I just swapped my quarter century+ Krell FPB-200 with a burnt in (aka dealer demo with way less than 600 hours on it - honest guv) BHK Sig 250.
And I’m liking what I’m hearing Quiet, dynamic, bigger & more detailed soundstage. A little more of an up-front presentation, and that’s OK.
One thing though. I’m finding it a little “spitty” in the top end. Sibilance is exaggerated. On some tracks I’d almost say it’s a bit harsh. Certainly brighter that the Krell.
Is this the sort of thing I might tame with different tubes? If so - are there any recommendations?
I’ve had a look through the tube rolling thread and had resigned myself to getting some NOS tubes in any case
I have owned some Audio Research equipment that had 6922 tubes and my suggestion would be to wait till you have at least 75hrs on the current tubes before you start rolling tubes. The reason being in my experience the 6922 takes a while to come around (burn in) and show its true nature. I like 6922’s but they do take a little while to sound their best (at least in my opinion).
You’re on the right track if you’re thinking tubes. They do change the character of the amp, for good and bad. I’ve not been a fan of the OEM tubes and if you have the OEM tubes fitted, that may be the problem. There are threads here that address the merits of different tubes. I have BHK 300’s and I like Philips Miniwatt 7308, Mullard RTC 7308, Telefunken E88CC’s and Siemens E88CC. If you do change the tubes, make sure that you verify the jumper settings. They are addressed in threads and in the manual.
Thought so. I’d try the Mullards based on the issue described. Like many others I’m a big fan of Upscale Audio - especially if you’re new to tube rolling. There’s a lot of phony tubes out there. You may pay a little more but you’ll get the best of what you’re paying for.
Without a hour counter for the tubes, it’s hard to know exactly how many hours they have. The unit I purchased was a dealers demo unit which only got connected when someone made an appointment to listen. He guaranteed me they had “way less than 600 hours on them”.
Thanks cudfoo. Exactly the feedback I was after.
Yes - I’m totally new to tubed equipment and tube rolling, so thanks for the feedback on a reliable and trustworthy dealer.
I’ve just had another look at the manual. Does the BHK-250 power amp have voltage jumper settings? I thought that was only for the pre-amp.
You’ve listed a large number of options. The Philips Miniwatt 7308 look expensive! I actually read the tube rolling thread a little while back when this purchase was on the cards. Now that I actually have one, I think I’ll re-read it.
I just bought a PSA BHK Preamp from Upscale and Herbie Rx-9 tube dampeners. Upscale is great and the staff and Kevin are extremely helpful… I got the Kevin Deal select tubes (2 sets) in addition to the PSA stock tubes. Also, just got the Focal Utopia head phones w/ QP2R w/ a Heimdall 2 (4m custom) head phone cable and a second Heimdall 2 (2m custom) cable with lemo to 4 pin 2.5mm jack for the QP2R current mode fully balanced output. I can’t wait to rip that preamp apart and get those select tubes installed. Also, bought a BHK250 amp in May and have yet to install my Kevin Deal select tubes and it sounds amazing… thinking of changing the BHK250 tubes; however, I set a plan for a year before I change them and I can wait…
Quiet, dynamic, bigger & more detailed soundstage. A little more of an up-front presentation, and that’s OK.