Ecstatic New "Used" BHK Signature Preamp Owner

All I can say is wow, this thing is amazing! Just purchased it used. According to the tube hour counter the preamp has 886 hours on the original tubes. I have been listening to The Alan Parsons Project I Robot LP (200 gram Quiex version) this am and I have never heard it like this before. I started down the PS Audio “rabbit hole” in 2019 with the GCD/Preamp and M700s, that for some reason didn’t work with my speakers. PS Audio was nice enough to suggest trying a BHK 250 Stereo amp in place of the m700s and I jumped right in. The GCD/Preamp was nice, but the BHK is on another level. I knew it would be. I guess next up is DSD! Thank you PS Audion!

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Talk about rabbit holes, now that you’re in the BHK Pre club I’ll point you to the tube rolling thread:

BHK Preamp tube rolling - Audio Components / Amplifiers - PS Audio

Start your special tube rolling fund now. I’ve got a box full and I keep buying more. Enjoy!

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Great choice on the BHK preamp! Probably the best deal in preamps especially in the used Pre market! I went the same route other then I went from M700’s to M1200’s. I feel safe saying the performance gap between the SGCD and the BHK preamp is much greater than the gap between the M700/1200 to BHK amplifiers! The BHK preamp is so good! Follow that post for tube rolling to get a little more from the preamp if you still have the stock Psvanes. I like the Brimar CV4003 and I’m currently using the Gold Lions which are great tubes and much better
than the Psvanes IMO. Enjoy!

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Do you listen with headphones at all? If so, have you tried the headphone output on the BHK? I have Focal Utopias and a Bryston BHA-1 right now, which is a great combo. I’m sure the BHK is a better pre-amp. However, I’m curious how the BHK would stack up with headphones (I spend about half my time listening through headphones).

If you’re not using the BHK with 'phones, I’d be curious if anyone else has feedback on this. And apologies if there’s already a thread on this (I’m new).

Thanks!

I do not recall a thorough thread on this, just a smattering of posts here and there. Perhaps your query will spark more discussion.

And we like new members! Welcome!

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Thanks for the welcome! Maybe I should start a thread on this topic?

I listen to headphones perhaps only 5% but it’s the best HP amp I’ve ever heard. I had an early Jan Meyer with crossfeed that was pretty good but no other HP amps to write home about.

The BHK HP does need a good number of hours of playtime to come into its own. I would be interesting to compare to one of Bascom’s uber expensive designs. I suspect it’s a bargain being included in the preamp. I drive a pair of HE4XX via single-ended cable that is ~40 ft. long and the BHK has enough to power through.

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I don’t consider myself an audiophile, just a music lover, so take my review with a grain of salt. I’d say the BHK Signature preamp is fantastic for headphone listening. I am not sure if it is the preamp itself, my Meze 99 Classics, or a combination of the two, but the sound is full and open, just enough bass, sweet midrange, and detailed enough highs. I love it either way, through my Meze 99 Classics or through my Audiovector SR3 Avantgarde speakers via the BHK 250!

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Thanks for the input. It certainly sounds like the headphone amp will work great with my Focal Utopias. :grinning: