wglenn
I just listened closely raising and lowering the volume around 25. I do hear the click everytime, even if there is a dropout. I think when I was trying this earlier I was more focused on the dropouts and did not realize the click was there every time.
Yes on Peter Max. The piece is “Grammy 1991”. I thought it was perfect to place over the stereo. I picked that up years ago at a private sale.
Petrojo
Thanks for confirming the clicks. I agree it must be the design of the volume control.
Just wanted to let you know the Jeremy is great to work with in the service department. I recently had a problem with the smaller transformer in one of my Mono blocks. Apparently it overheated then stopped working. Since they were beta units, they wanted to look at both units. I got them back earlier this week. Turnaround was about two weeks and I am very pleased with everyone at PS Audio.
muralido saidI have seen some provide editing suggestions for the manual and I took the time to go through the entire document and provide editing suggestions, but I won’t bore forum readers with the details. Paul, if you’re out there and reading, I am happy to forward my comments (or to do a markup of an ms word doc). My suggestions have to do with things like the erratic deployment of hyphens and penchant for ending sentences with prepositions, which, though it may now be grammatically correct, does not necessarily make for good writing, etc.
If you want to email me a Word DOC marked up with changes that would be appreciated. While the manual doesn’t need to be a literary work, it’s good to have another set of eyeballs on it.
Alan W said Since I am online, I thought I would add a couple of photos of the Pre Amp in its new home.Paul, these are for you since you mentioned in the speaker project post that one day you hoped to have an all PS Audio system. This is probably as close as one can get for now.
Awesome Alan! Thanks for sharing. Love to hear this system.
@muralido: Indeed, welcome to the forum.
I have had a similar experience with the bass after a short break-in. The lower midrange and bass of the BHK preamp has a rich and full character without bloat. I find this particular facet one of the more pleasing surprises that this unit presents. So far, I agree with your assessment of no compromises in the sound of this kit.
Alan W said PetrojoThanks for confirming the clicks. I agree it must be the design of the volume control.
Just wanted to let you know the Jeremy is great to work with in the service department. I recently had a problem with the smaller transformer in one of my Mono blocks. Apparently it overheated then stopped working. Since they were beta units, they wanted to look at both units. I got them back earlier this week. Turnaround was about two weeks and I am very pleased with everyone at PS Audio.
As described in the manual and on the website, the control is a combination of stepped attenuator and gain cell - the stepped attenuator is the big steps you hear clicking, and the smaller steps (1/2dB each) are the changes in gain to the vacuum tube.
It’s all good.
I hope I can listen to the BHK some time, I’d really be very interested if I only had an idea how to deal with a phono preamp. So far I always tried to combine pre and phono amp or use a phono stage with optional line input. This saves a lot of money for HW and cabling and has more advantages than disadvantages to two separates imo.
Alan W said Since I am online, I thought I would add a couple of photos of the Pre Amp in its new home.Sorry, I know this is off topic. Love your Tyler Acoustics Speakers. Quick picture of my Tyler H2s. Yes, I know the speakers aren't set up correctly. Life is a compromise. My wife does let my gear dominate the family room and to a lesser extent our pocketbook. BTW, would love to try the BHK pre but without a line level or tape loop output, it won't work for me.Paul, these are for you since you mentioned in the speaker project post that one day you hoped to have an all PS Audio system. This is probably as close as one can get for now.
I received my Beta BHK Signature pre-amp 9 days ago and have had it in Standby Mode since then, breaking in.
Tonight I connected it and have been listening to music for about 90 minutes.
These are my observations:
Perhaps I simply am unaccustomed to pressing the button that switches the unit from Standby to Operational Mode, but I had to depress the switch several times before the unit changed from one Mode to the other. My first few presses just didn’t seem to “take.”
Page 4 for of the manual states that there is a 30 second countdown when switching from Standby to Operational Mode. My unit counts down for 45 seconds.
The input naming is not the easiest to use. No matter how carefully I selected letters, I didn’t get what I thought I had input. I also couldn’t find a way to backspace and edit. Maybe it’s there–I just had no luck finding it.
I don’t notice a difference in SQ between my existing pre-amp (a Mark Levinson 380S) and this unit. That means the BHK sounds great–really fantastic; it just doesn’t sound different or better. When I close my eyes and listen to tracks I know well, I discern no difference in what I hear with the BHK in the system from what I heard with the ML. In a blind A/B test, I do not believe I could distinguish between the 2 pre-amps. The sound is excellent–tight, with a wide sound stage, and controlled (not boomy) bass; however, I experience the same from the ML.
I have not modified (or serviced) the ML and I am the original owner. I don’t recall exactly when I purchased it; I think in the late 1990s. I do not mean to criticize the BHK; I consider the ML an excellent pre-amp; when it first came out it was hailed as one of the very best then available and, if I recall correctly, its price was even more than the BHK and that was nearly 2 decades ago. I just am making an observation. I merely point out that in my system, playing my music, to my ear, I could not hear a difference between the two units.
