I’m kicking the tires on the BHK 300’'s. I have two rooms with Revel Ultima Salon2 speakers. My primary room has Krell Evolution 600 monoblocks (pre E version). I’m debating whether the BHK 300’s should replace the Krell’s in my main system or whether the BHK 300’s go in my second system. Has anyone compared similar Krell’s to the BHK’s? I tend to like detail retrieval and liveliness in amps. My second system has a Evolution 403 that I’m planning on selling to get the BHK’s. The 403 is too large and too heavy.
Update: I’ve ordered the BHK 300’s. I’ll update everyone on how the BHK 300’s compare to the Evolution 600’s if I do not hear from anyone on this. Could be an interesting comparison.
I don’t have any information on the Krell but I do run BHK 300s with my Salon 2 Speakers and it sounds great. No issues at all powering them and the speakers are fairly inefficient.
Yes agreed, I don’t see a reason to upgrade the speakers any time soon. I’ve heard better amps before but the BHK 300s are good. My only complaint is having to deal with changing tubes and the standby power usage. I obviously knew it had tubes prior to buying it but in hindsight I think I would have gone completely solid state.
I, too, have the BHK 300’s running Magneplanar 3.7i’s. Just out of curiosity, which are the better amps you have heard? I actually don’t mind the fact that tubes need to be changed. It provides an opportunity for experimentation.
I got the BHK 300’s on Friday. I ended up putting them in my main system. I did some comparisons between the BHK’s and the Krell Evolution 600 mono blocks. For one comparison I was running one BHK and one Krell on each speaker in the same system. The first 30 minutes the BHK’s were a bit harsh and less resolving that the Krell. After 30 minutes the BHK’s settled down and opened up. I found both to be similarly resolving of detail. I did find the Krell’s to sound a bit more compressed than the BHK’s. The less compression gave the BHK’s a punchier sound that excepted all the way through the drums, guitar, and vocals. The soundstage was larger as well on the BHK’s, likely due to the punchier sound with less compression. I wasn’t expecting the BHK’s to sound more life like and larger/punchier than the Krell’s. Those Krell’s were not cheap amps when new 11 years go. I was worried that drums on the BHK’s would not have the punch of the larger Krell’s. I’m very pleased with the BHK’s so far.
I auditioned a MSB S500 amp for a week and I thought it was fantastic. That was by far the largest difference I’ve ever heard from an amp. From what I remember, I would best explain it as having a very black background. The only other amp I’ve had in my own system was a Gryphon but I don’t remember the model number. I also thought that was great. There was about a year difference between when I listened to the Gryphon and the MSB, so it’s hard to say exactly what the difference was but I do remember being very impressed by the S500.
I’ve heard other amps connected to the same speakers as mine but in different rooms, so from my point of view it’s somewhat pointless to make comparisons.
None of this makes me think the BHK 300s aren’t good. I still own them and enjoy them everyday all I really meant is that I’ve heard others that I like better.
What did you end up doing with your amps, and did your impressions of the BHK’s vs. the Evolutions change after further listening?
There’s a pair of Evolution 600’s on A-gon right now that I’ve been looking at for a few weeks. Also a couple pair of BHK 300’s available right now. I could conceivably talk myself into buying a pair of amps right now…I just need a little coercion.
No regrets going with the BHK’s. My biggest impression this summer was that I could actually listen to the BHK’s. Listening to the Evolutions during the warmer months was always a challenge as they put out a lot of heat and really warmed the room quickly. I don’t know if the BHK’s have changed that much with time. They still sound excellent. As I mentioned on the initial comparison, I thought the BHK’s to be a bit more detailed than the Evolutions. Granted, this comparison was with some Evolutions with years of use on them.
Very much appreciate you sharing your experience with both the Krell’s and the BHK’s. It’s funny you mention the heat…I have a Krell FPB-600c, which runs hot enough that it will almost burn your hand. We had a very hot summer in the Pacific NW, and I had it powered all the way down most of the summer for just that reason…
I’ve been on the fence regarding the BHK’s for several years. Part of it is that I feel like there’s not a lot of ground to be gained in amplification over the big class-A Krell, and it’s also going to muck up my equipment configuration.
That said…it might finally be time to make the move.
I didn’t find the BHK to be light years ahead of the Evolution 600. My Krell caps had some age on them as well, so that should be noted. I didn’t compare the Evolution against the BHK with upgraded tubes either my expectations was simply to getI equal sound quality out of the BHK as the Evolutions. I was very happy when ithe BHK’s sounded better than the Evolutions. I went with the BHK’s for the lower electrical usage, cooler room, and the smaller footprint of the BHK’s.
Your reasoning makes perfect sense.
A friend has Evolution 600s which sound wonderful, but put out enormous heat. Even on standby, they’re too warm to keep your hand on for any length of time; I believe more than 200 watts each on standby.
