B&K Reference 7250ll five channel

fish357

I know nothing about home audio amps, but offered $625 for one of these. Had an original msrp of 2500, I think.
Good deal?
Unit is missing two of the plastic caps on one channel.
Opinions?
Thanks.

tonyb

It's a nice amp. I might question the care it has had over the years if 2 caps are missing. Ask some questions....like if the amp has ever been worked on, how long has he owned the amp, why the caps are missing, are there any issues or strange noises coming from the amp. Shipping that beast might cost some too, and his packaging skills better be up to snuff.

msg

I like B&K stuff.
I haven't seen any plastic caps on them. What are those? Got any photos?

Recent auction prices on 2ch variants were in the $600+ ask range. Not sure whether they sold for that.

@scubalab - I think he has a 7ch.

Emlyn

I paid around $1K for a 7270 brand new about 20 years ago. B&K amps are mosfet designs and run hot but they are quite powerful. B&K is out of business so can't look to them for parts to replace the speaker connectors. I'd wait to get a 200.7 S2 in better shape for not much more. That was B&K's last big amp. If the 7250 is so easy to fix, wouldn't the seller fix it before trying to sell it?

Is it this one on Ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/B-K-Reference-7250-ii-5-channel-amplifier-Fantastic-Sounding-Amplifier/193573989529?hash=item2d11e8ac99:g:BhEAAOSwBNpfDlfA

B&K amps match very well with "bright" speakers like the Polk RTi or RTiA lines. Not so much the LSi or LSiM lines.

fish357

Yes! That’s the one. I was going to run my LSi25’s, a LSiC, and two LSi 7’s through it. So hold off is basically why you’re saying?
As stated above, $625 was my counteroffer to his reduced price of $650.

Emlyn

Right. In my opinion when I was using B&K with LSi speakers the sound was a little dull and flat compared to something from Parasound or Rotel. If you can find a used five channel Parasound amp I think you'd be happier. That's what I found when I decided to sell my 7270 amp. May cost a bit more though, but then Parasound is still in business.

fish357

As a noob where upper end home audio is concerned, I will take your advice.
The problem is, I was run over by a can in January, and still am not back to work, so I’m budget shopping.
I really don’t know what’s good from bad, other than I’m not going to run out and buy Pioneer, or Sony.

Emlyn

I'd look into something like this instead (no affiliation)...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Parasound-HCA-2205A-5-Ch-THX-Power-Amplifier/203084002010?hash=item2f48bff2da:g:Yt0AAOSwcFhfP-9g

msg

Also, what are you using for the pre/pro on the front end?

I saw the "missing caps" in the listing photos. That B&K amp's missing the plastic pieces of the terminal nuts for the speaker outs on that last channel. It looks like the terminal nut insert pieces are still on there, though. The plastic pieces probably stripped with over-tightening.

audioluvr

B&K amps can easily be made brighter by replacing the stock line fuse with an audiophile grade one

fish357

Should I look at a pre amp as well?
You’ll all laugh, but I’ve been running the LSi25’s through an Onkyo TX-NR616. Bought the 25’s and the Onk new in 2013.
I had no idea until getting on this forum I would need more power.
Probably why I lost a tweet and a couple mids.
Picked up the LSiC and the LSi 7’s just recently.

fish357

I may be stuck buying the amp if the seller won’t let me out of the offer. Any ideas in a older 5 channel Parasound? Looks as if many here like that brand.

msg

Your pre/pro may be an option to account for the double-laid back componentry of LSi and B&K.

It looks like your Onkyo doesn't have preouts, so, yes, you'd need to replace that.

Yes, the LSi series are 4ohm and do need a bit more power/current to sound best.
Hehe, sheeze man, how loud were you cranking it?

fish357 wrote: »

I may be stuck buying the amp if the seller won’t let me out of the offer. Any ideas in a older 5 channel Parasound? Looks as if many here like that brand.

