luca, yes I was thinking placing the Torus between the wall and
P15 or P20 your choice…it also removes dc from the line…
With what you been through, skepticism is natural…
Wish you a good journey trying to solve the problems you are facing.
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Thanks all, I’ll keep you informed.
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Sorry if this has already been suggested, but can’t PS Audio send you a new transformer? You or a local shop should be able to replace it fairly easily.
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Thanks, yes of course, it’s one of the routes we are discussing too if I send the unit to be repaired (might not be the transformer itself the culprit anyhow) in order to find out possible causes.
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Getting patience lessons from you
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Finally at home, again! With the luggage still locked…
You made me curious… and just hooked up the MSB DAC to the M1200s. Without the BHK Pre in the chain. Still keeping only the Puritan feeding the amps.
The sound is even more liquid than before and very clean, detailed with more fullness and richness. You use to say with more meat on the bone if I’m right.
Surprisingly my speakers are dead silent now, also at higher volume I can’t hear white noise or anything else with my ears on tweeters. Nothing!
I also lowered the subs crossover about 15Hz to better balance the bass.
Am I liking it? Yes sirs, a lot!
Anyhow keep calm and listen for a while before judging.
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It’s just an hobby my friend! Until the music is playing in my room I’m so happy and this is the only thing that matters, isn’t it? (Always fingers crossed).
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exactly
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“The sound is even more liquid than before and very clean, detailed with more fullness and richness. You use to say with more meat on the bone if I’m right.
Surprisingly my speakers are dead silent now, also at higher volume I can’t hear white noise or anything else with my ears on tweeters. Nothing!”
There’s lots to be said for Solid State and not hearing tube distortions no matter how pleasant it can seem.
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I agree, the fact is that what I’m hearing now is not detrimental at my ears while I was expecting a very lower sound quality.
I’m playing different genres and I’m liking this sound of silence.
Is it too perfect, less realistic or compromised by artifacts? Absolutely not. Has life sucked out? Maybe the opposite. Is the music less engaging? Again a no-no.
All I was afraid of, it seems it’s not happening. On the contrary…
Bass are going deeper, and the presentation is so smooth and clean.
I know this is not all the story, I’m just surprised (for the better).
Let me settle in a bit more, just to find out what I’m missing. It will emerge sooner or later.
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skipping a pre-amp, or at least the BHK pre, was that good?
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Is not that bad as I was expecting. Almost with the MSB DAC doing the job.
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Note that this result, to my ears, is the reverse when taking the BHK out of the chain with the MKII in front of it. I had hoped that the increased gain in the MKII could result in taking the preamp out, but no enchiladas. It took only a few minutes to hear the life sucked out of the system. I have tried other DACs such as Benchmark and MSB that are designed to drive an amp directly, and they do. In the here and now I would love a “direct drive” DAC, but the MKII is still sonically king in its price class.
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Another step up, sorry for my enthusiasm today.
I bought a pair of umbilicals for my Statement last month, hand made by Sean Jacobs, the designer of Innuos power supplies.
Just hooked them up.
Literally transformative! Really impactful, the sound is coming out painting a more vivid image in front of me, at a higher degree of purity, more airy and beautifully opened, like unveiled.
Couldn’t be happier, if this is the psycho effect of a vacation, I need to go away more frequently (is my wife right?!?!).
How wonderful is the music and this hobby (after a week without it).
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I believe someone recently suggested you consider a new Pre.
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I’m wondering why I often waste my time reading, listening, studying or auditioning gear. Ask Vince! It’s easier, immediate and convenient! Thanks for playing the mentor role with me.
Having said that, I was thinking you suggested a new Pre never thought possible excluding it at all from the chain. Still surprised. I need more investigation on this option.
If my liking will be confirmed I have different routes on my horizon.
- Pairing a MSB amp with my MSB DAC. The importer highly recommends this way, due to a perfect synergy between them. I’m referring to the Stereo S202 (not cheaper at all).
Cons: the cost and vinyl rig usage.
I’d need to keep the BHK Pre + Stellar Phono (or I could consider the Gold Note P-1000 that is able to act both as phono and as line level in one chassis) but each time I wanted to play a record it would require a new ritual, unplugging the XLRs cables from the DAC. It would mean one or two times a month, not a big problem. Otherwise I could use an ADC like the Nuwave Converter, to convert the analog signal from the TT directly into a digital signal to the MSB DAC. It appears to me a pretty illogical solution though.
