B&K amps any good for LSi15s?

newsman

I'm basically using trade-up program in Tweeter and will have to spend about $2k to go along with possible purchase of Polk HT system consisting of LSi15, LSiC, and LSiFX.

Question! - Will the $2k be better spent on a B&K Ref 200.2 amp (not too many reviews of B&K gear could be found) or a Velodyne DD (their high end 10in, 17Hz sub).

(I already have a Polk sub, which is good for theater , but ok for music, I could sell it if I buy Velodyne. On the other hand, I have Marantz 7000 receiver, which I could upgrade with Rotel or something else down the road if I don't get B&K sub)

Your thoughts?


Thanks.

VR3

You can get a B&K amp, 225 watts, 70 amps of current on audiogon or so for 600 - 700 bucks dude....

But if you MUST get it from there, I'd get the sub

Frank Z

FWIW, Sunfire TrueSub EQ blends very nicely with Lsi's.

polkatese

newsman,

Given your situation, I would go with the B&K Ref 200.2 hands down. I have all LSi setup like your plan (plus LSi7 for back surrounds) powered by B&K Reference 50 and AV125.7 pair. Sound quality wise, I am very satisfied on both music and HT. IF you do your search on, you will find out that LSis is high-current hungry speakers (or you may already aware of), I would have gone with Reference 200.7 had I not having problem with its size and heat (enclosed cabinet). It is plenty loud and clean as it is, so I don't have regrets. Why are you getting 200.2 when you have 5 channels? just curious. I can't vouch on Velo DD, but I bet it sounds great. Personally, I use REL Storm III. Have fun shopping!

newsman

Thanks for the advice.
I wasn't sure if B&K make good amps, cause not too many reviews could be found of their reference line of products. The reason I'm not looking into 200.5 is because it's $2.5k I think? Also 200.2 has better dynamic headroom - we'll see.

But at least I can tell there are people who like B&K staff.

p.s. B&K just came up with the new Reference S2 line, so I can't look into the amp specs as their site is not yet updated - I hate when companies do that. :rolleyes:

Emlyn

I'd recommend B&K amps for the LSis from my experience. I found it took a couple of hundred hours of use on the LSi15s to get the speakers to break in well with the 7270 series 2 model I'm using for home theater. Be sure to leave plenty of breathing room all around a B&K amp though because they are designed to run hot. They sound better once they are well warmed up too.

mantis

newsman,

As said.......B&K and lsi go together very well. I feel it's the correct choice in hearing what the Lsi line can do. B&K reference line amps have plenty of power ( current ) to drive the Lsi15's. Even B&K's receiver the avr507 is an excellent choice. The sound quality doesn't change much between Reference and St or receiver amps. But you do get a slightly better dynamic range.

I own both Lsi and B&K , My compare was Rotel , which I found to do an excellent job , I perferred the B&K sound a bit more.

The 200.5 and 200.2 both exceed the needs of the Lsi 15's and the rest of the speaker package. Buy the 200.5 or 200.7 and feel good you made the right choice.

The Velodyne DD line subs are te best sounding sub Tweeter carries. I will go to say they are amazing. After a proper setup and break in, one of the best subs I have heard.

Rel I feel has an advantage over the velodyne for music. The Rels are less punchy and blend in better. Velodyne does a great job is you never experienced a REL.

gregure

I'm surprised you haven't been able to find good reviews for the B&K amps. They make great amps. Many dealers will tell you the B&K 507 is the best receiver on the market, and that's sharing a power supply w/ the processor/preamp/tuner. The Reference 200.7 has some phenomenal reviews behind it. In fact, I've seen a couple of the reviews that thought more highly of the amp than the Ref 50 pre, and that is a very fine piece of equipment as well.

newsman

Well, I've done the damage to my fiscal badget I got the LSi15 in cherry. Two more LSi15 for the rears and LSiC for the center are on the way. Along with the new B&K 200.5 S2 amp - dealer got me a good discount as part of the Tweeter private sale - so now I'm waiting for the staff to arrive.

I'm so happy
Will report back on how it sounds.

I always wanted to experience SACD the way it was ment to be played, so decided against FX speakers for the rears in favor of floor standing. Hopefully that won't screw up HT experience by too much .

FYI I picked LSi15 as the best to my ears after going through Sonus Faber Grand Piano Home, Monitor Audio GR60 and auditioning a lot of speakers such as JMLabs and Matin Logan in the range of up to $3.5k for the fronts. Sonus Faber was the closest second to LSi15 to my ears, but considering it costs 2.5 times as much as LSi, it makes LSi 15 purchase that much better experience! Sonus Faber however was the best looking of the bunch... I think B&W Signature line would be the gold standard for me - but to get the soundstage and dynamics I'll get with LSi - I'll need Signature towers for the fronts - and that's just cost prohibitive for me.

Sami

Originally posted by newsman
I always wanted to experience SACD the way it was ment to be played, so decided against FX speakers for the rears in favor of floor standing.

In that case I think you need to ditch the LSiC and go with 5 * LSi15.

newsman

In a perfect world I would have five LSi15 all around and one chair in the middle. That's perfect wold, this is Wallgreens.

No, I think I'll be good with LSiC, I watch movies once in a while. Plus LSiC is basically top portion of 15. I think I will get good center channel image with the speaker specifically designed to be a center channel. In my previous RTi setup I had RTiC400(what a great center! ) for center channel with great results in SACD.

Sami

Single LSi15 shouldn't be much more than the LSiC. You already put a lot of money on four of them instead of LSi15's + LSi7's, why not go with a more ideal setup? Should be a great setup for both SACD and HT.

newsman

Because my audio system is my only system in a house sharing Music/HT responsibility. In the middle of the room resting is a big screen tube TV - so bassically there is no place for a fifth LSi15 - I wouldn't want to put LSi by a side of the TV - that would make it impractical. Furthemore - even if and when I upgrade to rear projection LSi15 will still be too tall.
Oh and last thing - I don't think LSi15 are sold as a single speaker.

Sami

I guess those are good enough reasons. I was using RTi70 as my centre with 150's. Now I have 5 * LSi7 but I have been thinking of going with LSi15's as mains, the 7's have hard time producing decent bass for music. Works well for HT. (SVS PCU is the SW)

reeltrouble1

Very much looking forward to your reveiw, I think you are going to love the B&K, I second and third the others about the B&K, my 7270 is an awesome HT amp, also a very musical amp but it is really an overmatch for my RTi fronts.

sowen010599

I've been running the ref 200.7 s2 for close to a month now and I friggin love it.

I highly doubt that with a normal or even large room, you could ever realize the limits of it's performance. For me, it was to replace 10 MA-500 monoblocks. I know 10! right? Yeah, I'm a freak like that. I guess I shouldn't tell you I plan to add another ref 200.7 to bi-amp the fronts and add 4 more side surrounds. The plan is to have side surrounds go down the sides of the room just like in a real theater.

http://www.bkcomp.com/ref200_57_audiospecs.asp

polkatese

that's amazingly freaky

I supposed you are getting ready for the winter season without ever turning on the heater (two 200.7) will definitely enough to heat up your living room..

sowen010599

Well, with all the electronics, 4 subs, RPTV, the big amp, it is a couple degrees warmer than the rest of the house. Last summer, we had pneumatic dampers installed in the ducts leading to each room (they look like blood pressure cuffs), temp sensors installed in every room, and a much MUCH larger central heat and air system installed. With that, we can set the temp in each room, for different times of day, and even different days of the week/month.

It's this system with multi-zone control.
http://www.residential.carrier.com/res/details/0,1992,CLI1_DIV109_ETI8551_MID3655,00.html

It mitigates any temperature variations. The biggest reason for is is my computer room. Several workstations, and a couple servers. That room was flat hot. Not anymore.

Oh, and just as an aside, before the new system, our summer cooling bill was ~$600/month. Now it's ~$300.

newsman

Just took delivery of the new B&K 200.5 S2 amp! Hooked it up yesterday to my, now complete, mh/c setup - 4 LSi15 + LSiC. No sub required So far sounds great, amp is huge! You need to see the transformer on that thing to belive it. Great quality of connectors - my Marantz receiver's RCA plugs always on the verge of giving in whenever subjected to ruthless AR RCA plugs - not so with B&K.
More detailed review to follow.

audiobliss

Awesome; can't wait to hear more of your thoughts as I'm also looking at some B&K stuff.

sowen010599

Good job! You'll love the B&K. They make really good amps. I have been very happy with mine. That transformer is huge isn't it!? It takes up a lot of space in there. It's a heavy beast too! Mine weighs like 70 lbs.

Did you get black or silver?

I can't wait until after x-mas. I plan to buy another 200.7 to bi-amp my mains and add 4 more surrounds. My plan is to have surrounds go all the way down the sides of the theater room just like in a real theater. 140 lbs. of amps though......ugh......I think I'm going to need a beefier rack!

Oh! Upgrade that power cord! Call Frank at SignalCable.

newsman

Got it in black. Maybe if I had all new system, like Krell amp and pre, I would've gotten it in silver - but othervise classic balck is the match for the rest of my system. Power cable .. for now I'll just use stock. I live in apartment - who knows how long I'll need a cable once I move to a house. BTW I do plug in my amp into Monster Cable HT5100 - I haven't tested to see if conditioner limits dyn. headroom any.