Have you requested cancellation with the seller?
Amp or processor? Emlyn mentioned the Parasound HCA-2205 amp up above, in case you missed that one.

krazypolk

Ran a craigslist check and I found this. It might not be the purdyest of the two but It ain't broke.
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/ele/d/richmond-bk-five-channel-amp-obo/7188878366.html

pitdogg2

Personally the other isn't broke per say, banana plugs would just be the only option to hook up those channels. I stopped using bare ends and spades looooong ago.

Emlyn

fish357 wrote: »

I may be stuck buying the amp if the seller won’t let me out of the offer. Any ideas in a older 5 channel Parasound? Looks as if many here like that brand.

Not bad if you do buy it. It's a good model at a decent price and easy enough to work around a couple of the connectors missing.

msg

That looks like something that'd come up for sale on my local Craigslist for $800.

krazypolk wrote: »

Ran a craigslist check and I found this. It might not be the purdyest of the two but It ain't broke.

fish357

msg wrote: »

Your pre/pro may be an option to account for the double-laid back componentry of LSi and B&K.

It looks like your Onkyo doesn't have preouts, so, yes, you'd need to replace that.

Yes, the LSi series are 4ohm and do need a bit more power/current to sound best.
Hehe, sheeze man, how loud were you cranking it?

fish357 wrote: »

I may be stuck buying the amp if the seller won’t let me out of the offer. Any ideas in a older 5 channel Parasound? Looks as if many here like that brand.

Have you requested cancellation with the seller?
Amp or processor? Emlyn mentioned the Parasound HCA-2205 amp up above, in case you missed that one.

Ask my son how loud he was cranking it. Ha
There’s also a Klipsch SW Sub 12 HGB in the mix, and we went through a dubstep phase... 🙄
Speaker killer, that style of music is.
While in California on a business trip, I once got a call from a neighbor three houses away asking me to turn down my music. Said pictures were falling off his walls. Haha
Gotta love kids.

teekay0007

fish357 wrote: »

Should I look at a pre amp as well?
You’ll all laugh, but I’ve been running the LSi25’s through an Onkyo TX-NR616. Bought the 25’s and the Onk new in 2013.
I had no idea until getting on this forum I would need more power.
Probably why I lost a tweet and a couple mids.
Picked up the LSiC and the LSi 7’s just recently.

That would match up beautifully ( ) with a minty B&K Reference 50 Pre/Pro! And...I just happen to have one available that I bought from another member here last year. I just haven't got room for the 2-channel setup I was going to use it for. It has less than 20 hours on it in the year I've owned it. I have the often missing remote and original box also.

@fish357 - where are you located?

fish357

Krazypolk- is that the same amp I was seeing on eBay? For three hundred, I’d have to jump on that, but the unit looks a little beat up.
I’m a little confused, should I buy B&K, or look at something else?
Realizing opinions are like a$$h01e5- we all have them- I’m just like a pinball bouncing around here.
I’m in Indiana, by the way.

fish357

@ teekay0007- Sadly, I don’t know what a pre/pro is. 😔
Is it compatible with the five channel thing I’m trying to do?
I’ll have to learn to set all this up. Ha

teekay0007

I just love the sound of the B&K and Polk pairing as do many around here. I have and have had multiple components of theirs and have never had problems.

I think that's a fair price for the 7250II and there's some built-in protections with eBay and PayPal that you gain there.

jumpindick

The B&K amp will run pretty hot. You will feel the heat. I have 7270 MKII in my HT set up. I like it, but I agree that Parasound might be a "better" choice, albeit can be more expensive depending upon what you buy. Nonetheless, a dedicated amp to speakers can certainly improve overall performance.

msg

preamp/processor
Don't worry, I didn't know what that was either at first.

On your Onkyo AVR (audio video receiver) the amplifier section is built in. With an external amplifier, you need a front end to run it. Some AVRs have preouts you can use to connect it to an external amplifier, but yours doesn't, so in your case, you'd need a new AVR or a surround processor since you're running mult-channel.

