BAT REX 500 - A Further Examination
We’ve lived with our “demo” BAT REX 500 power amplifier for a few months now, and I can honestly say it has reached a quality level I’ve never experienced before in our reference studio. In fact, it’s a whole new “reference!”
As most of you already know. BAT components take a long time to “break in.” This isn’t some kind of excuse for not being up to the mark when freshly out of the box because all BAT products sound “BAT-like” when brand new. It’s just that all BAT products actually do continue to improve as they go through 400-500 hours of use. There are easily understood reasons for these “power supply intense” units, but, suffice to say, I’ll defer to BAT’s website (balancedaudio.net) for further explanation. This break in characteristic is even more obvious with BAT’s top-of-the-brand “REX” series - REX 3 tube line-stage pre-amp, REX 3 Power (tube amp), and the new REX 500 (solid-state POWER amplifier) - as all REX models require at least 500 hours to fully realize their potential. Notice, I had to emphasize the word “power” because the REX 500 is soooo powerful, able to drive any speaker in our store at any level with such ease that one can ignore all the clichés regarding high power amps vs. lower power amps, tube amps vs. solid-state amps, etc., etc…. This is really nothing new with BAT amps in general, but, once broken in, the REX 500 takes this ideal to a whole new level.
I’ve noticed when pairing the REX 500 with Wilson’s wonderful Sasha DAW loudspeakers, there’s an ultimate level of performance I’d yet to experience in a speaker that I’ve heard with any number of high end amplifiers. Even though the Sasha has always plumbed the depths of bass response, the REX 500 takes them to a whole different level. On familiar recordings, the timbre of bass instruments is exposed unlike I’d ever heard before. It is simply thrilling to listen to oft-played recordings, and hear a new dimension in realism at any volume level.
In the past I’ve spoken (and written) of the importance of harmonic exposure regarding singers’ voices. Of course harmonic quality is important for all musical instruments and all types of music since harmonic realism is what separates one instrument from another. In my experience, human voices are an ideal testing ground to determine the accuracy of any system. Simply put, some singers’ voices touch more frequencies than others. For example, Sarah Vaughn’s voice has a “richness” that demonstrates the bandwidth I’m speaking of. So, too, does the voice of Frank Sinatra. In fact, this “richness” can actually be measured using high quality real-time analysis. I’ve made these measurements with a number of singers, and have discovered the consistent preference for singers whose voices “touch” more frequencies harmonically. I think that may be why I’ve always preferred BAT amplification. BAT amps demonstrate this quality unlike any others I’ve had the privilege of auditioning, and living with. The new REX 500 exposes and reveals this quality more than any other high power amp I’ve spent time with. It’s patently obvious that the new REX 500 is very special, and in a league of its own.
Delicate, incredibly fast, yet monstrously powerful, the BAT REX 500 is a must audition for anyone considering the absolute in reference power amplification. The new REX 500 is truly the king of amplifiers!
Sincerely,
Geoff
