Thinking of a new preamp - BHK - no rec out - darn!

I have a BHK Signature Preamp driving a pair of BHK Signature 300 monoblocks in one of my systems and love the combination. I have another system with a BHK Signature 250 stereo amp and am looking at getting a new preamp for that system. Problem is that the system with the 250 is used for ripping LPs and there is no fixed output on the BHK pre to drive my ADC (a Lynx HiLo). I know this has been brought up in earlier threads but, since there have been rumors that a new preamp might be in the works, I wanted to bring it up again in the hope that a fixed out will be incorporated for us ripper/tape deck types.

I almost bought a BHK Preamp used last Summer but didn’t for the exact reason you mention in your post.

Found the BAT VK50-SE mint used for roughly the same used price as the PS Audio BHK Preamp. It has two variable XLR outs as well as a fixed XLR out. I feed the variables to a Jolida Tube Amp and a pair of Class D ICE Power Amps. The fixed goes to a STAX SRM-007tA jfet/Tube Headphone Energizer.

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IMHO the BHK pre, though excellent for listening, may not be so great for recording as tubes add a bit of hiss to the mix. I would feed the ADC directly from phono preamp. Just a thought.

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I’ve been ripping my LPs for a number of years and haven’t had any issues with added hiss from the interposed preamp, including tubed preamps. Having a preamp in the chain eliminates a lot of plugging/unplugging - a real help because many of my ripping sessions are impromptu. It also lets me easily monitor the LP through the rest of my system. I’ve made many A/B comparisons between the LP and the rip and an increase in hiss isn’t very apparent.

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Thank you for sharing your experience @LarryRS

Sure. Just my experience though. I can easily imagine getting a set of tubes for a preamp that were noisy (hissy).

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A Stellar phono has both balanced and SE outputs :grin:

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Yes it does. And I have one in my other (non-ripping) system.