Going to receive my BHK 250 (black) this Monday. Pairing it with Tannoy XT 8F and Cambridge audio CXN v2 streamer.
Hoping to replace my First Watt J2, and open more speaker possibilities since the J2 required high efficiency.
Anyone know how the BHK 250 compared to the First Watt J2, paring with 91dB speakers. Is this a side grade or an upgrade, at least for now until I get more interest in other (less efficient) speakers. Will report on my findings once I receive the BHK. Excited!
Finally, thanks Paul for the great videos, really enjoy them.
Off topic, but I have had the original CXN for two years, recommended by Audio Advisor. Other options at the time of purchase were either way too much $$$ or too new or unknown for my comfort. It has performed flawlessly. I sometimes get the upgrade bug, but the CXN does everything I need it to do: various streaming services, hi-res files from NAS drive, and iPhone control app. Running digital out to DSD of course. And as had been said many times, DSD makes everything sound great. This is a keeper until maybe Octave . . .
Congratulations on the BHK 250. Iām looking forward to your feelings about the comparison between the J2 and the BHK 250. Iām currently using a J2 and I love it. I would think that with 91db and 8ohms, the combination with your speakers should be pretty good, depending on how loud you like to go.
Thanks for the kind words. Will definitely post my thoughts on J2 compared to BHK 250. Iām pretty happy with J2 too, but thought I āupgradeā to BHK250 to open up more speaker possibilities in the future, ahemā¦ PSA speakers
That, and Iām super curious about the BHK 250.
As for CXN v2, I didnāt audition any other streamer. Iām happy with the CXN, easy access to my music, sounded pretty good too. I can detect a touch of harshness compared to my Holo Spring Lvl3 DAC, kinda expected this though, since the Holo is a NOS DAC.
I am a headphone audiophile and moving to speakers so my gear and music libarary is in another room, hence the need for the CXN.
Finally got my BHK250, after a couple hiccups with receiving a good unit.
Initial impression is very positive, I can clearly hear differences between the BHK250 and the FirstWatt J2. J2 is very clear, but lacks the timbre that make music musical. I ended up selling the J2, and purchased the PSA DirectStream. Will be comparing the DS to Holo Spring level 3. Although I donāt have a preamp, so that may be difficult.
Not sure what to get next though, BHK preamp or the P12?
Hereās a photo of my setup, PC -> BridgeII -> DS -> BHK250 -> Tannoy XT 8F:
Yup I know the room is not perfect, but itās my only option for now.
Lucky for me the missus has approved converting the garage to listening room.
Unlucky for me, the agreement was I need to work on the side and back yard first before getting thereā¦ so that involve paving and putting down artificial turf. Itāll be a while until I get to the garage. No problem for meā¦ I enjoy the journey.
Iām thinking of getting a used P5 for now so I can get to the BHK Pre fasterā¦ once I get the room, I may just take deep dive to P20 with a 20 amp circuit. I can re-purpose the P5 to my head-fi station then.
Great system! Iām not surprised the BHK 250 was a big leap in performance. Though I agree with Paul, I might be slightly more tempted to get a BHK pre before the Power Plant. Thanks for posting!
The heat from the 250 is mostly from the sides of the BHK with an average temperature of about 116 degrees on the heat sinks and cooler on the body of the amp. If you think your rack is up to that weight in itās current setup then you are good. Mine sits on the floor in front of the rack on a spiked 3" butcher block to keep the speaker wires away from the signal and power cables.
Falling-leaves, your system look very clean and trim to me.
I understand your current issue and know that your set up is only temporary.
Personally I see nothing wrong in where you have your BHK Amp right at the moment!
its always best sonically-speaking to have nothing in between your speakers to help/support the center channel image but its not mandatory.
Otherwise every vendor at all the Audio Shows would never display their electronics in between their speakers.
I guess it all depends on how far you want to take your listening hobby. Some Audiophiles get all worked-up over every little nuanced item and take it to extremes. Great if you have that ābentā but sometimes its OK to have these little infractions for other considerations. Those who are married know what I am talking about, right?
Personally I am not a big fan of having a big amp stuck on the floor out in the middle of the room as it looks so untidy. But again, āeach to their ownāā¦
At least you can be complemented for choosing the right equipment for your electronic stack.
I have recently purchased the BHK Preamp and WOW what a very nice improvement to the sound of my system. I am amazed how much better it is compared to my previous preamp.
Falling-leaves,
I forgot to mention that a inexpensive improvement to your sound would be using āCable-Liftersā to get those wires off the floor. I was amazed at how much better my system sounded after I did it. I purchased them on Audiomart in the Twerk section. His user name āspacemonkey1023ā
Bill Vuong.
He sells a package of 10 for $49.99.
However as you have hardwood floors I suggest that you get his premium one for $59.99.
I tried the units without the damping treatment but I was not very impressed, however after I decided to stick some damping material on the bottom of the stands everything come alive and there was a big and noticeable improvement in sound quality!
It was as if the distortion that the speaker cables were picking laying on the floor became eliminated.
And for 60 bucks how can you go wrong? Here is a picture of how mine look. I am running a Bi-wire setup with BasterBuilt cables.!
Guys, check it out and please tell him that āIanā recommend them to you. He is such a nice guy.
