I’ve had a few days for these beasts to settle in and I think they are fully cooked. The load in and setup went without a hitch and I did it solo. If you can maneuver a P20 you should be good.
Like most of us we hang on the early snippets of info we get on a new product and try to glean what is reality and hype. We know Bascom’s pedigree but will PSA bring it to the finish line in all its glory? The short answer is yes. Paul and Darren talked about the “authority” of the 600’s. If that means it’s ability to control the speaker at all listening levels without restricting dynamics, particularly in the lower frequencies, then these amps have that in spades.
I listen to live orchestra (mostly the CSO) and when I come home my system has rarely caught up in that department. The 600’s get louder without restraint and the associated smear that you hear when you know there isn’t enough juice. Orchestral crescendo with tympani and large drum come in loud and clear and with tonal balance…skin, thwack, reverberation, not “boom”. Authority. Frankly, this should be the case when you have more than doubled the storage and output verses the 300’s, and the shekels to buy them.
But beyond the brute force of the amp lies other goodies. Within seconds of hearing them I was gobsmacked by how quiet they are. You can listen very deep as subtle instruments hold their ground against their louder neighbors. Woodwinds are distinct, clarinet and oboe don’t collide, etc. This “blacker background” as it has come to be described, is greater with these amps than any power regenerator or cable that is designed for noise reduction that I have tried. Some of these trails resulted in lowering noise but at the reduction of detail. The 600’s let you listen into the music more deeply, more realistically. The orchestra provides a good benchmark here again. Un amplified instruments and voices sound as close to the real thing as I have ever heard them and are better delineated in space.
I got these amps feeling fairly confident that they would make the FR30’s sound even better as a result of more power and design refinements. They are much better than that. I have owned the BHK250, 300’s and other full class A , and class A/B designs. Every new amp in the chain sounded better but not to the degree of this
upgrade.
Great review Greg! I can’t wait to hear them! Is it much more of a draw on the P20?
Yes. The P20 is at almost 90% when the 600’s, DAC, PST, and PRE are in play.
Wow. If I went that route I’d need another regenerator for the home theater system.
Great review. Thanks for posting.
RE: Above snippet - this is one of a few key things I listen for as I seek to improve my system. Are these types of percussion instruments sounding more or less palpable/real in great recordings?
If I understand the question correctly, the 600’s make good recordings sound even better. Age of the recording isn’t so much the issue, though, a digital Reference Recording album beats out a 60’s Mercury pressing made on thin tape. But in both cases, and recording advances aside, I can, and do, enjoy the musicality of old and new. Fritz Reiner and the CSO. That dude can rock.
Thanks for the write up Greg! They are spectacular!
A P20 and dedicated 20amp line for each power amp (and sub) 
such a nice review/ write up, thanks
Sorry, I was being rhetorical.
As in, “Does my latest change to the system make certain recorded percussion instruments sound more or less palpable or real?”
I was reacting to your observation:
“Orchestral crescendo with tympani and large drum come in loud and clear and with tonal balance…skin, thwack, reverberation, not “boom”. Authority.”
Enjoy the new amps.
Those P20’s aren’t flirting with 90%! Fine job!
Were they broken in before you received them? If not, I doubt they’re even close to being fully broken in after a few days. You might be in for a pleasant surprise in the weeks to come, when the beasts get closer to being fully broken in.
I have yet to go back to my initial test recordings to see if the 600’s have changed. Having too much fun re-discovering the collection. Patience is not my virtue.
How soon do the M-1 fuses arrive? Two in each amp correct?
You are an inexhaustible instigator!
It’s my superpower. I wanted my superpower to involve a bowling ball and a badminton racket. But no. I got instigating instead.
And someone here (like me) easily fall into your push when you instigate!
It’s a good thing that the 600’s only need two fuses verses the six in the 300’s. However, I am in no rush to try the M1’s. The 600’s style and presentation is already like those things we hear with the M1’s…deep, detailed, warm. It is for this reason I am also in no rush to put my cherished 60’s Amperex tubes in the 600’s.
Switching out these tubes or fuses could be to much of a good thing. I maybe a heretic but I have had very mixed results with tube and fuse swapping. The 600’s have put a happy stake in the ground. I don’t feel the need to analyze or adjust…for now.
I like that.