If you were only using 2ch, you could just get a preamp.

It's like this:

• Source (DVD Player, etc.) > Processor > Amplifier > Speakers
  Or
• Source (CD Player, etc.) > Preamp > Amplifier > 2 speakers

lightman1

fish357 wrote: »

I’m in Indiana, by the way.

Lots of good Polkie people there. I have the pleasure calling them my friends. Iowa/North Carolina here.

fish357

Well now I’m interested. I’m definitely an audiophile, was in the industry for about 8 years, with a pretty popular local band. My job didn’t require a lot of technical know how, so I never mixed, or engineered anything.
I do have a good ear, and listen to a wide variety of genres.
Now I want to learn more, have a good quality, budget minded setup. If those two things are synonymous, that is.
My wallet doesn’t allow me to buy new, so I’m looking for older, good quality stuff. Just need to know what “good” is.

scubalab

Welcome to Club Polk @fish357 !

I’ll chime in here as I have a very similar setup in our home theater. I’m running 7 channels - LSi-7 fronts, LSiM-704C center,80 F/X-LS surrounds, and 700-LS rears. I’m driving them with a Marantz pre/pro and a B&K 200.7. I went from a 5-channel Rotel before upping to the B&K. It was a VERY noticeable improvement. Yes, the B&Ks run hot, so I’d advise some good ventilation. They are also a very ‘warm’ sounding amp, which I prefer, hence my loyalty to the brand (I’ve had 2 or 3 other B&Ks). I have also had Parasound, Carver, and Acurus amps.

That 200.5 on CL is a KILLER deal for $300. It’s not the prettiest, but if it functions as it should, they’re hard to find for under $600.

I can’t say anything bad about Parasound amps. I actually LOVED both that I had at different times in my 2-channel setup. They are a ‘warmer’ sounding amp as well.

As for your LSi’s, if you need drivers, I think I still have several of the ring radiator tweeters as well as several woofers from a ‘rough’ set of LSi-F/X speakers I parted out.

And, others are correct - you will need a pre-amp for the amp if your Onkyo doesn’t have pre-outs. If you don’t need hdmi, the B&K Ref-50 is tough to beat for the price!

Any questions, feel free to reach out.

-Al

scubalab

msg wrote: »

preamp/processor
Don't worry, I didn't know what that was either at first.

On your Onkyo AVR (audio video receiver) the amplifier section is built in. With an external amplifier, you need a front end to run it. Some AVRs have preouts you can use to connect it to an external amplifier, but yours doesn't, so in your case, you'd need a new AVR or a surround processor since you're running mult-channel.

If you were only using 2ch, you could just get a preamp.

It's like this:

• Source (DVD Player, etc.) > Processor > Amplifier > Speakers
  Or
• Source (CD Player, etc.) > Preamp > Amplifier > 2 speakers

Scott nailed it with this post!

scubalab

Check with Dan @EndersShadow - he’s in Indiana, and is the person who ‘persuaded’ me to buy my B&K 200.7. He has (or had) a B&K 200.5.

fish357

scubalab wrote: »

Welcome to Club Polk @fish357 !
That 200.5 on CL is a KILLER deal for $300. It’s not the prettiest, but if it functions as it should, they’re hard to find for under $600.
As for your LSi’s, if you need drivers, I think I still have several of the ring radiator tweeters as well as several woofers from a ‘rough’ set of LSi-F/X speakers I parted out.

And, others are correct - you will need a pre-amp for the amp if your Onkyo doesn’t have pre-outs. If you don’t need hdmi, the B&K Ref-50 is tough to beat for the price!

Any questions, feel free to reach out.

-Al

Thank you for the welcome, scuba.
la2vegas was kind enough to reach out with a couple of drivers for me, but I still need the tweeter. I’d be glad to take that off your hands.
I’ll go on CL and check out the amp.
Thanks guys.

lightman1

@indyhawg too

Al is a putz...