Bascom King Interview PS Audio BHK Signature amps

[Gregadd]

 

[Barry]

Thanks for posting this Greg. Has anyone actually heard the PS Audio BHK Signature amps? Bascom King is someone that's worth paying attention to.

 

[Gregadd]

Thanks for posting this Greg. Has anyone actually heard the PS Audio BHK Signature amps? Bascom King is someone that's worth paying attention to.

I have not. But a memebr has started a thread in this subforum.. He is currently breaaking them in.

 

[Gregadd]

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?19604-My-PS-Audio-BHK-300s-mini-reviewu
Youcan find his thread here.

 

[Gregadd]

 

[Gregadd]

 

[edorr]

I own the amps (monos). Replaced Spectral DMC 30SS -Series II, and never looked back. Phenomenal amps. Two caveats - they did not work well for me with the Spectral preamp (I now play sans preamp, will try tubes at some point), and MIT cabling sucked (back to transparent reference).

 

[Gregadd]

Excessive feedback is bad. I do not know if 40db exceeds some magic audiophile number. The book is still unwritten as to whether it is audible negatively in this amp.
I think more important is Paul's admission that he could not get this level from solid state or class D. He hates tubes so much he hid them in the back.

 

[Purite Audio]

He must have used some really crappy amps before this one.
Keith

 

[DonH50]

Excessive feedback is bad. I do not know if 40db exceeds some magic audiophile number. The book is still unwritten as to whether it is audible negatively in this amp.
I think more important is Paul's admission that he could not get this level from solid state or class D. He hates tubes so much he hid them in the back.

The problem is to define "excessive". Like most things, just a flat statement of how many dB is insufficient. Loop order, open-loop parameters, bandwidth, circuit topology and type of feedback, a myriad of factors determine how feedback impacts the output.

 

[Gregadd]

So we can cite examples of negative feedback being used to good effect. Its broad generalizations that don't hold up.

 

[Whatmore]

So, at the risk of showing my audio ignorance I'm making a confession.....
I've nodded knowing every time I've heard his name, he is one of the greats after all.
I've nodded knowingly but I've lied it. Truth is, before the hype around this amp I had *never* heard of Bascom H King.

There, I've said it

 

[edorr]

I'm blissfully ignorant of both big name designers and design principles. I can tell when I have a very reasonably priced phenomenally sounding amp in my system though.

 

[JackD201]

He must have used some really crappy amps before this one.
Keith

Why don't you use Google and find out what this guy does when he isn't designing his own stuff before you make assumptions like that.

 

[Gregadd]

 

[Gregadd]

 

[Gregadd]

 

[Gregadd]

 

[DonH50]

I think more important is Paul's admission that he could not get this level from solid state or class D. He hates tubes so much he hid them in the back.

Actually, the tubes are in the input stage, so putting them in back makes a lot of sense. Shortest path from input jacks to first gain stage, reduces susceptibility to noise coupling, and all that jazz. I have long held the opinion that tubes make most sense at the input of the power amp where they can impart that tube "character" without sacrificing output impedance.

 

[Gregadd]

My first Mosfet amp

Aesthetix Atlas

Moscode 402AU with tubes on display