amp to really come to life. I also have a VPI 'table, HW-19 mk IV w/SAMA and SDS, JMW 10.5 arm and Lyra Helikon cart. BAT VK-P5 phono pre (modified by GNSC) loaded with Amperex 7308 PQ's and BAT VK-D5SE for digital. Jena Labs cables, and mostly Shunyata p/c's.
I'm also considering moving on from the Strauss though. I really liked a pair of Verity Audio Parsifal Encore's that I listened to. FWIW, I agree with you on the Mahlers, they had too much bass for my room too. I think they need a really large room. My room, at 14 X 24 X 8.5 was too small for the Mahlers. The Strauss bass is not as boomy as the Mahlers in my room, but is still a bit on the slow side, though the VK-600SE upgrade did help tighten it up some.
FWIW, Great name too. I have three sons, my middle son is named Shane.
