Really depends on your speaker’s sensitivity and your use. The M1200s don’t draw much in the way of idle current so even a P3 can get her fired up and, if used on sensitive speakers, probably just fine. We, of course, use the P20.
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Not a commercial for PSA, just stating my belief - the higher up that you move in the regenerator line, the better the SQ improvement. (for your reference, I using M700s with a BHKpre).
In my experience, Power Cables can add a lot to the improvement and so will a 20 amp dedicated circuit.
Yeah, they all expensive, except for my 20 amp circuit, less than $800 fully installed.
Chas
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I’m running my whole kit (see post 48 above) except for the REL, on the older generation P5… similar in size to the newer P12. I have never seen more than 25% utilization on the P5.
Just got a delivery update on my M1200s. FedEx changed the delivery date from Monday to Tuesday, bummer.
Got mine Thursday set up earlier today. I also purchased a BHK preamp (thinking synergy)
will be comparing to the Mcintosh gear I have been using.
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I just saw a news feed about what you folks in the north central part of the country are in for tonight and tomorrow. Stay safe and stay warm.
Mike
Looking forward to these comparisons!
Oh lordy…
MPLS-ST-PAUL MN…
WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY MORNING… * WHAT…HEAVY SNOW POSSIBLE. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 9 INCHES POSSIBLE. WINDS COULD GUST AS HIGH AS 35 MPH.
It was 70 degrees last week when I put my snowblower away.
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Thanks for the pictures…
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Ok…third afternoon of listening to the 1200s here. They are smoothing …becoming SO musical! I tried to go back to some favorite music that I know was poorly recorded/mastered to see what they might say…I did, but the 1200s are so revealing, that I’m still playing my best recordings to savor what they can do with the best source material. I keep coming back to artists with vibes since they are so revealing of upper tonality mixes…Gary Burton’s Take Another Look is putting Big Smiles on my face…Milt Jackson MFSL Invitation…old, but NO treble edge/harshness. They just ring! Kenny Dorham’s little spit trill on his muted trumpet… on Too Close For Comfort…never heard that before. Again, the bass control of the 1200s is notable vs the 700s. I am turning up my REL S/5 SHO …because the control from the amps invites you to hear it. I’m thinking the 1200s will be brutally honest with the source material. Old, poorly mastered stuff may well be harder to deal with.
Later… Craig
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I’ve got some old 60’s and 70’s rock and prog rock so we’ll see what they do with those less than stellar recordings (pun intended). 
Will be very interesting to read!
Thanks for this continuing evaluation. This is wonderful and, as you play them, they’ll get better and better.
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I pre ordered a pair Thursday to replace my M700s, something I thought I would never replace. I had a question about the 5-12 volt triggers on the back. Can one amp trigger the other on? The manual for the M700 says they don’t generate an output signal to trigger other components on. I assume that will be true for the M1200s as well?
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With my M700s, one amp triggers the other on. I run an IC from the trigger out of thr GCD to the trigger in of one of the M700s and another IC from the trigger out of that M700 to the trigger in of the other M700. When I turn the GCD on/off, both M700s respond accordingly. The M1200s should work the same way.
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Does your original trigger come out of a pre amp or other component? My Mark Levinson pre amp is too old to have the trigger function so one of the amps would have to originate the trigger.
Ahh, that’s the difference. The GCD that originates the signal is the Stellar Gain Cell DAC/preamp.
Oh well. Sound like it would be neat. Press one button and they both come on. I’ve been powering up 2 M700s for a couple years. I guess I’ll be doing the same on the M1200s. Can’t wait for them to show up.
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You findings will be interesting especially because @daeone just sold his BHK pre and sells his BHK300 for a MAC C2700 + MC 611. Im not familiar with current MAC gear but it seems similar to your C2600 + MC 601
Question for the group, why do Stella amp names use 4 ohm power ratings and BHK amps use 8 ohm power ratings?
The reason for my question is, the impression 1200 watts portrays is a beast with seemingly unlimited power. The reality is a Stella M1200 8 ohm output is 600 wpc and the BHK 300, for example, is 300 wpc so the Stella M1200 with double the power will play just 3 db louder than a 300 wpc amp. Of course you need 10 times the power to double the loudness.
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