Anyone running BHK mono’s w/ Vandersteen 5A’s?

Hello, am new to the forum. I currently run Vandersteen 5A’s with a pair of Theta Citadel 1.5’s and an Ayre K1xe preamp. I was wondering if anyone is running the BHK mono’s with Vandy 5A’s and of so how are they working for you? I’m contemplating selling off my Thetas to give these a shot but I’d really like some feedback from Vandy owners if there are any out there. Thanks for your time. - Chris

Welcome, Fitz!

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Dave Clark one of the Editors of Positive Feedback is running Quatro’s with BHK so you might want to reach out to him. Also one of the reviewers from Tone Audio is running the 300’s with Quatro CT’s.

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Thank you!

Makes perfect sense based on the history of Vandersteen. An early recommended amp for Vandersteen was PSE a small company out of Minnesota. Next was ARC which like BAT, Rogue and Music Reference are all neutral (non-tubey) tube amps. Last Richard released his own M7 amps which like the BHK’s are hybrid designs that were designed in conjunction with the former owner of PSE. Main differences other than the $45,000 price difference is that the HP-5 crossover is built into the M7 much like it is with the Aesthetix Atlas which is about the same price as the 300’s. So if you already have the crossovers, preferably balanced the 300’s or even the 250 is an easy choice.

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Thanks for the info. I have had Aesthetix Atlas mono’s and the 1st gen Ayre MXR’s in my system at one point. While both fantastic amps they just couldn’t displace my Theta Citadel 1.5’s. I may just be bitten by the upgrade bug or just longing for something different and new to discover.

Yes, I currently have a pair of Vandy M5-HPB, balanced filters in my set up as I have always subscribed to the time and phase coherent speaker and fully balanced, zero feedback circuitry principles. So the BHK’s would be a departure from the latter for me. May be an interesting journey to take.

They are well worth a try and there are deals to be had on them.

I’m using a BHK250 Stereo amp with my Vandersteen 5’s (original model) and am very happy with it. Was previously using an Audio Research Classic 60 and the BHK250 was a significant step up. I have read a couple of reviews that corroborate the BHK amps being a good match with Vandersteens, though I don’t recall one specifically being the 5’s and the monos. Certainly worth a try!

Thanks for the input. Now I just need to decide to take the leap.