I am happy with the M700’s. It seems as if I would like the M1200 even more. I would also love the sound of a BHK (both 250 and 300 monoblocks) (all to go with along with a BHK Pre). The question shouldn’t be “which is the best”. The question should be “what fits better with your system/situation and music”.
4 Likes
Dealer told me a customer purchased Audio Research M160 monoblocks (30K) & Reference 6 preamp (15K) without ever hearing either one. I’ve heard them & they do sound marvelous, but spending that much money without hearing them anywhere, let alone in your own system, is more than a little crazy.
3 Likes
When I bought my BHK 300’s I had never heard them. I had a few minutes of listening to a BHK 250. They dealer said that if I like it , the 300’s would be that much better. His other argument was to avoid the inevitable and just go for it.
5 Likes
I’ll second that. I bought a bhk pre, 300s, P15 and a DSD without hearing them first. I just never had the opportunity to and no dealers around me carried them. The return policy made that an easy choice to try and buy
1 Like
If I had plenty of cash I can see buying these or the BHKs unheard - I am housebound anyway even apart from Covid, so would have to, but it would seem like not a big risk due to the wealth of positive reports on here 
1 Like
I bought my stellar stack/m700s without hearing it as well! All of us are taking a leap of faith! Its worked out well for me!
4 Likes
PSA’s 30 day (with free shipping) return policy is exactly what everyone is talking about. Get the stuff and listen at your home with your equipment. I wouldn’t call that a leap of faith. Or a “bought it sight unseen” problem.
3 Likes
I cannot speak to your system or preferences only mine. However, I chose the M1200s (with my BHK Pre) for the monoblock balanced design and their intense power handling. I feel confident as I inevitably change speakers down the road or ask more of my system the 1200s will handle it with aplomb. Plus they sound absolutely fantastic. Lastly, class D with a tube input stage? I mean that is just plain cool. Now if we could only SEE that tube . . . 
3 Likes
Having heard the BHK250 & liked it you had a good idea where you were going, so your situation is very different. First, BHK300 is basically two separate BHK250s & have similar sound characteristics. Second, PS Audio has return guarantee & third, 15K (or whatever you paid for them) is a long way from 45K. I also have BHK300’s. You made a great choice.
1 Like
The M1200s had 100 hours on them when I started listening and taking notes today. They have definitely improved over the last three days. That said, The choice of a 48 hour burn in was a god one. Right out of the box, well after 15-20 minutes for the tubes to warm up, it was clear the M1200s were very special. I can’t see anyone being disappointed with the way they sound when they arrive. The fact that they get better is just icing on the cake. Tomorrow I’ll start posting my impressions with different types of music.
You all hit it out of the park with this one.
2 Likes
The IcePower modules will hit full stride when you get further past the 200 hour mark and the longer they are powered up helps too.
In that case, the M1200s are even more impresive
Just read the bad experience I had with the NCORE (Hypex) amps with the built-in input stage. You’ve mentioned for years, the input stage feeding the Class D Amps is critical to the sound of the amp. Be it FET or Tube based. Ya, one could tame a Factory Class D Amp module with DSP EQ if your feeding normal Speakers or like I have in my rig by replacing the Bose Analog EQ’s with MiniDSP’s. But I agree, an “Analog Cell” is what make the M700’s/S300 (to replace the borrowed NCORE’s) so special.
Back when PS Audio sold through Dealers, none in the Phoenix, AZ area sold the Stellar Products. I did the same leap of faith and bought online through Amazon & HiDef Lifestyles last year. A day later “The Stellar Stack” was available direct on the PS Audio website. Now I have 3 M700’s and the SGCD was traded in for a DSD Sr.plus the difference in cost.
Is the DSD Dr. your only source? If not, what are you using as a preamp?
Balanced mono is a plus…I actually was able to score a bhk250 to demo for a week-now all I need is a m1200 and m700…thanks
1 Like
M1200s Review.
This review will list a key set of tracks I always tend to listen to in a new system and my experiences with those, a couple criticisms, and final impressions.
After 100ish hours of burn-in I sat down and gave a listen to some of my favorite tracks. My music taste is perhaps a bit different here than some, I’ll have tracks from alternative rock to electronic to Leonard Cohen to prog rock. Not traditional review stuff so purists be forewarned. I chose songs which are sometimes difficult to handle in terms of musical complexity (dynamic, mid-range clutter, instrument placement, etc.). I also chose a few songs which can really be difficult to listen to sometimes at high volumes given certain systems.
