Congratulations! Enjoy.
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Except for using a different pre, I have the same system. Great Stuff
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You just have to put FR 30’s on your list and pump up so you can move those around 
.
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Another ecstatic new BHK 600 owner, writing with high praise early on!
Right out of the box of course, on day one (compared to my well-burned-in BHK 300s, with their Tungsram 7DJ8’s as recommended by Bascom in one of Paul’s videos), the 600s sounded… well…frankly terrible …like any new audio component does. Those are the hours in which one wonders if they’re going to be returning the new thing rather than sending in the trade-ins. But with enough years of experience and enough purchases under the belt, one comes to truly become accepting of this thing called burn-in . If someone could teach me in lay terms (terms fit for a small child or a golden retriever) , I would love to gain a deeper understanding of what it means for capacitors to “form” and for electronics to “settle.” (Limited talk, please, of concepts such as metals’ atomic spin axis in response to electromagnetic charge propagating down the medium 
)
Even during that treacherous first day (while still sounding like an overall step down at the time), hints were afoot about some of the greatness to come, such as the 600s’ ability to power through crescendo/fortissimo episodes in orchestral pieces (episodes during which my 300s would struggle, becoming smeared and obviously petering out). With the 600s, the sound simply grew to fill the room. Perhaps MartinLogan CLX Art speakers are amongst those that are particularly hard to drive (they of the vanishing impedance, such that even with me listening in the 80dB range, a 300 has gone into protection mode). To some extent, perhaps it simply is the added power and might of the 600s (with their larger power supply and doubled capacitance bank) that makes for a lot of the difference. Yet their seemingly complete control and authority to drive these speakers, with complete cohesion of the soundstage, a more “correct” placement of the musicians within that soundstage, a richer, deeper, more impactful bass than I have ever heard before, and the ability to retrieve details in the recording that have never been evident to me with any other setup…
Well, watching the Darren Myers video about the 600s on the PS Audio webpage prior to purchase, I thought he was engaging in sheer marketing hyperbole when he said “The 300s are gone!”
He’s right. The 600s aren’t just “a little bit more of what the 300s are.” They’re a LOT better, a WORLD apart - the difference is NOT subtle. My 300s will be gone as soon as UPS can come to retrieve them! Indeed, the 600s sound so good…so fulfilling and satisfying…that they really make me wonder if a pair of D’Agostino Relentless monoblocks could possibly be worth 11 times as much. While diminishing returns would certainly apply in that hypothetical case, I feel no restraint in asserting that the 600s are definitely worth double the price of the 300s. The sound is more than twice as good.
I’m no audio engineer and I really know nothing at all about circuitry, but I’ll bet these results testify to the 600s’ overall design, not just their power. For the first time in my two-channel life, I TRULY feel that I have a high-end system…and needed to gush about a product. For all those of you contemplating this upgrade, and if the $ is not too dear (especially with their trade-in program), you most definitely will not regret it.
Just don’t judge them on that first day…but I’m sure you all knew that already.
Thank you Paul!
Thank you Darren!
Thank you PS Audio!
…and thank you, Bascom.
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Welcome!
Welcome to the forum Mason!
Thanks for sharing a great experience and personal review!
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Congrats on your 600’s. Would love to join the club someday but for now the 300’s will just have to make due. I could definitely see how the 600’s make a difficult to drive speaker like the CLX really sing, but wondering if there would be the same level of benefit on speakers that don’t need as much power or present the same difficult load.
I don’t think I’ve ever hit the volume ceiling with 300’s driving my tad CR1’s with subs and supertweeters.
I’ve posted this on the MKII thread but connecting the Dac directly to the 300’s via XLR has made the system sound so much more authoritative and wide bandwidth.
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I own the BHK600’s and use them at low or moderate listening levels and previously owned BHK 300’s.
To assume that the additional storage and power of an amp has diminishing returns on easy load speakers or at low volumes is incorrect. I can’t tell you technically why, but my ears hear the benefit of the increased horsepower (greater authority) at low volumes and with a fairly stable speaker load. I have said before that I didn’t want to be a 600 owner, and thought, well, if it’s just twice the power and twice the cost, why do it? But, the 600’s outperform the 300’s in every category. More muscle, yes, but much more music, too.
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I can’t agree with you, @emailists, that taking the preamp out of the chain sounds better. I have the MKII as well and BHK preamp. I thought that the direct connection could be good but all the life was sucked out of the system when I tried it. Seems counterintuitive, but there you are. I have only heard one “direct” system, from MSB, that uses custom complimentary gain structures in their DAC and amp. No loss of life in that setup.
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Thanks - I’ll have to re-asses when I get the APS transformers installed (when finally available). I haven’t sold my all tube 2 chassis tube tube pre yet, so will listen with the modded MKII.
I’m not going to ask you to compare the M1200’s to the BHK600
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I have never owned the M1200’s and I would never comment on something I’ve never tried.
FWIW, owning the BHK 250 once as well, the sonic jump was larger between the 300’s and 600’s,
as it should be given the expenditure and improved design.
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I have the APS transformers in the MKII. I don’t think that this mod will change your like for a preamp-less system. Maybe your preamp is a weak link. As for the new tranny’s, they are sounding better by the day but they are not fully broken in. I’m more than happy now and will not report till fully cooked.
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