- Upgrading from the Premier to the Reference DAC. It sports an analog module acting as a pre and it can be also upgraded with additional analog input and output.
In that case I’d keep my beloved M1200s (at least for a few months/years) as amplifiers. The Reference itself would be a big leap in sound quality. This solution implies a relevant investment, too.
Cons: the cost and the consequent need to abandon (postpone further and further in the future, so to speak) an MSB amp purchase to be paired with the DAC.
The good news is that my importer during this summer will be able to let me auditioning at home both of them. The bad news is that both these options are very very expensive and to be affordable I’m required to trade in lots of my components, P15 and P20 included. And I hate just to think about it!
- I can always stay where I am now, not a bad thing at all! If I can’t solve the buzz noise from the P15 I could consider a trade in for a MSB Digital Director to be added to the Premier DAC.
I’m wondering how can it be possible I’m becoming so MSB dependent in my audiophile journey.
A lot of food for Vince’s thoughts! Don’t want my mentor relax too much.
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You’re definitely not “suffering” if you stay with option #3.
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I think you have at least three different issues that may or may not be related. First is the one that took you down this rabbit hole to start with and that’s the initially dysfunctional and now just buzzing P15 vs the Puritan which is not broken in yet. Even if it’s working exactly as intended the P15 is always going to be noisier than the Puritan based on their designs, active vs passive. So resolve the issue with the P15 and let the Puritan cook and appreciate what it does.
Second issue is preamp or no preamp and if the later what does that involve you giving up with your vinyl collection. I don’t think that long term no preamp is the answer and I think Vince will agree. I suspect your initial fascination with that concept will fade quickly but finding a better preamp will not be all that hard.
Thirdly amps and that involves the 1200’s vs something else. My take on the MSB amps is that they are a technology outside their normal scope for the last twenty years. The were a big news item when first announced but I doubt that sales have been that good or that they will be a part of the MSB product lineup long term. There are plenty of great amps by amp companies that are made in the EU including some made in your country so if you want to change amps I would look in that direction. Many of them are in the same price range as the US made MSB amps and some are priced lower as they don’t have to deal with cross Atlantic shipping and the exchange rates.
So my advice is to solve one issue at a time.
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I bought a Puritan two years ago. My audio guru said it was immensely good and at a very low price. I put it in my home theater setup that until then just plugged into dedicated 20 amp circuits. (One for each device in the system)
After a few months I slipped the tiny Puritan behind my P20. I powered down everything and switched everything from the P20 to the Puritan. I powered up and let the system warm up for two hours and then listened. It was silent. But it seemed like everything I loved about the system sound was restrained. Less interesting, less involving.
So I powered everything down, switched back to the P20, powered up and ahhhhh, the magic returned. So I put the Puritan back in the theater setup and quit thinking about it.
When my rabbit chewed one of the five umbilicals between the power supply and preamp on my Gryphon Commander I remembered that Edgar from Bacch emphatically told me a preamp offers no benefit to my system as the BACCH-SP adio has full preamp functionality built in. So the Commander is down, what the heck. I was surprised how good the system sounded using the BACCH-SP in this way. I replaced the bunny damaged cable and went back to using the Commander as a pre. Oh my, it was much better that way. Could it be the Commander is a really, really good Preamp. I’ll give it the title.
My bunny again chewed the same cable. But I repaired it and fortified the wall of don’t go here sweetie.
Such a fun hobby.
I have heard so many stories of Stromtanks failing, usually early after their addition to a system, that I feel like it’s better to have that brand on the someday list.
P.S. at Axpona I was introduced to a new $20k Puritan device. It looked very serious and I loved that you had a choice of laying it flat and having all the cables plug in vertically. Might not need posts with Sorbothane in that situation. It also comes with a stand that allows you to set it up on its side and plug in the “normal” way. Stands and Sorbothane are back in style. Interesting. I hope someone buys one and shares their findings.
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I think you’ll find that a Pre a few rungs up the ladder from the BHK, a Pre will positively add to the SQ. It’s a profound difference.
It’s not that the BHK is bad in any way. For the price it’s a killer Pre.
As you’ve heard with the MSB, there’s more to be had.
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