Vintage Hi-Fi Heretic Amp Reviews

audioluvr
audioluvr Posts: 5,582
in 2 Channel Audio
I picked up some pages out of a 1992 issue of Hi-fi Heretic recently that reviews three amps of the day. B&K M200 Sonatas, Belles 450 and the Hafler XL-280. If anyone has any of these and would like a copy PM me your email address and I can forward them to you. I don't know how to post them here as I have them saved as PDF files and this forum won't let me post them here for some reason.

R
Gustard X26 Pro DAC
Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)

There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
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  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,582
    sgbdqafxxcgb.jpg
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
    Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)

    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
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  • gyosa
    gyosa Posts: 749
    Pm sent

    Bk
    PS Audio S300 , WiiM Ultra , Yamaha wxc-50 , Salk SuperCharged Songtowers , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 42” - BEDROOM

    B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL

    Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Ascend Acoustics ELX Ribbon Towers , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN system

    Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sharp 65” TV - PATIO
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  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,582
    File sent. Found it while I was trying to find a comparison between my M-200's and a Belles 350A reference I'm looking at. Big gap between mfg dates but this was the best solid state amp Belles made at the time. Can't imagine things have changed dramatically since then but could be wrong.
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
    Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)

    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • gyosa
    gyosa Posts: 749
    edited January 2020
    Thanks amigo !
    Got it ...
    Have a ex-442 .... I love all things B&K .....
    Superb amplifiers .....
    Those m200’s are beasts .... wish I had a pair !
    Bk
    PS Audio S300 , WiiM Ultra , Yamaha wxc-50 , Salk SuperCharged Songtowers , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 42” - BEDROOM

    B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL

    Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Ascend Acoustics ELX Ribbon Towers , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN system

    Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sharp 65” TV - PATIO
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  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,582
    I'll bet the 442 sounds super sweet with that PS Audio pre! One thing I notice with the B&K's (and it's probably similar with other amps) is they really need about 2 hours minimum operating to open up. The longer the better! At first I thought it was the booze but further testing showed they really need warmed up properly. :p I think your 442 is essentially the components converted to run in mono so like double everything. I had mine upgraded to bigger computer grade caps ( 4 ea. 17,000 uF @100v caps per channel). The only thing I don't like with these is the 25hz thump and the lights dimming when I turn them on. They really are a well balanced amp. Nothing particularly stands out. When I compared them to the Hafler XL600 I borrowed the only thing I noticed was the Hafler was louder. That's it. Just louder and the separation collapsed.

    How did the 442 compare to the Stellar S300?
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
    Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)

    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter