B&K users wanted

Mike Reeter

I've tried doing a search for "B&K" here and came up with nothing...

I've read that the B&K is a "warm" side of neutral amp...something I'm needing in our 2-channel set-up.

I'm looking at the Reference 125.2 and the 200.2

Anyone have any experience with either one of these,or any other B&K models? Or,could maybe attach some threads from the forums here...I've tried every I know.

Thanks in advance.

reeltrouble1

you might try the advanced search as I know there are threads covering B&K.

I have used there 7270 amp for several years, yes, excellent products, nice sound and defientely a cut above the ordinary, I might even say they are at the entry level of Hi-Fi. They use quality parts and large toroids.

RT1

Mike Reeter

Thanks,I'll try another search

unc2701

I'd agree with the assessment of basically neutral, but a touch warmer than some of the equivalent SS amps from other makers. For their multi-channel amps, the power supply is definitely beefier than the equivalent Rotel- and I think better than the matching parasound. This doesn't always mean more dynamics, but I've been impressed with the B&K amps. Made in USA, too.

bikerboy

Hi,
I have a ST-202 that sounds very good. It is quiet, neutral, and not too in your face dynamic with 160 watts/ch. I listed it in the flea market a long time ago but still have it. PM me if you are interested.

Kex

I think there's a problem with searching for B&K. Just "B&K" is too short (must be four or more characters), so you get "0 results", and the usual trick of adding an asterisk (B&K*) returns an error message:

Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 20971520 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 71 bytes) in /home/www/polkaudio/htdocs/forums/search.php on line 2525

Maybe the & is being interpreted as a control character (if that's the correct term). Anyway, some results here, if they help:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&as_q=B%26K&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&num=10&lr=&as_filetype=&ft=i&as_sitesearch=polkaudio.com&as_qdr=all&as_rights=&as_occt=any&cr=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&safe=images

Mike Reeter

Thanks guys,I'm looking for a warm natured amp. or I'm going to try some tubes.

Gadabout

I have several of the B&K amps - 125.2 S2, ST2140, 4420.

I would agree with the assessments of neutral moving to the warmer side. I have no complaints with the amplifiers. They have given me zero problems. I was originally interested in them because of thier balanced inputs. Some would debate that there is no benefit of balanced inputs unless the whole amplification section is balanced. While I won't debate that issue, it does give me a chance to start buying components for the BAT amp I plan on adding to the 2ch system one day.

Scott

polkatese

Gadabout wrote: »

I have several of the B&K amps - 125.2 S2, ST2140, 4420.

I would agree with the assessments of neutral moving to the warmer side. I have no complaints with the amplifiers. They have given me zero problems. I was originally interested in them because of thier balanced inputs. Some would debate that there is no benefit of balanced inputs unless the whole amplification section is balanced. While I won't debate that issue, it does give me a chance to start buying components for the BAT amp I plan on adding to the 2ch system one day.

Scott

B&K amp is great. I used to own 125.7 and was happy with it. I upgraded mine to Gemstone Blue Diamond for more horsepower and loving it. They are both have similar characteristics, but more oomph on the Gemstone, pushing 400 watts at 4 ohms is no small feat. I digress, though.

dkg999

In my HT system I run the B&K AVR 507s2 driving my LSiC, LSIFX, and LSi7, and a B&K Reference 125.2 driving my LSi9's. Warm side of neutral is an accurate and fair description. Also very tight well controlled bass.

The SQ I get from my B&K gear in my HT is the reason I won't move to an AVR with the new HDMI and audio codecs. My HT just sounds way to good with the gear I've got.

MADGSF

I have had good luck with my 7250II amp that I bought used a couple of years ago. The warm side of neutral, very quiet and very dynamic in my setup.

reeltrouble1

Mike Reeter wrote: »

Thanks guys,I'm looking for a warm natured amp. or I'm going to try some tubes.

You don't say????

Well being as I have both the B&K (400 @ 4ohm) and Tubes everywhere on balanced circuits.......................drum Rolll...........................................


You guessed it.

Tubes Rule.

BAT=Beautiful
Manley=well Manley for Men
VTL=Viva La Tube
Dodd=Delightful
Cary=Crazy Cool
ARC=Awesome

They say the world will end in either fire or ice

I choose Fire

---

Tube Fire

RT1

Mike Reeter

reeltrouble1 wrote: »

You don't say????

Well being as I have both the B&K (400 @ 4ohm) and Tubes everywhere on balanced circuits.......................drum Rolll...........................................


You guessed it.

Tubes Rule.

BAT=Beautiful
Manley=well Manley for Men
VTL=Viva La Tube
Dodd=Delightful
Cary=Crazy Cool
ARC=Awesome

They say the world will end in either fire or ice

I choose Fire

---

Tube Fire

RT1

I'm looking very hard at a used VTL ST-85...or a B&K Ref 125.2/200.2

That damn VTL is calling my name though:D

AndyGwis

Caveat. . . if you decide to go SS, read on. If not, enjoy your tubes.