Before I warmed up the BHK, I spoke to customer service at PS Audio and was told that the unit did not need to be playing music in order to break-in; it simply needed to be in Standby Mode. Nonetheless, I now shall leave music playing on “repeat” for a about a week or so, listen periodically, and report back.
I experience “clicking” as the volume is changed. Oddly, this happens every step as the volume increases (going, for instance, from 30, 31, 32, 33, etc). As the volume decreases, however, I only hear the click when moving from an even numbered volume setting to an odd (from 34 to 33), but not when moving from an odd to an even (from 33 to 32). This happens using both the volume control knob on the unit and when using the remote control. I read previous posts about the clicking, including Paul’s post that the clicking is not a defect but a characteristic of this volume control.
I get good gain; the pre-amp delivers a lot of volume.
Also, is anyone putting together a summary of the comparisons made by Beta users ?
e.g a) BHK pre :
Possible Format:
Persona; Post Number; Comparison Baseline (if any); Rating (relative to baseline, if any); Clarifying Comments (paraphrased)
ms012873; Post #149; ML 380S; Neutral; Wonderful Pre-Amp, equal with the wonderful ML 380S)
jag2003; Post#156; none/ DSD=>Amp; Wonderful Pre-Amp; much, much better than no Pre-Amp
b.i) BHK 250
b.ii) BHK 300’s
ms012873 said I received my Beta BHK Signature pre-amp 9 days ago and have had it in Standby Mode since thenWhat I want to know is: how were you able to resist listening to it for nine days? Nine? That's like, I don't know, a superpower or something. I lasted nine minutes and that's only because the phone rang and the dog really needed to go outside (after giving me the "If you don't let me out NOW you're buying a new rug" look).
Got any headphones? If so, I’d love to hear your opinion on the amp.
-Pb
My unit has a red LED in the left rear inside of the case. It is always on. What, if anything, does it indicate?
darkj said My unit has a red LED in the left rear inside of the case. It is always on. What, if anything, does it indicate?Power is on, most likely . . . .
Yup. Shows the B+ is on
Peanut Butter saidms012873 said I received my Beta BHK Signature pre-amp 9 days ago and have had it in Standby Mode since thenWhat I want to know is: how were you able to resist listening to it for nine days? Nine? That’s like, I don’t know, a superpower or something. I lasted nine minutes and that’s only because the phone rang and the dog really needed to go outside (after giving me the “If you don’t let me out NOW you’re buying a new rug” look).
Got any headphones? If so, I’d love to hear your opinion on the amp.
-Pb
I can not offer any comparisons with regard to headphone use, as I don’t use the Sennheisers as I do not have a headphone amp.
I bought them years ago when I did and just never bothered to sell them. I shall do my best, however, to give you my impressions.
I received my pre-amp earlier this week and have several hours of late night listening. So far I would say I am more than pleased. It is in an all-PS system comprised of a P10, PWT, DSD and BHK 300 mono blocks. Prior to getting the pre-amp I was running directly from the DSD to the 300’s with balanced cables. Right out of the box I noticed a wider deeper sound stage and significantly more detail, especially with vocals. The change is significant, just short of OMG. The only less than enthusiastic comment pertains to the headphone amp. While more than adequate it does not quite measure up to a mid-level Violectric V281 amp with balanced output. My understanding is that to offer a balanced headphone output at this point would entail some significant redesign and that it is not being considered at this time. Bottom line is unless things take a sonic turn for the worse, and I actually expect things to keep getting better, the BHK pre is a keeper. Now, about that new phono stage…
Newbie - would agree with you. I've been struggling with my take on the headphone amp. Unlike my immediate appreciation of the improvements in sound stage and clarity with the BHK preamp in place of my CJ 17, the headphone amp while fine, leaves me somewhat ambivalent. I've listened for several hours and even reconnected my Raptor Headphone amp (which has 3 tubes) for comparison. I am not comfortable with the lack of gain control on the BHK (which I understand could be addressed via the BHK submenus) and doing an A to B with the Raptor using my Sennheiser 800s with original cabling, found the Raptor equal in detail to the BHK but somewhat warmer and more musical. Haven't heard the Audeze King to offer any comparison there. One thing that could be done for the gain issue would be some memory function where plugging in the headphones would automatically take the output up to the last listening level.
In the meantime, I think I'll keep my Raptor unit for headphone use until PSA makes some decisions on modifying the headphone amp function. Right now it is a weak link in an otherwise stellar addition to the family.
Michael said I am not comfortable with the lack of gain control on the BHK . . .What does the BHK headphone amp do, or not do, which makes you uncomfortable?
Thanks Elk, good question. Also, the headphone amp needs break in - and for whatever reason, just leaving it on doesn’t seem to do the trick, it actually needs to power a load.
Excellent point, and the break-in will be separate than breaking in the preamp itself.