These amps were compared to a PrimaLuna HP Integrated and M700s from PS Audio.
As a recap my system is:
Source: Dedicated laptop running JRiver with Revelation Audio Labs USB cable.
DAC: Direcstream w/ Windom.
Preamp: BHK Signature with Mullard tubes.
Amps: M1200s.
Speakers: Golden Ear Triton Ones.
Cabling: AQ XLR and AQ speaker.
I started with Steven Wilson’s Happy Returns from Hand Cannot Erase 96/24. This song can be difficult to listen to on the crescendo, not so here. I was pleased with how musical and engaging the song was, and easy to listen to on high volumes. I noticed the song came in earlier than I had previously heard before, I placed the backup vocals for the first time, and heard breath on the voices which was new for me. It was a musical and engaging experience and the soundstage was wide and immersive.
Next was Beck’s Heart Is a Drum from Morning Phase 96/24. This song’s midrange can often be muddied on some amps (my primaluna for instance muddies this up). I noticed clear picking and strumming/string vibrations on the guitars, could clearly pick out instrument placement, and what is typically muddied on my Primaluna here was clear and holographic. The timing and musicality of the amps were really shining here. Really enjoyable. Loved it.
FKA Twig’s Pendulum from LP1 44/16. Clear and dynamic, excellent highs. Extremely wide soundstage, wider than I’ve heard with this song. I was struck with how tight the bass was as this can typically be smeary, it was taut and clear. The vocals here sounded lifelike and breathy, where on my other amps they could often sound lost in the song and overly bright.
Leonard Cohen’s Boogie Street from Ten New Songs 44/24. Deeply placed vocals, rich and beautiful sounding voices (this is a duet). Cohen sounded larger than life here but also very much in the room. The highs here called attention to themselves in a way I hadn’t heard before, and wasn’t sure I entirely liked - but is perhaps the fault of the recording itself (more on this later).
Radiohead’s Everything In It’s Right Place from Kid A 44/16. I was quite pleased hearing this track on the M1200s. It came alive in a way that I hadn’t experience before. It was IMMERSIVE, the vocals were precise and melodic and I could hear breath on the voice. I could almost “see” the music. The soundstage was high, wide, and holographic. However, here again, I noted occasionally the highs could occasionally be a bit of an attention caller, and slightly aggressive.
I listened to a few more tracks; Billie Eilish’s Everything I Wanted 44/24 had deep and tight bass with a clear and wide soundstage, I heard vocals here I had never heard before; Thomas Barrandon’s Chase 96/24 was a lot of fun, excellent pacing, placement, and separation; and finally The Weeknd’s As You Are 44/24 had some of the punchiest bass I’ve ever heard from this song, a natural and smooth vocal, but again here the highs were a touch bright.
I have two criticisms about the M1200s, so we will start there and then move to the positives (which far outweigh the negatives). One is sonic and the other aesthetic. Sonically, I found the highs would occasionally call attention to themselves in not always the most pleasant manner - the highs sometimes dominated the track to the slight detriment of the mids. This did not happen in every song, and they never became too bright or harsh, but they weren’t quite as silky smooth as I am used to (I previously had PrimaLuna tube amps and m700s). Very occasionally I could hear a touch of light grain in the highs, and it reminds me of the sound of some tubes I used to have - also Chinese – and that issue changed when I swapped them out. I have some new tubes on order and will update when they are in.
My aesthetic complaint is this: it’s a $6k class D set of monoblock amps – BUT WITH TUBES! I would love to see that tube and have it be more accessible for changing. Otherwise the spartan look is nice.
Finally, if I could describe the positives of the M1200s in their total in my system, they would be that the M1200s are extremely holographic; presenting a wider, higher, and deeper soundstage than I have ever heard before in my system - it was startlingly good. Bass is tight, punchy, and deep. The midrange, the most important aspect for me, was rich and pleasant. The M1200s have a wonderful sense of timing and musicality overall - they truly immerse you in the music, in a wraparound fashion. I heard things I had never heard before in my favorite songs. I found them engaging, absorbing, and easily the best pair of amps I’ve had the pleasure of hearing in my system.
10 Likes
You are correct, the DSD Sr., is my Preamp as well. Works great with the M700’s.
Thanks for taking the time to provide great context and details.
Cheers.
1 Like
Thanks for the thoughtful review! Can you share with us what your source(s) are… that is, stream or CD or ripped or LP?
Thanks!!
1 Like