Another B&K fanboy here. I've owned old (ST-202 and Pro-MC) and new (ST 125.2 and AVR 507 S2). Love all their stuff for the prices, especially if you can pick them up for 50% of retail or more on Agon, here, etc.

There stuff is built so well that you can likely buy a 20 year old amp from them and feel confident in it performing another 20 years (if well owned). I like their build quality, looks, performance, reliability, etc. over just about anything else in the mid-fi category (Adcom, Carver, Parasound, NAD, etc.).

Good luck on whatever you decide on. Maybe you have to use quotes "B&K" or something to get the search to work. I've tried it here tons of times as well as just B&K with no luck.

Mike Reeter

Used gear is right up my alley,have had my eyes on A'gon about 20-30 times a day.

I already have a tube pre and CDP in the mix,just need a different amp.

I knew there had to be some B&K owners around,thanks again for all your input.

mantis

dkg999 wrote: »

In my HT system I run the B&K AVR 507s2 driving my LSiC, LSIFX, and LSi7, and a B&K Reference 125.2 driving my LSi9's. Warm side of neutral is an accurate and fair description. Also very tight well controlled bass.

The SQ I get from my B&K gear in my HT is the reason I won't move to an AVR with the new HDMI and audio codecs. My HT just sounds way to good with the gear I've got.

Bro can I give you a little inside tip?? The st125.2 amp you got on the Lsi9's is the same exact amp that lives inside the B&K 507s2. The 507 has the ref50 preamp and the st125.7 amp inside one box. You can get rid of the 2 channel and and be exactly the same. maybe better depending on the quality of the IC's you used.

Dan

mantis

Mike Reeter wrote: »

I've tried doing a search for "B&K" here and came up with nothing...

I've read that the B&K is a "warm" side of neutral amp...something I'm needing in our 2-channel set-up.

I'm looking at the Reference 125.2 and the 200.2

Anyone have any experience with either one of these,or any other B&K models? Or,could maybe attach some threads from the forums here...I've tried every I know.

Thanks in advance.

B&K amps as said above are exactly that. Warm. Nice and clean with a powerful punch. Lots of reserve power for Dynamic range. At there price class I feel they lead the race. No one at that price point is beating them on anything except maybe style points.

ksinc

You have to use google to search a forum with 3 or less characters as follows.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&fkt=1546&fsdt=12734&q=site%3Apolkaudio.com%2Fforum%2F+B%26K&aq=f&oq=

dkg999

mantis wrote: »

Bro can I give you a little inside tip?? The st125.2 amp you got on the Lsi9's is the same exact amp that lives inside the B&K 507s2. The 507 has the ref50 preamp and the st125.7 amp inside one box. You can get rid of the 2 channel and and be exactly the same. maybe better depending on the quality of the IC's you used.

Dan

Dan - totally realize that! I got the 125.2 for a really good price from one of our CP members. It does make the LSi9's just a touch more dynamic and open, and the AVR runs a bit cooler. Was it necessary, absolutely not, the 507s2 is completely capable of running a 7.1 LSi HT. Now that I have it will I get rid of it, nope. I'll move it to running the LSiC when I find a good deal on a 200.2 to run the LSi9's

phuz

I have the 200.2 S2 and love it. It's got gobs and gobs of power. My contour S1.4 can be heard clean and clear down the street from my house and the amp doesn't even break a sweat.

Excellent amp. A tube pre-amp will provide the best of both worlds.

mantis

phuz wrote: »

I have the 200.2 S2 and love it. It's got gobs and gobs of power. My contour S1.4 can be heard clean and clear down the street from my house and the amp doesn't even break a sweat.

Excellent amp. A tube pre-amp will provide the best of both worlds.

You had me at Contour S1.4's.....nice!!!!

reeltrouble1

I would say Parasound and B&K are able to produce hi-fi products.

RT1

read-alot

reeltrouble1 wrote: »

I would say Parasound and B&K are able to produce hi-fi products.

RT1

I would say that too.

tcrossma

I had a B&K 200.5 powering my LSi15/LSiC for a while, and it was a terrific amp. It didn't do anything wrong at all, and it had good clean power and was a neutral/slightly warm sounding amp. Given that I then sold my LSiC to concentrate more on 2-channel, I sold it for a Belles Reference 150A and found the Belles to be a good notch or two above the B&K in terms of dynamics and sound quality. But I have nothing but fond memories of the B&K amp and would recommend them to anyone looking for a lower- to mid-level amp.

Vancmann

I recently sold my B&K ST3030 on ebay. Was replaced by a pioneer elite. I do miss the sound of the B&K amp. Crisp and warm is what I could think of.

cokewithvanilla

I power LSi25s with a B&K 7270 Series II... I used to power a C and FX's with it as well. I would have to agree with what has been said here. It's a good amp.